Otter Tail County
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | #68 of 87 | 70.54% |
| 2021 | #67 of 87 | 67.02% |
| 2020 | #65 of 87 | 65.55% |
| 2019 | #82 of 87 | 35.34% |
| 2018 | #87 of 87 | 2.36% |
| 2017 | #84 of 87 | 1.75% |
Rank: 68 (out of 87) for access to 100/20 megabits per second (Mbps)
Otter Tail County ranks 68 for broadband access and 50 for digital equity out of 87 counties. They have seen incremental improvement since 2020, currently having 70.54 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up in 2022. They have 10755 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $100 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
Otter Tail County will benefit from two border to border grants announced December 2022:
- East Otter Tail Telephone Co. dba Arvig, $1,140,704.90
- Otter Tail Telcom, LLC, $3,381,661.00 (Learn more)
In July (2022), Otter Tail County committed to investing $2.8 million of their ARPA funding on broadband and it sounds like that comes with plans to pursue more federal or state funding. That is a great sign but with their investment is a small percentage of the estimated cost to get to ubiquitous coverage by 2026 so they retain their code red.
Digital Equity:
Otter Tail County ranks 43 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)
Otter Tail County ranks 50 out of 87 for computer ownership. 90.5 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.
Household Density
16.4
Number of Providers
15
As of 2022 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2019 – Otter Tail Telcom LLC – Long and Fish Lakes Project – GRANT $156,954
2019 – Arvig (Loretel Systems, Inc.) – Cormorant Lakes Area Project – GRANT $430,780
2017 – Arvig – Pelican Rapids rural non-ACAM – GRANT $633,642
2017 – Otter Tail Telcom LLC – Red Oak Drive – GRANT $173,683
2017 – WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Wadena Rural Phase III – GRANT $874,581
2016 – OTTER TAIL TELCOM BATTLE LAKE – GRANT: $ 238,170
2016 – OTTER TAIL TELCOM FERGUS FALLS AREA – GRANT: $ 279,271
2016 – WCTA WADENA RURAL NORTH — GRANT: $718,850
2015 – Otter Tail Telcom Fergus Falls 864 – Hwy 59 – Grant award: $295,432
2015 – Otter Tail Telcom Hwy 59/94 PRT to POM – Grant award: $164,207
2014 – Otter Tail Telcom, Stuart Lake – Award: $105,364.
2014 – Otter Tail Telcom, 245th – Award: $108,553.