Rank: 59
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Lake of the Woods County: Big leap in last year
Lake of the Woods County ranks 59 for broadband access and 73 for digital equity out of 87 counties. They have 74 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 873 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $8.1 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
| County | Housing Unit Density | Number of Housing Units | 100/20 Mbps | houses unserved | Cost to close the gap |
| Lake of the Woods | 1.9 | 3,391 | 74.26 | 873 | $ 8,117,443.62 |
Lake of the Woods will benefit from a border to border grant announced in December 2022:
- Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc, $665,699.00 (to serve Beltrami, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall)
Lake of the Woods has been working on broadband for several years. They were a Blandin Broadband Community. In 2019, Wikstrom Telephone received a Border to Border award and they saw a big increase in access; hopefully that will happen again with the latest grant, although it is not a large grant given the ground they plan to cover.
They are maintaining their yellow status based on the engagement and success of local providers.
Broadband Access:
| 2022 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 74.26 | 74.31 | 53.93 | 50.47 | 0 | |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 74.6 | 74.55 | 57.42 | 50.47 | 50.61 |
Digital Equity:
Lake of the Woods County ranks 82 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)
Lake of the Woods County ranks 73 out of 87 for computer ownership. 88 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.
Past grants:
- 2016 – SJOBERG’S INC. ROSEAU AND LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTIES — GRANT: $354,740
- 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
- 2019: Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Lake of the Woods County (http://tinyurl.com/gpfu7dd)
- 100/20 Mbps ranking: 59 (down 4)
- Has worked with Blandin: yes
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
- Household density: 1.9
I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:
- Red (yikes)
- Yellow (warning)
- Green (good shape)
Blandin on Broadband 