Rank: 37
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Crow Wing County: Need a push to get ubiquitous broadband
Crow Wing County ranks 37 (down 9) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 85.84 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 5482 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $51 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
| County | Residential Location Density | number of residential locations | ≥ 100 Mbps Download/20 Mbps Upload Speeds | unserved households | Cost to close gap |
| Crow Wing | 33.5 | 38,718 | 85.84 | 5482 | 50982600 |
Crow Wing County has been hovering at 87 percent access since 2019. This year their access and ranking have dipped. It’s likely due to map corrections or challenges but it does mean getting farther from their goal.
They did get some good news in the last year. In December 2022, Tri-Co Technologies got $343,552 to serve approximately 245 unserved households in Crow Wing County. In 2023, CTC began a $5.7 million project to expand its broadband fiber optic network to approximately 500 unserved or underserved locations. In June 2023, the Commissioners of Crow Wing County submitted a Request for Proposal from broadband providers interested in serving the area.
Crow Wing County residents were awarded 183 line extension funding requests, which means state funding will subsidize last mile broadband extension to their homes.
Crow Wing County is getting an optimistic green code; they have been stagnant but it seems as if actions are being made toward improvement.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 85.84 | 87.51 | 86.38 | 86.6 | 88.04 | 41.66 | 33.13 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 90.27 | 89.54 | 90.01 | 90.61 | 92.84 | 92.29 | 87.78 |
Grants:
- 2022: Tri-Co Technologies, LLC dba Crosslake Communications, $343,552.00
- 2016 – TDS TELECOM CASS & CROW WING COUNTIES — GRANT: $3,000,000
2015 – Consolidated Telecommunications Company – Fort Ripley Phase II
Grant award: $759,525 - 2014 – Consolidated Telephone Cooperative, Region 5 Virtual Highway Project – Amount $2 million
- 2020: CTC (Consolidated Telephone Company) – Fort Ripley/Executive Acres Project – GRANT $830,587
- Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) – Stark-Ross Lake Area – GRANT $350,805 This last mile project will serve approximately 180 unserved locations in a portion of Ross Lake Township in Crow Wing County.
- Crosslake Communications – O’Brien/Goodrich Lake Fiber Project – GRANT $618,970 This last mile O’Brien/Goodrich Lake Fiber Project will serve approximately 232 unserved households in Crow Wing County.
Find more articles on broadband in Crow Wing County. (http://tinyurl.com/zechgaw)
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)
The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.
