Rank: 40
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Otter Tail	94.98	35	90.16	40	22.61	82	16

Otter Tail County: getting in stride

Otter Tail County continues slow and steady progress. BEAD funding should help boost fiber connectivity, which would be helpful. They maintain their Green status.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 933 locations in Otter Tail County. Many of the locations qualify for fiber; the rest for satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Otter Tail has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.)

Statewide, there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	90.16	88.12	77.72	70.54	67.02	65.55	35.34	2.36	1.75
25/3 (2022 goal)	94.98	93.44	94.48	92.69	90.97	75.02	92.93	89.56	59.34

Possible BEAD support

The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal has not yet been approved so the information below is subject to change; it includes the number of locations by county specifying provider and broadband type. (Learn more.)

Locations in Otter Tail: 933
The locations include a mix of fiber and satellite and fixed wireless connections.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	Midco	Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	Spectrum Mid-America, LLC	Tekstar Communications, Inc. (Arvig)	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Fiber	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Fiber	Fiber
Otter Tail	235	65	6	124	503	933	Otter Tail

Local Government Match for State Broadband Grants:

Over the years, many local governments (County, Municipal, Tribal) have invested in broadband deployment. This year, I have tracked how much local investment has been used to match MN State Grants. Local governments invest in other ways too, but this was one number I could realistically find and quantify investment by county, which means investment in that county, whether by county, cities or other local government entity.

In Otter Tail $3,671,557 was invested in five projects over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Otter Tail County providers received $384714.84 in the first three rounds of Line Extension awards

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $19.5 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)

• In 2022, Otter Tail ranked 43 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants

• County: Otter Tail – Otter Tail Telcom West Fergus Falls
  Grant: $3,700,198, Local Match: $1,233,399, Total Budget: $4,933,598
• 2023: Otter Tail Telcom – South Battle Lake – GRANT $2,331,792

• 2022: East Otter Tail Telephone Co. dba Arvig, $1,140,704.90
• 2022: Otter Tail Telcom, LLC, $3,381,661.00 (Learn more)

• 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.
• 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

Find more articles on Otter Tail County https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=otter+tail&submit=Search

The maps below come from the 

• Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2025 – tracking wireline access.
• The FCC National Broadband Maps, reflecting data updated November 28, 2025 – tracking fixed wireless access.

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)