Expanding Broadband Network To Western Otter Tail County

We are pleased to announce that Otter Tail Telcom (d.b.a. Park Region) has been awarded a Minnesota Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant that will allow the expansion of our broadband network to the western portion of Otter Tail County, including the townships of Aastad, Buse, Carlisle, Orwell, Oscar and Western. This two-year expansion project, set to begin in the spring of 2025, will bring advanced, high-speed broadband services to 286 unserved/underserved residents and businesses in this rural area. This network will address critical needs for education, remote work, telehealth, and more. By providing access to reliable high-speed internet, we aim to stimulate the local economy through job creation and population growth. Additionally, local agricultural operations will benefit from precision agricultural tools, helping farmers increase efficiency and improve crop production.

“We are excited to extend our state-of-the-art fiber to the home network to the west Fergus Falls area,” said Dave Bickett, General Manager/CEO at Park Region. “Broadband internet has become essential for both quality of life and business success. Bringing broadband internet to rural areas is an incredibly challenging task that requires strong partnerships and collaboration. We are grateful for the partnerships with Otter Tail County, the townships and residents impacted, and the Office of Broadband Development/MN DEED. Without their outstanding support, this expansion of our broadband infrastructure would not be possible. Our mission has always been ‘Keeping you connected to the things that matter most,’ and with this expansion we look forward to extending that mission to even more residents and businesses in our community.”

This announcement comes after the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Office of Broadband released the 2024 awards on October 9th. The legislative focus of this grant program is to provide financial resources that help make the business case for new and existing providers to invest in building broadband infrastructure into unserved and underserved areas of the state.

Property owners in the project area will receive communication from Park Region on the next steps of the project in the near future.