Arvig wins grants to extend fiber broadband in rural Otter Tail County

Arvig won $3.4 million in state grants to bring last-mile fiber to 446 structures across eight Minnesota counties, including rural Otter Tail County, a move that could speed up home internet for remote workers, farm operations, schools and home-based businesses.

The Perham-based, employee-owned company said construction on the project is set to begin this spring. The money came through Minnesota’s Broadband Line Extension program, which was created in the 2022 legislative session to push existing broadband farther into places that still lack wired service of at least 100 megabits down and 20 megabits up.

The program is designed as a reverse auction, with the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development taking bids every six months until the money runs out. Winning providers must build networks capable of at least 100/100 Mbps within one year of signing a contract, a standard meant to make the spending measurable rather than symbolic. State officials said in 2025 that the fourth round of the program was expected to award more than $5 million to 20 providers serving 1,300 locations in 20 counties.

For Otter Tail County, the grant adds to a longer broadband push that has already reached parts of rural Battle Lake, Henning, Parkers Prairie and Urbank. On Jan. 12, 2023, Arvig won a separate $1.14 million Border-to-Border Broadband grant for a project serving 171 unserved and 100 underserved households, farms and businesses in southeast Otter Tail County. That project carried a total estimated cost of more than $2.8 million, backed by $998,117 from Otter Tail County and a $712,940 Arvig investment.

That earlier round showed how the county’s broadband buildout has been financed through a mix of state support, local dollars and company capital. The 2022 statewide broadband round, which included 61 projects totaling $99.6 million, was called the largest single broadband investment in Minnesota history at the time.

Arvig has participated in Minnesota broadband grant programs since 2014 and has said its network expansion is tied to rural competitiveness, including remote work, telehealth, family connectivity and access for local businesses. For Otter Tail County, the new grant means another stretch of fiber is moving from planning into construction, with more rural addresses on deck for service that meets the state’s next-speed target instead of the slower connections many households still rely on today.