LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Walt Disney said it best when he said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” CTC was founded in 1950 by seven men who had the courage to dream. Little did they know, 70+ years later, all the different ways that this cooperative would grow over time.

Each year our cooperative expands, along with our fiber footprint throughout the state of Minnesota. Our partnerships with other cooperatives and municipalities are thriving and expanding. The benefit of these partnerships will expand our networks and allows us to reach more businesses and residents than we would alone. In 2022, we received yet another grant award from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). This grant will allow us to bring fiber optic internet to northeastern Minnesota to areas that are underserved. There is a potential to reach many businesses and residents that do not have reliable internet access.

As our cooperative expands in size and location, the need for qualified and dedicated employees are needed more than ever. CTC is actively searching and recruiting exceptional candidates for current and new positions. In 2022, CTC hired on four new employees. At the time of this publication, CTC has already hired 11 employees in the year 2023! Our employees are top-notch, eager to learn, and truly care about our membership. I am so fortunate to lead such a dedicated group of individuals.

At the end of the day, everything we are and have become is because of you, our members. Our commitment to our cooperative is to empower our members, employees, and communities through exceptional service and life changing technology. We hope we meet your standards and expectations, and if for any reason we don’t, please let us know so we can fix it.

As we look to the future, I know that the seven men who started this cooperative would be proud of where we are at today. We took their dreams and their courage and will continue to proceed with it. There are so many opportunities for CTC, and we can’t wait to see where they will lead us to.

Have a wonderful and safe summer!

Kristi Westbrock

Chief Executive Officer/General Manager

Board of Directors

Kirk Smith

Chairperson

District Three

Amanda Lowe

Vice Chairperson

District Five

Kathy Kobliska

Treasurer

District One

Chad Converse

Secretary

District Four

Morris Nelson

Director

District One

Heather Hoskins

Director

District Two

Mike Wetzel

Director

District Four

Board_Headshot-Butch_Segler-1200-400x534-f67ed73-BW

Leland Segler

Director

District Two

A Show-stopping year!

2022 proved to be an impressive and productive year for our cooperative! Throughout this report you will see some of the ways this is proven to be true. As the COVID-19 pandemic started to wind down, CTC was able to start hosting some events again. One of my favorite memories of the past year was bringing back the Taste of Technology Events.

Taste of Technology is a great way to go out into our communities to meet our members, share some food, and have a light discussion on our services. In 2022, our Taste of Technology Events were held at the Mission Town Hall, the Deerwood Auditorium, and the Pillager High School’s CTC Center. Our sales department was able to sign new members up on the spot, our expert technical staff answered all questions, and we got to have a few hours to interact and get to know our members a little more. We are looking forward to hosting Taste of Technology Events again, in 2023, and in years to come!

An exciting goal was reached this year on our membership side, we surpassed 17,000 members! It is exciting to see the growth and changes our cooperative has gone through, even just in the past year. I can only see the future becoming bigger and brighter with more opportunities. We thank each and every member for allowing us to serve you, and we thank you for your support!

Kirk Smith

Board Chairperson

819	Drops staked by CTC last year - this is the total number of homes, cabins, and businesses that received CTC fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections last year.
1,275	Square miles in CTC's service area.
365	Route miles of new fiber installed in 2022.
4,769	Total route miles of CTC fiber that traverses our service areas.

CTC’s Walk of Fame!

CHEERS TO 54 YEARS!

Thank you, Jerry Palm for your service to CTC.

In 2022, Jerry Palm officially retired. Jerry started his employment with CTC in 1968 after leaving the service. Jerry started as a lineman for CTC. Jerry witnessed CTC grow and evolve as technology expanded and improved throughout the decades. In fact, Jerry was the first employee who put in a touch-tone telephone! Jerry retired at age 57, in 1999, but later joined our Board of Directors and served on the board for almost 19 years. Combined with his years of service as an employee, he gave a grand total of 54 years to our cooperative! We thank you, Jerry, for your commitment and dedication! We hope you enjoy your retirement. It is well deserved!

THAT’S A WRAP!

Thank you, Mark Roach for 17 years!

In March 2022, our Chief Financial Officer, Mark Roach, retired after 17 years of service with CTC. Mark spent 40 years total in the telecommunications industry and was a very important asset to the cooperative. A few examples of Mark’s achievements during his time with CTC are as follows: Mark was able to secure low-interest loans to build fiber to the home network in our rural incumbent markets. During Mark’s years of employment, there was a 230% increase in revenue. Mark was a key component in CTC’s successful purchase of Crosby-Ironton (C-I) Communications, and he helped with the acquisition of the NESC network. Mark had years of accurate budgeting and clean audits, and he helped secure $25 million dollars in grant funding—just to name a few of the major projects he helped with. Thank you, Mark, for your loyalty to the cooperative and its members over the years.

Spotlight on Data & Internet Usage

Internet Traffic

In more recent years than others, the internet has not just been used as a tool for surfing the internet, gaming, and streaming, but it has become a true necessity. It has changed the way the world operates and is now used as a preferred method of communication for many. Almost everything we do now involves using the internet. From online banking to ordering dinner, taking classes for school, to even telehealth doctor appointments.

While internet usage has significantly increased in the past few years, we can assume quite a bit of that increase is due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to www.datareportal.com, “global internet users have climbed to 4.95 billion at the start of 2022, with internet penetration now standing at 62.5 percent of the world’s total population. Data shows that internet users have grown by 192 million (+4 percent) over the past year, but ongoing restrictions to research and reporting due to COVID-19 mean that actual growth trends may be considerably higher than these figures suggest.”

Traffic on CTC’s network during 2022

Cybersecurity

In 2022, Shawn Rasmussen headed up the CTC Cybersecurity team. Employees from various departments worked together to evaluate and improve CTC’s cybersecurity on a number of fronts. The team used the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to create a Cyber Risk Management Plan that encompasses network enhancements, physical security, employee training, and more. These efforts not only improve cybersecurity at CTC but also for our members!

DDoS Attacks

CTC’s network team prevented nearly 1,100 Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks directed at CTC members! An attack consists of bots and other bad actors bombarding a connection with the intention of overwhelming and crashing a device or server. The purpose can vary, but a successful attack can be a major disruption and can compromise a network’s security, potentially leading to further attacks

370 hours of cybersecurity training completed by CTC employees

93 Million emails filtered for members

13 Million spam messages blocked

66,000 Viral emails blocked

Stop the Presses! Newsworthy Notes

DEED Award

At the end of 2022, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced that they have awarded over $99 million through their Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program. There were 61 projects awarded throughout the state, with CTC awarded one of the grants. CTC received $4,857,030 in funding. This will be combined with an equal amount in matching funds from CTC, Cass County, City of Cloquet, City of Rice Lake, Gnesen Township, and Sylvan Township. Once this project is completed, the funds will provide internet services (with speeds up to 1Gig) to over 1,800 homes and businesses in portions of St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties. This will also increase communication options for businesses and residents, along with boosting economic development to the area.

“We’re incredibly excited about this award and the partnership that it represents,” said Kristi Westbrock, CEO/General Manager at CTC. “This project will be instrumental for families and businesses as well as for future economic growth in these communities. We look forward to providing everyone with fast, reliable internet and top-notch local customer service for years to come.”

Westbrock Appointed to FCC Working Group

In 2022, Kristi Westbrock was appointed by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to serve on the FCC’s Telecommunications Interagency Working Group. The 12-person group was formed because of the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act. This act was designed to develop recommendations that address the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry. Members of the group represent a variety of government and private entities. Part of the council was to prepare a report that includes recommendations to address the workforce needs and safety within the telecommunications industry.

“It’s a true honor to be selected to serve on this working group,” said Kristi Westbrock. I look forward to sharing my experiences around workforce safety and recruitment and collectively improve our industry’s future.”

Westbrock was selected to serve, based on a nomination that was submitted by CTC Board of Director’s Treasurer, Kathy Kobliska. This working group is a one-year commitment that became effective January, 14 2022.

Trip to the White House

In November 2022, CTC CEO/General Manager, Kristi Westbrock and Member Services Technician, Jeremy Przybilla headed to the White House in Washington D.C. to share information about careers in the broadband industry and to demonstrate how fiber strands are properly handled, spliced, and tested. This demonstration was part of the Talent Pipeline Challenge Expo.

The Talent Pipeline was introduced by the Biden-Harris Administration in mid-June 2022 and is a nationwide call to action for employers, education/training providers, and other entities to support workforce development in critical infrastructure sectors like broadband.

The Expo highlighted the careers that will be impacted and created because of the federal government’s $65 billion investment in broadband via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed into law in November 2021.

The funding of this law will support broadband infrastructure and offer programs to make internet access more affordable and accessible for families. This will also create thousands of new jobs in the broadband industry.

Award-Winning Cast & Crew

CTC takes pride in creating a work environment and culture that makes each employee want to get up and come to work every day. We want our employees to know that they are valued and appreciated. CTC hosts a variety of employee events throughout the year. Each summer we host a get together for all employees and their families at Northland Kart Kountry to go-kart race, play mini golf, hang out in the batting cages, ride the bumper boats, have a BBQ and more! This is the highlight of the summer! We also have various golf events throughout the summer that employees can sign up for, we host a drive in-movie night where dinner and a movie is provided for employees and their families, we offer volunteer opportunities, participate in area parades, and we throw an awesome holiday party.

Taste of Technology Events

In 2022, CTC hosted three ‘Taste of Technology’ events throughout our service area. These events were held in Merrifield, Deerwood, and Pillager. We had a good turn-out of member attendance, along with new potential members. Our staff answered questions, helped new customers sign up for services, BBQ style meals were served, and above all we had the opportunity to connect with our members and get to know them a little more. There were giveaway prizes, and free CTC swag available! We are looking forward to hosting three more Taste of Technology events in Summer 2023

That’s a Wrap!

2022 was a productive year as we were constructing fiber in a few different service areas. CTC was pleased to finish construction in these service areas: Aitkin, Crosby North/County Rd 11, Eveleth, Gull River South/Sylvan Township, Hibbing Area, Little Falls Area, and South Long Lake. We hope the businesses and residents of these areas are enjoying their service for, working, learning, streaming, shopping, gaming, and most of all CONNECTING with whomever they need, with our award-winning services!

Coming Attractions

Summer of 2023 is already proving to be a busy construction season. As we look ahead, CTC has plans to finalize construction and begin installations in our new service areas. The areas we are constructing in 2023 include County Road 13, Ojibwa Rd, Cuyuna Lakes Area, and Rice Lake Township. We look forward to completing these projects as soon as possible so our new members can be provided with our reliable, high-speed internet!

Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent, hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.

-Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson