Fast, Reliable Internet Helps Bring Cranberries From Bog to Table

Every fall, thousands of visitors head to Eagle River, Wisconsin, to tour Lake Nokomis Cranberries, where they can walk the marshes, learn how the berries are grown and taste the farm’s award-winning wines. The Zawistowski family has run the  marsh, winery and gift shop for more than five decades, and the business is now in its third generation.

Soon, Lake Nokomis Cranberries will again be a staple dish on Thanksgiving tables around the country. The Zawistowskis have plenty to be thankful for, too: a fast, reliable internet connection that keeps up with a working farm, a busy gift shop and festival crowds. They are among the more than 1.5 million rural homes and businesses Spectrum has connected to gigabit internet since 2021.

“When we got wired by Spectrum, that was the best decision ever,” said Dave Zawistowski, owner of Lake Nokomis Cranberries.

Running a 320-acre farm plus a busy festival season and retail shop takes serious bandwidth. Until recently, such a connection wasn't an option. The business, which markets its cranberries under the Ocean Spray and Mariani consumer brands, got connected to Spectrum Internet and Phone services in March 2025 after the Company’s rural expansion initiative reached the outskirts of Eagle River.

With its high-speed internet connection, the gift shop registers keep ringing during events like wine tastings, marsh tours and its annual cranberry fest, where uninterrupted point-of-sales are important. The same connection keeps the farm in lockstep with vendors, suppliers and logistic companies, so fresh cranberries reach our tables in time for the holidays.

"Having high-speed internet that doesn't lag has made our day-to-day operations much more efficient," said Michael Zawistowski, who manages the family's cranberry-growing operations. "I'm able to complete tasks faster, process customer transactions more consistently, and during large events our systems continue to perform smoothly without slowing down."

Lake Nokomis is one of more than 250 Wisconsin marshes, spanning 21,000 acres, that produce 4.8 million barrels of cranberries a year – over 60% of the entire U.S. crop, according to Dr. Gabby Myers, researcher at the Wisconsin Cranberry Research and Education Foundation.

"Internet supports day-to-day business operations, like communication, access to research, regulatory updates and marketing, while helping growers stay connected to markets and consumers," Dr. Myers said.

"That's our livelihood – Thanksgiving and cranberries," Dave added. "The biggest part of our crop is sold Thanksgiving week."

As America’s Internet Company®, Spectrum’s multi-year rural construction initiative is driven by more than $7 billion in private investment that will ultimately add 100,000+ miles of fiber network infrastructure and deliver symmetrical and multi-gigabit speeds to more than 1.7 million new locations across the country. In Wisconsin alone, Spectrum extended its network to reach an additional 42,000 new rural locations in 2025.

“Through rural expansion, we've brought reliable, multi-gigabit speeds to farms at prices that work for family operations,” said Mary Jane Zeske, Small Business Account Executive for Spectrum. “By supporting operations with our technology, it helps get food on our tables and supports America’s farmers.

 More information about Spectrum’s rural broadband initiative is available at www.spectrum.com/internet.