Thanks to Becky LaPlant for passing this on to me an article/blog from Geoff Daily’s and helping me make the connection fromto the Iron Range Fibernet in Northern Minnesota…

Geoff Daily has written a heartening response to the speech FCC Commissioner Michael Copps gave at the YearlyKos convention. As Daily said, his response really stems from Copps’ claim that broadband in the US is ‘so poor that every citizen in the country ought to be outraged.’

I’ve heard so much debate from folks who either agree completely with Copps or from folks who are in complete disagreement and seem to think that the US is doing well and will emerge on top of the charts soon.

Daily’s response is much more balanced. We need work, he seems to say – but let’s not forget about the communities that are doing well. He specifically mentions UTOPIA and AT&T UVerse and Verizon FiOS communities.

I’d like to mention some of our own standout Minnesota communities:

Windom with its state of the art network
FiberNet, who is building (OK planning) a fiber network for 12 communities in Northern MN

I know that others are planning (either in their communities or in their businesses) to provide true high speed access soon. I like the idea of celebrating these efforts and learning from them.