Daily Archives: May 21, 2008

Home and Community Options, Inc.

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Light Speed Grant Recipient

Peter Walsh, Project Coordinator

Project Update

May 21, 2008

 

 

The new news is that we have been playing with our IP Video with two-way audio.  Not quite video conferencing but quite workable.  The fiber connection between the two sites really enhances performance.  When I ran the same configuration via the cable modem the delay was objectionable but over the fiber it was almost non existent.  My next step is to train a staff person and her supervisor so they can conduct some supervision via the IP video.  We also intend to experiment with a real video conferencing solution.  We will get to that next month.

 

The staff training is in its final stages and we are just rounding up our stragglers so we can have attained a uniform base level of competency.  It is so encouraging to hear the staff verbalize their satisfaction and to have them reinforce the importance of everybody getting the training.

 

We now have eight sights implementing our eFile program.  We have four sights fully implemented, four about 75% implemented and we have another two just starting the process.  This system enables a program to go completely paperless with all of the required documentation and standardizes all the forms and templates across all programs.  Another side benefit that we just realized was how much it reduced training of existing employees who transfer from one program to another.  We just had one staff who had been using the eFile switch to a new program and there was no lag time at all as the eFile was the same in her new program.

 

Our remote monitoring program is progressing slowly, but progressing.  We have now solved our IP Intercom problem and by the end of June we should have full duplex audio streaming out of our test facility.  This is quite a robust application and we are anxious to start testing other facets of it.

light speed communityThe Blandin Foundation is supporting four standout broadband programs through the Light Speed program. The program’s purpose is to stimulate the deployment of bandwidth intensive applications that connect local institutions to area resident’s home. This post comes from a Light Speed community leader.

Ireland needs broadband for businesses

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irish sheepThanks to Bernadine Joselyn for passing on the recent article on the economic development and broadband (Lack of broadband hampers new business start-ups) from Silicon Republic.

The article talks a little bit about something I know – business startups in Ireland could be higher if access to broadband was better. Apparently less than 90 percent of Ireland has access to broadband.

Bartley O’Connor, associate director of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ireland claims, “This is affecting business start-ups, not just end users. There could be hundreds more businesses in the country if not for the lack of broadband. People are losing out.”

Well, I live in suburban Dublin (or as my husband who grew up here says, “an urban village”) and I have broadband – but I can tell you that I can upload only one minute of video to YouTube at a time. So the broadband even in this pretty upper scale suburb ain’t great. I work with a couple of businesses here and it’s quite common for them to mail me CDs with graphics for their web sites rather than email them because the email just can’t take a few attachments.

I can’t imagine what it’s like in rural areas. Now I just reported that I did find broadband in the Aran Islands and it’s tough to get more remote than an Island off the coast of Galway – but that is an area heavily invested in tourism. I know we drove through many areas that were not served well.

In some ways I think that Ireland still wrestles with the romantic view of thatched cottages and sheep farmers – and they are still here – but it’s tough to run a business based on that vision. To sell the sheep you need to be online these days.

I do read more about the need for broadband in the popular press here. They do have a national strategy, even if it has yet to be implemented. The government plays a larger role in day to day life here – providing everything from TV shows to garbage collection so in some ways I think that the road will be smoother for them when they do get serious. They won’t have the challenges that we have in the US of vendors who are invested in the market’s status quo.

TISP June 19, 2008 10:00 to 3:30 pm

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If only this were happening a week later, I could attend. It looks like a great event…

“The Imperative Need for Big Broadband: The Future Is Now”

The focus of this conference is on the future. Where is broadband headed? What is the best path for helping communities find their own broadband future? How much broadband capacity should communities seek? What should be the public role in meeting the broadband challenge? What can cities do? What will be the contribution of the private sector players?

Keynote Speaker:

Jim Baller will speak on “Broadband in the Years Ahead: A White Paper”
Jim Baller is a leading voice in the broadband arena who has been a consistent champion of communities wishing to find a better broadband future for their residents. He speaks and writes regularly about the key issues of the day and his web log is an invaluable tool for all who want to inform themselves about breaking developments. Question and answer to follow.

Conference sessions will focus on:
Leaders discussing the lessons learned from Monticello and Windom (invited) projects about launching a municipal fiber optics network

Getting the economics right—the key to a successful fiber build featuring

Doug Dawson, CCG Consulting,
Ralph McGinley, Oppenheimer and Co.
Gary Evans, President, Hiawatha Broadband Communications

Closing Session:
Open Forum on Minnesota’s Digital Future
E-Mail Pre-Registration: $30.00 (includes lunch)
Payment only on day of conference (check or cash)

RSVP: Matt Schmit at mschmit@umn.edu or 612-626-0545

Sponsors:

Telecommunications and Information Society Policy Forum
Hiawatha Broadband Communications
Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association
Oppenheimer and Company
Regional Broadband Task Force