Here’s the latest news from Government Technology…
Now as part of that ongoing effort to bridge the digital divide, the city announced 117 “Wireless Minneapolis” hot spots for residents and visitors to access the Internet for no charge.
Just in time for my return to Minnesota. Great news! You can get a list of wi-fi locations from the City of Minneapolis web site.
Telecompetitor recently ran an interesting article that started talking about the Universal Service Fund and ended by describing a rural-rural digital divide…
Within the context of broadband, there are two rural Americas. Generally speaking, rural Americans served by small rural local telephone companies and/or co-ops tend to have very good access to broadband services (whether they actually subscribe to it is a different story). Rural Americans served by large tier one and tier two carriers like Qwest and Verizon may not be so lucky. As Gardner points out, “About two thirds of all housing units without broadband are located in the service territory of larger [companies like] Windstream, Frontier, CenturyLink, Qwest, and AT&T.”
(The comments to the article are particularly interesting to read.)
I’m tempted to just leave my post here because there are so many sides to the story but, if you had asked me about a rural-rural divide before I read the article, I would have thought about the folks who live in a town and the folks who live in the outskirts – beyond the reach of most providers.
What I don’t know is whether local service providers reach those folks better than bigger guys or are those folks in the outskirts are not counted in the local provider’s service area – where as the bigger providers may be painting their coverage areas with a wider paint brush. Also I feel like it’s dangerous to talk about “most local providers” because each provider is different, each town is different, each market is different.
While I haven’t talked to the Tekne folks, I always feel like an extended deadline is a good sign and I would love to see a strong broadband presence…
The Minnesota Tekne Awards honor companies, innovations and individuals that positively impact Minnesota’s technology-based economy. The Tekne Awards began in 2000, and are presented by the Minnesota High Tech Association, in partnership with the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, LifeScience Alley and Enterprise Minnesota.
Applying for a Tekne can bring extensive visibility to an organization and provides great opportunities to celebrate and promote products and leaders within an organization. Apply here.
Nominate a partner organization, vendor, client or individual in the high tech industry by clicking here.
You know the saying be careful what you wish for? We are still enthusiastic and thrilled that we were awarded ARRA funding for our BTOP project – but it has been a whirlwind. We have been seeped in MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) project since our launch in May. We thought we’d post monthly or so updates on the Blandin on Broadband blog just to keep everyone up on how it’s going.
Last week I was in Chicago with some of the Blandin Team at NTIA’s workshop for Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grantees. We heard from some heavy-hitting and inspiring speakers such as Department of Commerce Senior Advisor Rick Wade, NTIA Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and US Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.
Taking full advantage of the learning opportunities BTOP presents is a particular priority of NTIA. Strickling signaled NTIA’s interest and intent to move beyond measuring outputs to understanding the outcomes – the “So What” — of these investments. He said, “Shame on us,” if we squander the opportunity to learn from these investments, and to share what we’re learning. NTIA is working on processes to collect best practices and share them.
While talking about his passion for broadband, Quinn quoted the Old Testament: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Having known President Obama for a long time through their mutual association in Illinois politics, Quinn took pains to assert that the President has a big vision of the power of broadband. He can see the future and understands how important broadband is to that future. He doesn’t believe in a two-tiered system, he wants us to help him defeat the digital divide for the benefit of all Americans.
Back at home the whole MIRC team has been busy laying the groundwork for broadband adoption across the state. Our community coaches and champions, Bill Coleman and Karl Samp, have met with the 11 demonstration communities and even held Steering Committees meetings in most towns. All of the partners (demonstration communities, Regional Development Centers and service providers) have etched their master plan and goals in stone – or at least in a document we presented to the NTIA in Chicago.
We’re still getting a handle on all of the moving pieces and how each organization best fits in. We’re created an intranet of sorts using Ning, which has worked very well for us. We use it to post updates, questions and opportunities. For example the University of Minnesota Extension is looking for a Program Director to coordinate their MIRC activities.
We’ve started weekly webinars where we learn about specific service provider partners or talk about broadband trends or tools. We’ve really just started and we’re hoping to post any meetings that might be of interested to a broader audience that only MIRC partners. Also we’re working on a directory of technical assistance providers who serve rural Minnesota and help boost deployment or adoption of broadband. (In fact we’re collecting info on TA providers, if you are or know someone we should include, please let us know.)
It’s been great to see the communities share their progress with each other – especially shairng tips and suggestions. It’s easy to that right now we’re still moving parts – eventually the sum of the parts will be greater than total.
Remember when the Interent was new? Well I don’t remember when it was really new but I go back to about 1994 (when I was 12). Back then I used to do a lot of demonstrations of the Internet and talking about why you should care about it. I found the sure fire way to get people to care was to start by asking what else they cared about and then make a connection.
Reports indicate at least 95 percent of the US cares about the Internet or broadband now – but I think the tougher sale is why should we care about broadband policy. Well the Benton Foundation has come up with a tool to help both make the case to those who might care yet – and help those of us who already care to keep up on what’s happening with the National Broadband Plan.
The tool works like an electronic index to the National Broadband Plan, highlighting topics of potential interest and providing the broadband context and progress for those topics. For example, there is a section on Children and Families. In that section Benton has listed the 21 recommendations that impact the state of Children and Families. Each recommendation includes a concise and reader-friendly abstract of the recommendation and registered users have the ability to post comments. The comments feature should open the door to dialog among experts, practitioners and the public, which I think makes the tool more interesting for those of us predisposed to care about broadband policy.
Broadband Properties is offering a “complete broadband strategy webinar series” over the summer. They are free and appear to all run on Wednesdays at1 pm CDT. I thought that would be of interest to folks…
Here are the topics:
12 Steps to Move Broadband
From Ideas to Execution
Wednesday, July 7, 2 pm EDT
7 Ways to Make the Needs Assessment
Pay Dividends
Wednesday, July 21
Finding the Right Business Model for Community Broadband
Wednesday, August 4
Show Me the Money: Financing in Rough Economic Times
Wednesday, August 18
You Can Never Have Too Many Partners
in Broadband
Wednesday, September 1
When Broadband Becomes Political:
10-Point Survival Guide
Wednesday, September 22
The new Pew Report (Brining America Up to Speed: States’ Role in Expanding Broadband) is outlines what is, was, has happened and what could or maybe should happen with broadband in states – especially in context of what is happening on a federal level with the National Broadband Plan and the ARRA broadband funding.
It looks at the good (California and North Carolina are both cited for early and effective programs), the bad (Montana ranks dead last in State Internet speed) and the ugly (the direct cost of closing this gap is $23.5 billion, according to the Federal Communications Commission).
It recognizes and details some of the wonky and borderline incongruous federal versus state regulations. It tells some sad stories of when broadband wasn’t available – especially the story of a woman in an emergency room with not enough bandwidth to send her scans to a specialist in time for treatment. It tells some stories of success. It talks about ways that broadband can save money in the long run; and ways that states can make a difference (through policy especially in terms of rights-of-way) without spending money. For those of us seeped in broadband there aren’t a lot of surprises, but it’s a great document for policymakers and community leaders to get up to speed.
Minnesota gets a couple of nods. First we’re grouped with some other high flyers…
Early, well-established planning efforts have made a difference in states such as California, Minnesota and North Carolina, where coordination among a variety of stakeholders has helped facilitate statewide approaches to expanding access to and the use of broadband.
Then the Task Force is mentioned specifically…
Minnesota, for instance, created the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force, representing urban and rural parts of the state. The group’s final report, released in November 2009, recommended broadband access for all Minnesota homes and businesses by 2015, tax incentives for individuals, businesses and organizations to increase digital literacy and financial assistance for low-income people to pay for services.159 The legislature moved quickly to accept some of the recommendations, and in April 2010, Governor Pawlenty signed into law a bill that sets state broadband goals for deployment and speed, including universal access by 2015, with a minimum download speed of 10 to 20 megabits per second and an upload speed of at least 5 to 10 megabits per second.
We also get a nod in terms of alternative regulation
And Minnesota, Ohio and Vermont are among the states offering providers more flexible “alternative” regulation arrangements in exchange for broadband deployment commitments.128 Also called incentive regulations, these arrangements typically allow regulated providers to earn larger profits or relax the hurdles providers must clear when proposing rate increases, provided they meet performance targets.
and recognizing the needs of individuals with disabilities…
Minnesota also is taking steps to expand broadband adoption among individuals with disabilities and is working to guarantee that disabled persons are provided with access and use of state equipment and sites.
Now I feel a little like the woman who says – now why would I want to join a club that would invite the likes of me but I also feel like it’s important to appreciate the recognition for the good start – and use this report to move forward.
The Task Force did a terrific job and was I pleased to see the Governor sign the Broadband Bill with little dispute – but we’re at a crossroads and I’m not sure I see State Government moving us forward.
The best advice in the report comes from Jane Smith Patterson, executive director of North Carolina’s e-NC Authority…
“If you don’t have a group that is looking at [broadband] and keeping their eye on their target, your state will lose out in terms of its ability to have what I consider the technology of knowledge and information and light,” suggested Patterson. “It is desperately important that states have this capacity and capability.”
The Minnesota Task Force urged for the creation of such a group in Minnesota. The Minnesota Broadband Bill leaves the door open for a group- but does not mandate it. To move forward I think the State needs to get moving and create that group. Again according to Patterson, only 15 percent of states have a broadband group or authority – I suspect that those are the top states.
Why do we need a group? As the report repeatedly points out – the situation is different everywhere. Broadband adoption and deployment involves technology, terrain, regulation, population and so many other unique characteristics. There won’t be a cookie cutter answer than can be used in every state. So one will have to be created for each state. Also if you don’t have a local champion reminding folks about broadband, it gets lost. A simple example is the right-of-way issue and transportation. The dig once policy of laying down fiber with any new roads is great – but fiber is not necessarily on the minds of the transportation folks. The broadband folks have to be there to remind them.
Why do we need it at the State level? We have lots of good folks doing good work in Minnesota. Blandin Foundation has been supporting and promoting broadband in rural areas for year. The Knight Foundation has been involved in St Paul. Several local governments have become leaders in the field – such as Monticello, who may not have wanted that crown but has paved the way for municipal networks. But a State supported or sanctioned group would have an impact on policymakers that the others cannot and would send a message to people in and out of Minnesota that we were serious.
You can see other local reaction to the report in MPR’s Ground Level and a recent article in MinnPost.
Thanks to Chris Mitchell’s report on Sibley County’s plan for a feasibility study for keeping me in the know. According to the Gaylord Hub…
Sibley County Commissioners approved, on Tuesday, paying up to $40,000 to help fund a feasibility study for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) project. The funds come from TIF reimbursement from the City of Gaylord.
Up to $40,000 matching grant money will be provided by the Blandin Foundation. The feasibility study is expected to cost $60,000.
Bernadine Joselyn at the Blandin Foudnation spoke to me about the reasons that Blandin is supporting Sibley’s efforts…
This project is a great example of the importance of local leadership in making good things happen in community. People are any community’s most important asset. Blandin Foundation is privileged to be able to help support the forward-leaning thinking and planning in Sibley County. Money follows vision.
Again according to the Gaylord Hub, Sibley County plans to have a consultant in place to perform the feasibility study by mid-July and will have the study completed by October or November.
Thanks to my friends at Lac qui Parle EDA for sending me the lastest on their broadband application project…
The LqP Computer Commuter is the result of a grant project that began in early January of 2010. The Lac qui Parle County Economic Development Authority (LqP EDA) has been working on promoting and expanding broadband service within the county for the past two and one-half years. As a result of these broadband efforts Lac qui Parle County came to mind for Congressman Collin Peterson when he was approached by the TDF Foundation in late December 2009. The TDF Foundation was searching for a potential site to install a computer lab in rural Minnesota. This search included finding a community that would be willing to apply for one of their computer lab grants. When the call came into the LqP EDA, Director Pam Lehmann formed a task force (computer lab committee) to brainstorm ideas for a computer lab project in Lac qui Parle County. This task force determined that there was not just one town within our county in need of a computer lab – there were several. And the idea for a mobile computer lab was born!
In February an application was submitted to the TDF Foundation for a handicapped accessible mobile computer lab that would travel to the communities in Lac qui Parle County offering access to computers and to internet service for anyone in the area at no charge. The application included details of a plan to schedule specific days and times to be in each community. The unit would be open to people of all ages and folks with any level of computer experience. To help educate folks with little or no computer experience classes will be offered for small groups or individuals as needed. When available the unit could also be leased by area businesses/organizations wanting to do staff trainings without significant travel expenditures.
Upon receipt of the application the TDF Foundation was very intrigued by the concept of offering this lab in multiple locations within one county. Due to limited funding available, research began on the costs associated with a mobile unit and a secondary plan was established for transporting laptops to be used in each community as a portable lab. Conversations were had with residents regarding interest in this lab, and talks with Farmers Mutual Telephone and Frontier Communications regarding the overall project were very positive.
By the end of March, six of the communities expressed interest in supporting this project and having this service available to their residents and the surrounding rural residents as well. The communities of Bellingham, Boyd, Dawson, Madison, Marietta and Nassau each committed a site for use by the lab whether mobile or portable.
In April we received word that our application was nearing approval, but the cost of a mobile unit was significantly more than the TDF Foundation was able to fund. By the time the final agreements were ready to sign the “computer lab committee” agreed that an application should be submitted to the Blandin Foundation for their LightSpeed Grant Program to help fund the purchase of a mobile unit and the modifications needed. On May 14, 2010 an agreement was signed with the TDF Foundation for the computers and technology for a computer lab in Lac qui Parle County. On June 3, 2010 official notification from the Blandin Foundation was received that our grant request was approved.
Today the “computer lab committee” is working to find a unit to modify for the LqP Computer Commuter. The process to find a coordinator for this lab is also in the works and we hope to hire someone before the end of June.
Watch for more details on when the LqP Computer Commuter will be coming to your area!
Last year, I wrote about Adrian, Minnesota and their hopes for a local telepharmacy shops. Adrian had lost their local pharmacy a year before, at the time I last wrote then had just been received funding from Blandin Foundation to move forward with their plans. Well, the Nobles County Review just ran a nice update on the telepharmacy project in Adrian.
They start with the history and it’s interesting to see that the technology was only one hurdle – and in many ways the easiest hurdle to overcome. They needed the technological solution but once it came to them they needed legal permissions which meant getting a pharmacists from a neighboring town to join in (as you might imagine pharmacies are well regulated), they needed funding, they needed space and then they needed to sign up customer who had become accustomed to getting their medication from out of town.
Here’s a picture of how that’s going…
The telepharmacy in Adrian has been open for one year. The machinations of the telepharmacy are amazing. In a demonstration by pharmacy technician Erpestad, the steps for filling a prescription were shown. Erpestad receives prescriptions via escripts. Other prescriptions are via telephone, which must be accepted by a pharmacist. In such cases, pharmacist Bryan Hagen of Sterling Drug, Worthington, accepts those prescriptions. Through electronic labeling and cameras that photograph the process, prescriptions are filled. “It is almost 100% impossible to make a mistake using this system,” says Erpestad.
Once the prescription is filled, final verification and approval must be given by a pharmacist. Contact, via broadband connection and almost instantaneous, is made with the Worthington pharmacist. A final “OK” is given. At this point, if the pharmacist in Worthington needs to speak to the customer about the medication, a teleconference is done right in the Adrian store. A customer can speak directly to the pharmacist, via the monitor and telephone receiver [to ensure privacy]. According to a local customer, “I can receive a prescription at the Adrian Clinic and by the time I get to the telepharmacy on Maine Street, the prescription has already been filled – it is very fast!”
Here’s the latest from the Star Tribune’s Hot Dish Politics…
DFL -endorsed gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher continues to rack up the union endorsements.
On Tuesday, her campaign announced she’d gotten the nod from the Communications Workers of America MInnesota State Council, the president of which praised Kelliher for her “commitment to bringing high-speed broadband to every community in Minnesota.”
I try to post anything I see related to broadband and the candidates, campaigns or elections (mostly in MN). If something it posted on your favorite candidate and I miss it, please feel free to send it to me.
OK I know this is not broadband (although it seems like it could be in the future depending on how the Universal Service Fund discussions go) but I thought there were enough readers who might be in a position to spread the word so I’m posting it. I got the word through an email announcement from Representative Andrew Falk.
National Lifeline and Link-Up Telephone Discount Awareness Week
September 13-17, 2010
Lifeline and Link-Up are programs that provide discounts on basic residential telephone service to low-income consumers. It is important in these difficult financial times to get the word out about assistance that is available to help people stay afloat. At least half of eligible consumers nationwide do not take advantage of these telephone discounts.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners has adopted the second full week in September as National Lifeline and Link-Up Telephone Discount Awareness Week for state utility commissions, consumer advocates, and others to call attention to the availability of these programs.
Lifeline involves discounts on the monthly charges, and Link-Up involves a discount on the cost of initiating telephone service. The discount is available for a primary residential telephone, even some wireless phones. The basic federal Lifeline discount is as much as $10 per month, and Minnesota provides an additional discount over and above that.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission asks your help to make this information on these programs available to your constituents. One way would be to add a link on your website to http://www.lifeline.gov which has program information. Another way would be to use the text below which is ready to drop into a newsletter:
Find out about the Minnesota Telephone Service Discount Programs!
There are three programs with one simple application for all three:
LINK-UP: A federally-funded discount on telephone installation charges
LIFELINE: A federally-funded discount on your monthly bill
TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE PLAN (TAP): A Minnesota-funded discount on your monthly bill
To qualify for these programs:
1. Telephone service must be in your name
2. You must participate in at least one of the qualifying public assistance programs
OR
Your income must be at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines
For an application or more information:
Ø contact your phone company
Ø go online at www.puc.state.mn.us or www.lifeline.gov
Ø call the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission at 651-296-0406 or 1-800-657-3782
Ø e-mail consumer.puc@state.mn.us
I’ve been trying to keep an eye on what’s happening in terms of the Minnesota Broadband Bill across the state. I must admit, I haven’t seen a ton happening at the State level – but it’s clearly had an impact on providers and community leaders. Last week I wrote about an editorial in the Grand Forks Herald where Ann Temte talks about the Broadband Bill and local (NW MN) efforts to have an impact on federal plans.
This week I have an article mostly about a provider (Mankato-based Hickory Tech) talking about how they measure up to the goals set out by the Broadband Bill. Well, it features a couple of providers and two Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force members (Brent Christensen and Jack Geller).
The article makes the point that Hickory Tech and other providers have done well by the communities they serve. In terms of Hickory Tech…
In the past decade, Mankato-based HickoryTech went from zero DSL customers to 19,500 and went from no digital TV customers to 10,000. And in that time, the company has increased its DSL speeds 15 times.
And
HickoryTech recently announced the expansion of its fiber-optic network to Sioux Falls and Fargo. The expansion will add 350 fiber route miles to HickoryTech’s existing 2,400 fiber route miles.
And in terms of other providers…
“In rural areas, we’ve kept up very well compared to our urban counterparts,” says Christensen, whose family owns the Madelia Communications company that began nearly a century ago as the local phone company.
“We had broadband in Madelia before they had it in parts of the (Twin Cities) suburbs. It’s the economic lifeblood of small communities.” Christensen recalls the value of broadband to local businesses as the firm began offering it over dial-up service in 2000. The local Polaris dealer needed faster speeds to process warranties and other information Polaris needed. And the House of Print, a printing firm in Madelia, was one of the first to get high-speed Internet.
I think it’s worth nothing that both providers are (or at least started out) local. They are close to the ground and listen to what their customers need. The article clearly applauds the efforts of local providers and the fact that they have done well to get access to 94 percent of the state’s population.
Thanks to John Schultz for the heads up on tonkaconnect. According to their web site…
tonkaconnect is an initiative of the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission. Our objective is to bring community owned and operated, world-class access to television/video, Internet and telephone services to every residence, business, library, school, city, public safety organization in our members’ and affiliate cities’ areas
Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission (LMCC) actually includes the following cities (not just Minnetonka) Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenwood, Independence, Long Lake, Loretto, Maple Plain, Medina, Minnetonka Beach, Minnetrista, Orono, St. Bonifacius, Shorewood, Spring Park, Tonka Bay, Victoria and Woodland.
Earlier this month (June 5), they held a workshop on fiber to the home, which is available in video online! It’s about 2.5 hours. It starts with a basic introduction to fiber and broadband. It included a panel that featured Jeff O’Neill from Monticello, Chris Mitchell from Institute for Local Self Reliance and David Russell from Calix. They were a nice combination – especially if you’re a proponent of FTTH and municipal/community networks. Jeff knows so much from experience leading the effort in Monticello; few people know fiber as well as David and Chris recently released a research report on municipal networks.
There was a lot of discussion after the panel on the importance of broadband – recognizing that broadband isn’t a number necessarily but it means having the bandwidth you need to do what you want/need online. Finally they talk specifically about their plans to move forward. I won’t go into the details – but the lead up to the main course of technology-policy-financing makes it fairly palatable. (Or at least as palatable as something like that is going to be.)
Their next step will be going to each community to see how much interest (and money) is available in member communities to move forward. They are thinking that they will create a nonprofit organization to run the FTTH plan in association with LMCC – but they need more feasibility studies to determine if this makes sense.
The video is seems to target policy makers and community leaders – not necessarily techies. So it might be helpful for folks who are looking to get up to speed. Also despite the fact that the areas covered are pretty suburban – the issues specific to rural areas come up. Finally – the questions that folks ask near the end are also very valuable, especially to a community looking at a community-owned network.
I just read an article that I think it super valuable for anyone looking to develop (or modify) a local broadband strategy. It comes from a speech John Horrigan gave in Baltimore earlier this month.
First he gives a great synopsis of the National Broadband Plan, then he summed up how the National Broadband could be applied locally. Here’s the super quick notes from his talk – but the speech isn’t very long so if you have a five free minutes, I highly suggest reading it.
Let me now turn to a series of points about what cities can do to take advantage of this broadband moment in the United States. Convening an event such as this is the first step, but we need to think about a course for the future. Here is a list of ideas:
1) Understand the broadband environment in the city.
a) This also means assessing existing capacity in the city. Where does infrastructure run? What are the existing initiatives designed to provide training on how to use computers and broadband?
b) Relevant to this point is a recent announcement about broadband planning and states.2) Lower the cost of deploying infrastructure in the city.
3) Support broadband access at city libraries.
4) Explore partnerships.
5) Understand & contribute to best practices around the country.
6) Undertake efforts to use broadband to improve services – such as education, energy, and government.
7) Monitor & Assess Programs.
It’s not rocket science, but it’s a great starting point.