Monthly Archives: July 2010

ARRA funding to deaf and hard of hearing broadband services

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Thanks to Ann Higgins on the heads up on the latest ARRA-funded project. It’s not in Minnesota but I’m glad to see that our neighbors to the west (South Dakota) are involved.

Here’s a little bit about the porject from the recipient (CSD) web site…

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced on July 19 that CSD has been awarded a sustainable broadband contract as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The contract, totaling $14.9 million over two years, enables CSD to implement a nationwide marketing initiative consisting of a combination of discounted broadband, technology training, and public access to videophones at anchor institutions for the underserved key population of deaf and hard of hearing people. CSD has named this two-year campaign Project Endeavor.

CSD expects to add 60 new staff, most of them proficient in sign language, to its contact center in Sioux Falls for voice, text, and video-enabled call support. CSD will also provide web-based visually accessible training content, along with a primary-residence connect plan that includes the last mile provider of choice available in that area. Project Endeavor will distribute customer premise equipment — like netbooks — to enable visual communications and access to next-generation remote video services. Overall, Project Endeavor provides a gateway to remote interpreter or captioning services, employment and job-seeking skills, and more readily available human services, by bringing broadband access to deaf and hard of hearing people who do not currently have that access.

I’m looking forward to learning more about the project and services available to deaf and hard of hearing people. Just to try to bring myself up to speed a little, I checked out the National Association of the Deaf. They had great page outlining the benefits of broadband to the deaf and hard of hearing community; they also had information on some of the challenges, specifically highlighting the drawbacks of online video in terms of access to closed captioning. (Podcasting and other audio files would presumably have the same challenges.) It’s something to consider the next time you’re posting information up in those formats.

I was also drawn into the CSD site and their remote sign language interpretation service. It might not be realistic but I love the idea of a handheld with broadband and interpreter available much like TTY support is available now – and you’d have an interpreter in your pocket. And who’s to say we’d need to stop with sign language?

Broadband called out as important topic in Gubernatorial Race

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Minneapolis Star Tribune today ran an editorial that calls out the importance of broadband and the importance of broadband policy specifically vis a vis the upcoming election and the Governor’s Race. They list a couple of issues they see as getting in the way of broadband expaion in Minnesota…

  • The state still has a piecemeal strategy — one relying too much on individual city or county initiative or luck getting grants — for making high-speed Internet available across wide swaths of Minnesota.
  • An antiquated state law also stands in the way of communities that want to pursue their own version of FiberNet Monticello. With research increasingly demonstrating that high-speed service boosts rural economic development, communities underserved by current providers should not be held back by the unfair 65 percent threshold for popular support the law requires to go forward. A simple majority would suffice.

They go on to really highlight the importance of raising the issue in the Gubernatorial race and give a nod to Tom Horner for getting the discussion going…

So far, broadband speed and access has been a sleeper issue in this year’s watershed governor’s race. That needs to change. A landmark paper this year by Jed Kolko of the Public Policy Institute of California solidly linked broadband to employment growth, particularly in rural areas where it’s needed most. Bristol, Va., is a compelling real-world example of jobs following high-speed networks. The fiber optic cable laid by a utility there played a key role in Northrop Grumman and the consulting firm CGI hiring 700 people in the area.

Too often the link between jobs and Internet speeds goes unrecognized. This is not about surfing faster on the Web; it’s about building technological infrastructure for the state’s current and future businesses, institutions and entrepreneurs.

Going for the Gig in Cleveland

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Earlier this week I wrote about the mixed reviews of programs that put computers in homes to boost grades. One issue that came up was that sometimes those programs weren’t enough – that students not only needed a fishing pole, they needed someone to teach them how to fish.

Well I just read an article on the Case Connection Zone in Cleveland, where the city and the university have teamed together to deploy 1 GB per second Internet access to more than 1,500 facilities. Their focus is a little different.

Apparently they had hoped for ARRA funding to expand a program already in place. They didn’t get funding but have forged ahead with their plan. The network has been built and now the university plans to study the impact on the neighborhoods.

Here’s a snapshot of the neighborhoods they are reaching:

72 percent of the households neighboring Case Western Reserve lacked Internet access; 60 percent of the residents were on food stamps, and 80 percent of young children were enrolled in Medicaid. “Most of these people who live in the homes are not the owners of these homes…”

They plan to look at…

four areas: neighborhood and community safety; health care and wellness; energy management and sustainability; and improving the competency of high school-age students in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math).

It doesn’t sounds as if there’s necessarily an emphasis on training folks on how to use computers – but there was mention of how they are making the network immediately useful. The homes have been outfitted with smart metering technology, which researchers hope will help with smart grid planning. Also there is an emphasis on health care…

Certain residents will be able to use networked medical devices like scales, glucometers and blood pressure cuffs to see if they improve home health care.

It will be interesting to see what the researchers find in each of their areas of investigation. Will the fast network also boost education and safety? The plan reminds me of the folks from Einhoven talking about their network at the 2009 Blandin Broadband conference. I remember them saying that they served every home because of the savings the government was able to recoup both in terms of remote healthcare monitoring and things such as smart grid management. (You may recall that Eindhoven made the Top Seven Smart community list determined by the Intelligent Community Forum. The connection appears to be no accident at the Case Western Reserve CIO Lev Gonick wrote a paper for the Intelligent Community Forum when the Cleveland network was being built.)

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner mentions broadband

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According to the Sebeka Menahga Review Messenger, Independence Party candidate Tom Horner attended numerous community events in Wadena, Hubbard, Otter Tail and Cass counties. He specifically mentioned broadband access in rural areas. (My goal is to highlight every time I see broadband mentioned in a Minnesota context – so whenever I see a candidate, any candidate, mention broadband I’ll highlight it. If your favorite candidate mentions it and I miss it, please send the mention my way.)

Here’s the mention…

He spoke of a new model for home-centered health care currently being developed by health care professionals. It is a model heavily dependent on the use of telemonitoring in the home to prevent an illness from reaching the point that hospitalization is required.

“We have to get ultra speed broadband access around the state. We need high speed internet access. Most rural areas are still dial-up, and this kind of medical service cannot be provided through dial up.”

He also sees technology playing a role in improving the public school system, with online interactivity that has a student designing his learning program under the guidance of the teacher.

On a semi-related note, Senator Al Franken also mentioned broadband this week…

Senator Franken then moved onto the subject of creating jobs by improving the US infrastructure such as roads and bridges. He also spoke on improving national broadband, noting that America had slipped behind other countries in broadband roll out and upgrades.

Blandin to help cities in Sibley and Renville Counties explore FTTH

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Today we are pleased to announce our recent support for a FTTH feasibility study to cover portions of Sibley and Renville Counties. If your community is interested in looking at such an opportunity, please check out our web site.

Here’s the official announcement…

The Blandin Foundation Board of Trustees recently approved a Robust Broadband Network (RBN) feasibility grant of $40,000 to aid the seven cities in Sibley County and one city in Renville County in their mission to create a Fiber To The Home (FTTH) network.

The funding, which will be instrumental in moving the area forward in the digital age, was the result of a competitive application and review process. The Blandin Foundation is committed to supporting programs that enrich the quality of life in rural communities. “Without this grant, it would have been difficult to get the communities to come together,” said Mark Erickson, city administrator-EDA director for the City of Winthrop, the lead organization in the Robust Broadband Networks application.

With a population of over 15,500 in Sibley County, consisting of seven cities – Arlington, Gaylord, Gibbon, Green Isle, Henderson, New Auburn and Winthrop – the number of people served by the grant is significant. The city of Fairfax is included in the project because they are part of the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (GFW) school district. Other sources of funding will come from a matching grant from Sibley County, the Fairfax EDA and possibly Renville County.

“Rural communities facing incremental population decline and shrinking revenues are often too cautious to risk scarce dollars on a study examining the feasibility of new technology. The grant opportunity provided by the Blandin Foundation not only lends credence to the message that technology can make rural communities better prepared for the future it also makes the undertaking affordable,” said Erickson.

The application of a Robust Broadband Networks Feasibility study to provide a voice, video and data network within and between the cities, and the possible construction of a FTTH network is in progress. Selection of the firm that will conduct the feasibility study is underway and will be announced yet this month.

State-of-the-Art in State Broadband Planning: Webinar on Monday July 19

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I thought folks would be interested in the following webinar. Blandin Foundation’s Bernadine Joselyn has been preparing for her part and shared a little bit of her plans with me. Based on her comments I think this session will be valuable for anyone involved with planning events, especially technology events but really any events because they’ll cover subjects such as choosing the right people to motivate, getting them to the table and capitalizing on their skills and talents to expand broadband. Here’s the official announcement…

Find out how statewide broadband summits are being used to build momentum, create a vision, and move the broadband planning process forward. Featuring:

1. Robert Donnelly, State of Missouri
2. Bernadine Joselyn, Blandin Foundation
3. Luc Miron, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4. Jane Smith Patterson, e-NC Authority
5. Angela Wu, State of Washington

Date: Monday, July 19, 2010 Time: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM EDT
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/599448738

Computers in the Home? Good, bad or ugly? Depends on how we adopt

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A few people have been sending me links to a recent article in the NY Time: Computers at Home: Educational Hope vs. Teenage Reality. Here’s an excerpt that I think reflects the article as a whole…

Economists are trying to measure a home computer’s educational impact on schoolchildren in low-income households. Taking widely varying routes, they are arriving at similar conclusions: little or no educational benefit is found. Worse, computers seem to have further separated children in low-income households, whose test scores often decline after the machine arrives, from their more privileged counterparts.

The article specifically draws from three research studies:

In short the reports found that students grades declined in every area except computer use. Hmmm. The article was countered recently by folks at Computers for Youth and in email exchange among BTOP recipients a few other counter-studies were mentioned (like the following, not necessarily these reports):

  • The Internet and Education: Pew surveys teens and parents, most report using computers/Internet for homework. Only 6 percent of parents think Internet has been harmful to their kids. (The report does not focus on income differentials.)
  • Really Good News About Your Children’s Video Games: Mark Prensky, a proponent of gaming and computers in schools talk about how video games are not the enemy, but the best opportunity we have to engage our kids in real learning.

I was tempted to ask folks to chime in to say how they feel. Are computers a help or hindrance (still would be happy to hear it)? But a colleague at Blandin Foundation (Mary Magnuson) had a better approach…

It would probably be worthwhile to find out what sort of training or support would be useful to families to take full advantage of the educational benefits of a computer. How to make it help and not hinder them.

Especially when working with lower income households I think her point is excellent. (Computers for Youth call these wrap-around programs .) No amount of training in the world will give parents the time they need to help and monitor kids – but at least when I have the time I also have the experience and training to work with my kids on the computer. There are programs out there and I think the ARRA (BTOP) funding will help both develop and promote others. I think it’s a matter of seeing what works.

I think it also makes sense to get teachers involved. The final line of the NY Times struck me…

When devising ways to beat school policing software, students showed an exemplary capacity for self-directed learning. Too bad that capacity didn’t expand in academic directions, too.

I think this points out that kids who use computers are prepared to learn differently – and more importantly perhaps not flourishing via traditional approaches. Teaching has always been a hard job and straddling the front lines of the digital divide is not making it easier. But it’s time. There are great resources for learning to use technology in the classroom – but it’s going to take a shift and unless parents shift too it will be a painful shift.

Finally, I think we can get the game developers in on the action too.  There has been great research (such as Prensky above) that talks about the potential for gaming in education – but I think my favorite example was the discussion on ShalshDot on the NY Times article and the plea from the inside for developers to step up to the plate.

There used to be a program in the schools called “Everybody wins when adults read to kids” maybe we need an “Everybody wins when we wraparound kids”. I’m thinking about technology specifically but obviously that can be broadened.

Some Minneapolis hot spots are hot, some are not

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I reported a couple of weeks ago that Minneapolis had announced 117 free wi-fi spots in the City as part of their citywide network and an effort to bridge the digital divide. Well, Sheila Regan from the Twin Cities Daily Planet did a little investigative reporting. She went around to a number of the 117 hotspots to see how it was working.

The first lesson was that the free network is USIW Free WiFi *not* the City of Minneapolis Public WiFi. You need to provide a credit card to get into the system and the network is not readily available in all 117 places yet. (Apparently there are homeland security reasons that they require the credit card.)

But once Sheila caught onto the intricacies, it seems as if she enjoyed the free public network. (And since she went through the rough patches, we don’t have to!)

Rural Sourcing in Eveleth and Sebeka

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Thanks to John Schultz for the heads up on the latest article on on-shoring from CNN Money, Forget India, outsource to Arkansas. The article outlines the trend of businesses looking to rural areas for skilled, low-cost labor – otherwise known as rural sourcing.

The idea is simple. We have folks who need jobs in the US. Folks in rural areas don’t need the same salary as folks in metropolitan areas because the cost of living is lower. They claim 23 percent lower…

Launched in 2004, Rural Sourcing Inc. sets up shop in mid-size cities that are near universities — places like Jonesboro, where the average IT salary is $35,000, versus $65,000 in a large metro area. The cost of living in Jonesboro is also 23% less than the U.S. average

One advantage of hiring locally is that everyone is working in the same time zone – so if there’s an issue you can handle it immediately. The article also mentions the risk of misunderstandings due to cultural differences and risk of working with people who have difference business and security laws.

The article features one Minnesota company, CrossUSA. We’ve written about them before, but it’s always fun to read about Minnesotans who are doing well…

Meanwhile, CrossUSA in Burnsville, Minn., recruits experienced, older IT workers who are nearing retirement for its 100-employee operations in Sebeka, Minn., (population 700) and Eveleth, Minn., (population 3,000).

The draw for workers is the chance to make their money stretch as far as possible prior to retirement. “They’re trying to figure out the best way to finish their careers, and some people want a small-town quality of life,” says John Beasley, CrossUSA’s director of business development.

CrossUSA is growing at a 7% annual clip, with $9 million in sales last year. Its turnover rate is low — in a town of 3,000 people, who can woo away your employees?

Does government support municipal networks?

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Thanks to Mike Horwath for the heads up on today’s article in Ars Technica on the mixed messages cities are getting from the government on municipal networks. As they point out in the article, the federal government is supporting municipal networks – most obviously with the ARRA broadband awards. As they also point out, the states have been less supportive.

The article includes a nice map detailing the differing level of barriers state put up to cities looking to provide broadband services. More than half of the states have no barriers in place, only four have outright bans, three others have de facto bans and the rest have some barriers. (Minnesota falls into the some barriers category.)

A couple of Wisconsin towns with municipal networks are featured – and the tell the story of why (and to some degree how) towns get involved in providing broadband services. The article highlight comes in the form of a simple reader comment…

If I move, this map will play a role in my decision on where to go.

Rural Internet Use featured in American Behavioral Scientist

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I have been holding onto the following bibliography for a while, hoping that I might be able to track down the actual articles, but so far I’ve read just one. The May 2010 issue of the American Behavioral Scientist (53,9), “The Internet in Rural North American Life” edited by Michael J. Stern, Jessica Collins, and Barry Wellman, is now available online. The papers address substantive and methodological issues regarding the place of the internet in daily life, in general, with a specific focus on rural places and their unique qualities. The articles focus on topics such as geographic isolation, community cohesion, social networks, technological diffusion, and challenges for survey research.

The unfortunate thing is that this issue is not available online for free. I was able to track down one article: The Diffusion of Internet Technologies to Rural Communities: A Portrait of Broadband Supply and Demand. The authors look at how various community characteristics (age, education, rural vs urban, broadband availability) contribute to the digital divide. They track communities in Oklahoma in 2003 and 2006. Then they offer policy suggestions to help boost adoption.

It’s interesting and if you love numbers, this article is for you. They start with the Theory of Diffusion or how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures. Then they slice and dice statistics to try to track what are the key factors in deciding who gets broadband. (I mean that in every sense of get.) It turns out that rural-urban difference in and of itself wasn’t such a big factor – but rural areas are just the home to the demographics that don’t get broadband – such as age and education attainment. It turns out that while income is still a factor, it’s less of a factor than it was in 2003. (The study did not look at cost as a factor in broadband adoption.) Like income, access to broadband is an issue, but it not a big issue.

Their policy suggestion is to focus on demonstrating the benefits of the technology to groups known to be late adopters. One the demand is increased it will make sense to target access – of course with increased demand it also makes sense that the market would be pick up some slack. While the article doesn’t necessarily spell it out I think in time more areas will get coverage regardless – although I guess the question is whether they’ll get the broadband to meet the needs today or in the future.

So there’s a taste of one article from the American Behavioral Scientist. If you have access to an academic library, you may be able to get access but the articles were so on topic, I had to mention them. I have provided a list of the articles with quick annotations.

Continue reading →

Blandin Fall Broadband Conference October 13-14

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We’re really excited about this year’s conference. Last year much of the talk revolved around what if we got ARRA funding, what if the Minnesota broadband bill passed, what if… This year we have some answers and we’re ready to move forward to cultivate a culture of broadband use…

The Blandin Foundation believes that broadband is the essential utility of the 21st century, and plays major role in improving our communities and our quality of life.

Vital rural economies demand connected rural communities; cultivating connections is what this year’s conference is all about.

See you in October! Bernadine Joselyn

October 13-14
The Lodge at Brainerd Lakes Baxter, MN

Broadband 2010: Cultivating a Culture of Use

This year’s Blandin Broadband Conference spotlights communities across Minnesota that are Cultivating a Culture of Use through ARRA broadband funding. Their goal is ambitious – to create technologically and economically vital rural communities, competing and thriving in the broadband economy, with sustainable broadband adoption, job growth and wealth creation.

We will hear from experts, researchers, students and folks in the field who are creating programs to help boost broadband use in their communities. We will also have time and space for attendees to ask questions and tell their stories, and follow up on the work of the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Taskforce to answer the question, “Where are we now – one year later?”

Keynote by Robert Stephens

Predicting the future is easy. Predicting when it occurs….that’s the hard part. Robert Stephens

We’re delighted to offer Geek Squad founder Robert Stephens as our keynote speaker this year.

More to come about the focus of his talk. For now, we thought you would enjoy watching this interview, Robert Stephens on Broadband, with Mike O’Connor.

Co-working in Grand Rapids

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Thanks to Bernadine Joselyn for the heads up on Grand Rapids co-working project. Here’s the news from Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President, Bud Stone…

The Chamber is working with the Depot to create a shared professional work- space for business professionals. It will be located in the eastern one-third of the Depot in down town Grand Rapids. It is designed to meet the needs of microbusinesses, freelancers, home-office workers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, tech workers, writers, software engineers, web developers, consultants, designers, and other professionals whose work doesn’t fit into a normal office template. Co-workers receive access to a reliable office space with a unique modern community of professionals. Amenities will include High-speed wireless internet, good coffee, conference room, lounge areas, large windows and natural light, ample free parking, formal and informal networking opportunities, walking distance to neighborhood shops and restaurants, 24/7 key card access for full time members, lockable storage lockers and productive, functional, affordable working space. Shared work- space is a fairly new concept in the Grand Rapids Area. It takes the best elements of a coffee shop, (social, energetic, creative), and the best elements of a work-space (productive, functional, private) and combines them to give independent workers the chance to have their own, affordable work-space. There will be full time members with 24/7 access, part time members who may use the space a couple of times per week and social members who may want to use the space once or twice a month. Drop-ins will always be welcome. A decision to move forward with this innovative idea will be made within the next few weeks.

Bud is looking for local folks who might be interested in learning more, so if you fit the mold of the new model of mobile worker who needs a professional space to function and you are interested in exploring this creative opportunity, please contact the Chamber.

I think this is a great idea. Grand Rapids isn’t the first community in Grand Rapids to look into co-working centers. They seem to be popping up in several communities.

More on Zayo/Anoka County ARRA award

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It will be fun to learn more about the Minnesota programs that were awarded ARRA Broadband money. Here’s more info on the Zayo award to start. Two things I found intresting. First County Commissioner Robyn West, quoted below, was a member of the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force. I remembered that she came is saying she didn’t consider herself an expert in broadband but left with a better understanding of its importance – so I have to think this project’s success is an unintended ripple from the Task Force.

Second, it was been interesting to see Anoka’s plans unfold. They have been working on this for a while with some probing discussions that did not always end with broadband on top.

Here’s their latest press release…

Contact: Martha Weaver, Public Information Manager, 763-323-5744, or e-mail: martha.weaver@co.anoka.mn.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Connect Anoka County Awarded $13.4 Million for Fiber Broadband

Connect Anoka County, a partnership of Anoka County and Zayo Bandwidth, announced today it has been awarded $13,382,593 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), to expand fiber broadband connectivity across the county.

The effort to secure an ARRA award began nearly a year ago with the creation of the Connect Anoka County project team, lead by Commissioners Jim Kordiak and Robyn West, with staff support lead by Deputy County Administrator David Minke, and Information Services Director Cindy Kevern. The team developed the project scope and, via the RFP process, established the partnership with Zayo Bandwidth.

“Fiber broadband is approximately 500 times faster than cable and twenty thousand times faster than dial-up,” said Commissioner Jim Kordiak. “If the future of our economy is the remote delivery of information, education and entertainment, then we want to be at the forefront with the fastest known technology available.”

Commissioner Robyn West said, “It’s amazing but it also makes sense that Anoka County would qualify. This project commits 61 percent of the fiber to unserved and underserved areas of the county. The entire backbone opens the door for a global economy here in Anoka County. It’s also an open door for local Internet service providers to compete to bring the fastest connectivity possible to residents’ front doors.”

Connect Anoka County plans to link 145 anchor institutions with three core rings, creating a fiber optic backbone. The backbone will connect public safety, public works, libraries, law enforcement, license centers, city and town halls, county, and community buildings. It will serve 56 public safety agencies. The backbone will provide a direct advantage to local businesses, passing directly through the county’s key business districts and economic development zones, allowing Zayo Bandwidth to offer fiber optic speeds directly to businesses.

“Anoka County and Zayo Bandwidth are prepared and eager to commence this project right away,” stated Chris Morley, CFO, Zayo Bandwidth. “Connecting the schools, public safety, and service entities presents a long-lasting benefit to any community’s well-being, and we are sincerely appreciative of the ability to help.”

The ARRA appropriated $7.2 billion to expand broadband access and adoption in communities across the United States with the goal to increase jobs, spur investments in technology and infrastructure, and provide long-term economic benefits. The Anoka County award was administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

According to the NTIA, there are three BTOP project categories: Comprehensive Community Infrastructure, Public Computer Centers, and Sustainable Broadband Adoption. Anoka County, in partnership with Zayo Bandwidth, was awarded funds under the Comprehensive Community Infrastructure category.

The category invited projects which would deploy new or improved broadband Internet facilities (e.g., laying new fiber optic cables or upgrading wireless towers) and to connect “community anchor institutions” such as schools, libraries, hospitals, and public safety facilities.

The Connect Anoka County grant proposal included more than 80 resolutions and letters of support from local businesses, school districts, cities, townships, colleges, elected officials, and public safety entities. The proposal also included a portion of southern Isanti County to incorporate the Cambridge campus of Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

The total cost of the proposed project is $19,117,990 with Zayo Bandwidth and Anoka County collectively providing a $5.7M contribution for the grant total of $13,382,593.

“We at Anoka County will now be very busy throughout the next two years ensuring that this project is a great success for Anoka County and its people,” said Kordiak. “I’m very excited and I think everyone in Anoka County should be very pleased with the awarding of this grant.”

About Anoka County

Anoka County is part of the seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and has a population of nearly 330 thousand people. We are home to several of the world’s leading companies including Medtronic, Aveda, and ATK Security and Sporting. The word ‘Anoka’ is derived from the native Dakota word anokatanhan meaning “on both sides” referring to the Rum River which flows through the heart of the county. Anoka County is rated AAA by Standard and Poor’s.

About Zayo Bandwidth

Zayo Bandwidth, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zayo Group, owns and operates fiber optic networks totaling over 20,000 fiber route miles. Zayo Bandwidth (www.zayo.com/bandwidth) offers services in 141 markets spanning 23 states. Zayo Bandwidth’s mission is to provide responsive bandwidth infrastructure solutions and a strong and growing network.

Blandin July eNews

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Here’s the news from our latest newsletter. It’s mostly a compilation of Minnesota-related stories from the blog in the last month – but sometimes it’s nice to have it compiled.

Minnesota State Broadband Advisory Task Force Seeks Members
On July6, the Secretary of State published the list of open appointments, including a call for applications for the Minnesota State Broadband Advisory Task Force. The Task Force will advise and assist the commissioner on progress in achieving state high-speed broadband goals and assist in annual report to legislature regarding same. The task force will have a maximum of 15 members. Applications should be in by July 27, 2010. http://tinyurl.com/2af6cgv

Round Two ARRA First Awards Announced
The first batch of Round Two ARRA broadband awards were announced on July 2. The following Minnesota projects received awards: Zayo Broadband for fiber, Federated Telephone for fiber and Leech Lake Reservation Business Committee for computer centers. Minnesota will also receive services from a nationwide project that will connect more than 30 existing research and educational networks. http://tinyurl.com/2dld7mu Earlier in June, the RUS published a 846-page directory of ARRA Round Two applicants. http://tinyurl.com/28zonan

Round One ARRA Awards Analyzed
The USDA compiled and published the outcomes of the Round One RUS-funded ARRA projects. So far, the more than $1 billion in funding awarded by RUS has been used to fund 68 projects in 31 states; the projects are expected to create 5,000 jobs. http://tinyurl.com/2a9rr3u The report is spurring advice for private investors and telecommunications companies. http://tinyurl.com/2gxd274 The Blandin Foundation has compiled a list of the Minnesota-based Round One BIP and BTOP awards. http://tinyurl.com/23baymr

ARRA-Funded MIRC Update in Minnesota
Blandin Foundation’s ARRA-funded Minnesota Intelligent Rural Community(MIRC) project is off and running. All of the demonstration communities have met at least once. The service provider partners are honing offerings to meet local needs, and the RDC are making sure that opportunities are shared. http://tinyurl.com/2fwquap

National Broadband Policy Plan
In June, two foundations set out to make the National Broadband Plan more accessible to states, communities and individuals. The Benton Foundation created an interactive index to the Plan, highlighting a number of topics and interests that might draw in people who are not inherently interested in broadband policy. http://tinyurl.com/22oa2lf

Pew Internet and American Life published a report that outlines the National Broadband Plan from a state perspective. In it, Minnesota receives praise for forward thinking policy in the form of the Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force, their report and Minnesota’s resulting broadband bill. http://tinyurl.com/34d2ffw Pew’s John Horrigan brought the Plan to an even more local level when he spoke in Baltimore about the Plan from the municipal perspective. http://tinyurl.com/2bgfuw2

Local Minnesota Broadband News

Adrian
The tele-pharmacy in Adrian is going strong thanks to local broadband and support from a pharmacist in a neighboring town. http://tinyurl.com/2ch5tnk

Lac qui Parle
Lac qui Parle is developing a mobile computer/broadband lab, or Computer Commuter to promote broadband throughout the county. http://tinyurl.com/38e2vn3

Lake County
The Heartland Institute talks about Lake County’s efforts to deploy fiber and their hope for federal funding. http://tinyurl.com/22nyr2j

Mankato
Local providers, such as Mankato-based Hickory Tech, measure up to the broadband goals set out by the Minnesota Broadband Bill. http://tinyurl.com/2df37dn

Marshall
The Marshall Independent completes their broadband series by looking at the future of broadband in the community. http://tinyurl.com/2cmw6gz

Minneapolis
Minneapolis has announced 117 “Wireless Minneapolis” hot spots for residents and visitors to access the Internet for no charge. http://tinyurl.com/2g2z67p

Best Buy helps equip a dedicated space at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, dubbed “the tech precinct,” and dispatches Geek Squad agents to standby to guide and trouble shoot. http://tinyurl.com/25ou7fp

Minnesota
Medica becomes the first major health insurer operating in Minnesota to follow a state requirement that insurers make e-prescribing available to all members. http://tinyurl.com/27r27eh

Minnetonka (and surrounding communities)
Tonkaconnect hosts a workshop on fiber to the home; a video archive is available online. http://tinyurl.com/26pfqt5

Rochester
Rochester City Council decides not to investigate public broadband. http://tinyurl.com/2c2bnec

Sibley County
With financial support from the Blandin Foundation, Sibley County approves a feasibility study for Fiber to the Home (FTTH) project. http://tinyurl.com/28sutjo

(Many stories are gathered from local online newspaper. Unfortunately each newspaper has a different policy in regards to archive news and therefore we cannot guarantee access to all articles cited.)

Coleman’s Corner

Working with the MN Intelligent Rural Communities Project has taken me to all four corners to Minnesota over the past couple weeks. Our conversations with the 11 demonstration community leader teams have been extremely interesting. Each community has a unique set of circumstances – networks, community partners, assets and challenges. The organizing and planning work now underway is off to a great start. Our planning process is designed to involve a broad spectrum of the community and to generate a big number of project ideas. Our community teams are also ready to engage with our statewide partners to maximize the effectiveness of those resources. MIRC is accelerating towards incredible success; I am excited to be a part of it!