Monthly Archives: October 2011

MIRC Broadband Success: Seniors gettting online in Willmar

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On our tour of the MIRC projects in September, we visited with Jean Spaulding at the Kandiyohi EDA. She lined up a few speakers and visitors for us. It was fun to hear about different tools being used to keep the seniors online.

First at the New London Spicer school, they are working to get iPads in the hands of high school students (seniors and others) and their families. They will lend out the iPads thinking that once folks get a taste of how easy they are to use that families might be able to make getting a tablet or other computer a priority.

Next we heard from Willmar Community Senior Network about they have been using a web-based system called Homestream to keep seniors in their home longer. The system helps connect seniors to loved ones and healthcare providers. We heard a great story of one foster grandma who will continue to interact with her foster grandkid through the system on days when rain, snow and ice might keep her from the school.

Senator Klobuchar visits LqP

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Last weekend, Senator Amy Klobuchar visited Lac qui Parle County in Western Minnesota. She wanted to learn more about the ARRA-funded adoption and deployment projects happening in the area. Here’s a video of her visit:

LqP has received funding from the Upper Minnesota Valley RDC through the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) initiative to support the Computer Commuter – a mobile computer lab in a bus. It visits towns in the County, like a bookmobile, so that residents can experience broadband with the help of the Computer Commuter director, Mary Quick.

LqP has also received funding for FTTH through Farmers Mutual. They will be starting construction soon on the network.

It’s a great one-two punch in developing a demand immediately before offering a supply of broadband.

Free Webinar: Mobile Broadband – Is it enough?

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Please join us for a free webinar tomorrow (Oct 19 from noon to 1 pm): Mobile Broadband – Is It Enough? Here’s the description:

The US Broadband plan establishes a 4 Mb goal for those lacking access to networks meeting the 100 Mb goal. Many assume that this goal will be met with mobile broadband networks. Will this be adequate to participate in today’s bandwidth intensive world?

Join LightSquared’s Geoff Stearn, VP of Spectrum Development, and Bob Bass from ATT to explore this question.

A lot of people have been asking questions about LightSquared; this could be a very interesting session. Please register – and bring your questions!

The webinar is part of the pre-conference series leading up to the Fall broadband conference: Policy & Progress: Border to Border Broadband.

Broadband mystery tax is not a winner

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Over the weekend, I wrote about a new bill to make 4G access more transparent. Transparency in telecommunications is coming up again. According to ComputerWorld…

Four customers of Frontier Communications have filed a class action lawsuit against the broadband and digital voice provider over a U$1 to $1.50 mystery charge on their monthly bills.

The lawsuit has been filed in Minnesota. Frontier has offered no comment. I think the main problem is lack of transparency. ComputerWorld explains that some of the confusion seems to come directly from Frontier…

Some Frontier customers posting comments at DSLreports.com and Stopthecap.com have complained that the HSI surcharge is $1.50 a month on some bills. Frontier has alternatively explained the charge as a federal government charge, a charge for high-speed Internet service and a charge for customers out of contract, according to posters at those sites.

The fee is not included in the advertised price for Frontier broadband service, Drake said. The plaintiffs would be less upset if Frontier simply included the charge in its advertised price, she said.

I mentioned in the post over the weekend that the National Broadband Plan promotes transparency – not they are talking about transparency in broadband speed – but I think transparency in broadband bill would also be helpful.

MIRC Broadband Success: Morris Area Chamber & Stevens Forward reach new citizens online

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On our tour of the MIRC communities, we learned how the Morris Area Chamber is using their web site to reach new citizens. They have a regular newsletter that goes out and highlights events and opportunities in the community. It’s been a good way to promote events to the non-native English speakers in the community.

The Stevens Forward programs has 24 stewards that work for community wide goals and with the MIRC program they have been able to bring together all communities in Stevens County. They have started with a directory of resources in the area.

Legalize the 4G Barometer

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I’m always pleased to see Minnesota legislators on top of technology and broadband related bills and debates. So I was pleased to see a new bill proposed this week that would mean more transparency for consumers looking for 4G…

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., announced the act on Thursday, which they said would “require wireless providers to disclose complete and accurate information about their 4G wireless data service in their sales and advertising practices.” It mirrors legislation passed in the House of Representatives this past June.

The proposed act would require companies to disclose specific details in their marketing and advertising. The bill was created because there is no standard definition for 4G wireless broadband Internet.

The bill would require that the following details be included at the point of sale and also in all customers’ billing materials:
• Guaranteed minimum data speed
• Network reliability
• Coverage area maps
• Pricing
• Technology used to provide 4G service
• Network conditions that can impact the speed of applications and services used on the network

It seems to fit well with the National Broadband Plan which promoted the use of “truth in broadband” type labeling for broadband…

Putting more information in the hands of consumers is a proven method to promote meaningful competition and spur innovation, both of which will generate more and better consumer choices. If customers make well-informed choices, companies will likely invest in new products, services and business models to compete more aggressively and offer greater value.

2011 US Residential Broadband Survey

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Connected Nation just released more results of their summer broadband survey. Today they are focusing on broadband adoption trends…

Connected Nation has conducted a survey of 27,086 residents across the United States to see if they access broadband, and if so, how they are using it. In addition, we have conducted the largest state-level survey of people who do not subscribe to broadband to see what is preventing them from joining the digital community.

Most of the info is available in a cool interactive infographic, which I sadly cannot embed here – so I suggest you check it out on the Connected Nation page – but here’s a quick list of stats from the US and Minnesota

Residents without broadband
US 35%
MN 28%

Rural broadband adoption
US 54%
MN 61%

Rural computer ownership
US 74%
MN 78%

Mobile adoption
US 31%
MN 32%

Main reason you don’t have broadband
US:
Expense 18%
No content worth viewing 18%

MN
No content worth viewing 29%
Expense 18%

Median monthly bill
US $45.73
MN $49.46

Average download speed
US 4.8 Mbps
MN 6 Mbps

Some finding surprised me – such as the mobile adoption rate. I thought that would be higher. Sometimes it’s good to look out from beneath my own bell-shaped curve. You can also see that while Minnesota has greater adoption rates and faster average download, we’re also paying more than the average American for our connectivity. Also we’re fussy – with nearly a third of non-adopters claiming there’s no content worth viewing. I think some education might help there – or maybe we’re like the great ads on TV where the daughter moves away and worries about her parents and their measly 19 Facebook friends – where actually the parents are out hiking. This survey was taken in the summer – maybe the answer would be different if you asked the Minnesotans in January.

Critical Broadband Policy Issues – Full Notes

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Earlier this week JoAnne Johnson, from U-reka Broadband, gave a great presentation on broadband policy at the state and national level as part of the Policy & Progress: Border to Border Broadband pre-conference webinar series. You can access a recording of the session online.

Few people are as knowledgeable as JoAnne when it comes to broadband policy. If you rarely think about policy, I think this will be a good primer on the topic; if you do try to follow broadband I think you’ll pick up some new info too. (For example a quick look at what’s happening in neighboring states.)

Here is the presentation:

Folks at the session had asked how JoAnne keeps up on the latest happenings. She was kind enough to send a bibliography of resources:

FierceTelecom
FierceCable
US Telecom Daily Lead
Washington Watch (NECA)
Telecompetitor
Broadband Communities
Washington Post
Morning Tech (Politico)
broadbandbreakfast.com
Opastco.org
Americasbroadbandconnectivity.org (this one carries negative stories under the news as well)
Iowa has a new effort called the Great Disconnect
NTCA.org

MIRC Broadband Success: Stevens County computer at the American Legion

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On our tour of the MIRC communities, we visited Morris and got a fun opportunity to learn about their mobile computer lab, their wireless network and their efforts to make computer available in all sort of places – such as the schools and the libraries – but also the American Legion.

It was fun to hear from the Mayor Sheldon Giesse of Morris, a veteran, about the computers in the American Legion. He talks about how now that a computer is available in the American Legion that folks are using it. Any of us who have a smartphone will recognize the signs. Someone asks a question – such as who won the 1992 World Series – and now the answer is at your fingertips.

One of the added benefits is that it is expected that access to computers will help the American Legion reach out to returning vets, who tend to be younger than the current members.

FCC Announces Free Computer Training for Disadvantaged Communities

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This morning the FCC announced public-private partnerships that will be offering free computer training to folks on the far side of the digital divide. FCC Chair Julius Genachowski pointed out that right now 18 million Americans live in areas unserved by broadband. The FCC is working on serving those areas. Today 100 million Americans aren’t adopting broadband; that’s about a third of the country – and that’s the issue he addressed today. (You can see an archive of his presentation online.)

First he gave a laundry list of reasons to get online:

  • More than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies today, including Wal-Mart and Target, require online job applications.
  • Students with broadband at home have a 7 percent higher graduation rate.
  • Consumers with broadband at home can save more than $7,000 a year.
  • Closing the broadband adoption gap will create $32 billion in annual economic value, or about
  • $100 for every American, every year.
  • Right now, government spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on paper communications with citizens, most of whom are non-adopters. If we move more services online, we can incentive broadband adoption and make government more efficient.

Then he announced a list of corporations who are stepping up to help:

  • Best Buy – geek squad to teach basic digital literacy in 20 cities/towns (and train the trainer)
  • Microsoft – to teach advanced/business digital literacy including Office training
  • Arise Virtual Solutions – online training for customer service skills
  • CareerBuilder.com – online prep and certified training for $1
  • Monster.com – to scan for “middle skills jobs” in high demand
  • Discovery Education – to offer online student success training
  • MetrixLearning – to offer online jobs skills training in English, Spanish and Mandarin
  • Brainfuse – to provide résumé writing assistance
  • Sesame Workshop – to offer online games and lesson on hunger and economic hardship program

There is still opportunity for other businesses and community organizations to get involved through the Connect to Compete project…

Private companies and non-profits have announced the formation of Connect to Compete, a non-profit initiative, to execute the offerings made on expanding digital literacy and helping Americans close the jobs skills gap. The new organization, which will be housed at One Economy, will be a collaborative effort with other non-profits and industry partners.

Connect to Compete will launch national pilot programs beginning in the spring of 2012. For more information, please contact info@connect2compete.org.

Genachowski urges (and I paraphrase) “Imagine what having millions more Americans connected will mean to the American economy.” Just earlier this week, I posted the research that quantifies the impact broadband will have. One report indicates that each job destroyed by broadband is replaced by 2.6 jobs; another report indicates that broadband adds .3 percent to a nation’s GDP – making the case that these companies are investing, not just spending, in the US and in Americans.

The cost of broabdand around the world

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I hear people talk about the need for affordable broadband. It comes up in lots of broadband planning meetings – from the Minnesota Ultra-Speed Broadband Task Force down. It comes up and then often it gets dropped because I think everyone has a different definition of affordable. This becomes particularly sticky when you have providers in the room.

Thanks to Ann Higgins for passing on a great article on cost of broadband from CED Magazine (Next Challenge: Making Broadband Affordable for Everyone). They look at affordability on an international scope by looking at cost for broadband versus local annual income. Here are the specifics…

Analyzing tariff data from the middle of 2011, Point Topic compared the cost of 12 months of subscription to the cheapest, and usually slowest, fixed broadband service . Converting prices to purchasing power parity (PPP) equivalents for more than 2,000 tariffs from around the world, and then combining the results with the gross national income per capita (GNI/capita) – again at PPP rates – for the relevant country, allows direct comparison between the markets. The analysis is based on data from 64 countries.

And here are charts:

I don’t want to minimize affordability – but looking at the International scope, we see that the US is somewhere in the middle for affordability. For some folks in the US I think affordability isn’t the issue so much as making broadband a priority – and that will take training to change. Also that may change as the device used to get online becomes less expensive as well as sometimes it’s not the ongoing costs up the upfront expense of the computer that can be prohibitive.

FCC to Announce Public-Private Broadband Adoption Initiative

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Sorry for so many posts today, but I thought folks would be interested in the following…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 11, 2011
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
Neil Grace, 202-418-0506 Email: neil.grace@fcc.gov

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FCC CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI TO ANNOUNCE PUBLIC-PRIVATE BROADBAND ADOPTION INITIATIVE
TO EXTEND DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING AND PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE TO COMMUNITIES

Washington, DC – On October 12, 2011, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will announce a national public-private partnership program designed to increase broadband adoption, elevate digital literacy and assist Americans in searching and training for jobs.

According to the Pew Research Center, one-third of all Americans— 100 million people – have not adopted broadband high-speed Internet at home. The public-private partnership seeks to overcome the top obstacles to broadband adoption, including digital literacy, relevance and cost. The national program is the first major action by Chairman Genachowski’s Broadband Adoption Task force, announced in May to help close the adoption gap.

WHAT:
FCC Chairman Genachowski will announce a major public-private partnership initiative that will extend digital literacy and job training to communities across the country. Representatives from partner companies, non-profits and think thanks will deliver brief remarks.

WHEN:
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
10:00AM-11:00AM Eastern

WHO:
Julius Genachowski, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission

PARTNERS:
National electronics retailer
Global consumer and business software corporation Leading non-fiction media corporation Digital literacy training company E-training provider for public workforce development Leading job-search and job-training companies Coalition of digital inclusion experts and non-profits

WHERE:
The Pew Charitable Trusts
901 E Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20004

ONLINE: The event will be webcast on www.fcc.gov/live.

Research and recommendations on Internet & the economy & jobs

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I have been meaning to read the latest McKinsey surveys for weeks. I think the rain brought me a little time today. It was worth the wait. The first report (Internet Matters: The Internet’s Sweeping Impact on Growth, Jobs and Prosperity) is full of interesting facts.

To start – the Internet accounts for, on average, 3.4 percent of GDP in the 13 countries studied. The report goes on to say that the countries that have been using the Internet the longest are using it best – or at least are seeing the greatest percentage of GDP coming from the Internet, which indicates that the countries that are just getting into the Internet should also see greater percentage of GDP coming from the Internet in the future.

The impact on jobs is also pretty impressive. They report that while the Internet destroys some jobs, it creates 2.6 jobs for every job destroyed. So there’s some potential growth there too. Now if we can just try to make sure that we can reach out to the folks who lose the original job to get re-employed.

The report indicates that consumer surplus generated in the US by the Internet was $64 million in 2009. They also talk about supply side economics. The US fares very well, which I’m glad to hear but I have to wonder how much of our “success” is simply based on size and longevity with the Internet. The research reports that the US Captures more than 30 percent of the global revenues and more than 40 percent of net income.

There was a note of recommendation that I think is important to note…

Create an attractive business environment. The context in which business operates is critical to the growth of the Internet ecosystem and will hold back its growth if the environment does not encourage expansion of usage, encouragement of innovation, and business investment and participation. To ensure such an attractive environment requires ongoing assessment of the frameworks that govern access, usage, protection of various rights, and consideration of security.

Its vital advice for anyone looking to promote economic growth in a business, community, county, state or country. The report goes on to make some specific suggestions:

  1. Public decision makers should act as catalysts to unleash the Internet’s growth potential
  2. All business leaders, not just e-CEOs, should put the Internet at the top of their strategic agenda
  3. All stakeholders should take part in a fact-based, public-private dialogue

The second report (An Economy That Works: Job Creation and America’s Future) is much less about broadband – much more about jobs. There are some sobering statistics.

  • We need to find employment for 7 million unemployed people
  • The US will need to create 21 million new jobs in this decade to put unemployed Americans back to work
  • Up to 1.5 million workers with bachelor’s degrees or higher in 2020. At the same time, nearly 6 million Americans without a high school diploma are likely to be without a job.

The report offers a few suggestions for improvement:

  • Skill: Develop the workforce of tomorrow.
  • Share: Harness globalization to create more US jobs.
  • Spark: Grow emerging industries and new businesses and reignite innovation.
  • Speed: Clear the path for investing and hiring.

Wireless gains market share in the Twin Cities

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According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune…

The wireless share of the Twin Cities Internet market rose nearly 7.5 percent in the 12 months ended in March, while traditional broadband providers — Comcast cable and CenturyLink (formerly Qwest telephone) — saw their market shares decline slightly, according to a study by ID Insight of St. Paul.

From the article I can glean the following:

  • Comcast had the most broadband customers in the Twin Cities (37.6 percent, or about 345,000 households)
  • CenturyLink comes in second (27.8 percent, or about 255,000 residential customers).
  • Wireless broadband – they include the cellular providers and the Minneapolis Wi-Fi network — ranked third (16.6 percent, or about 152,000 households).

The growing prevalence and popularity of smartphone and tablets is one reason given for the include in wireless access. And 4G is expected to have a greater impact yet.

The article includes a quote from CenturyLink’s Tyler Middleton, which I think is a good take on broadband platforms…

“It’s certainly clear that wireless devices are changing the way we do things, but we see them as complementary to wired broadband connections, not mutually exclusive,” Middleton said. “We continue to see wired broadband subscriber growth” because it offers more consistent speed and reliability than wireless data services.

There was another interesting perspective voiced by Dan Hays of PRTM Management Consulting…

“It’s very difficult to have pervasive wireless broadband coverage,” Hays said. “Areas that are less densely populated probably will still need wired broadband connections for many years to come.”

It seems to me that wired is even more difficult in sparsely populated areas – but again I think the solution will be a hybrid plan of both wired and wireless broadband.

MIRC Broadband Success: LqP Computer Commuter Patrons

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On the MIRC tour earlier this month, we were able to stop and visit the Computer Commuter in Madison, MN – the souped up bus with the mobile computer lab. I posted a tour of the Computer Commuter earlier. This time around we were able to hear from Mary Quick, the Computer Commuter Coordinator on the just-in-time training she is able to do with patrons…

We also got to see Pam Lehmann, the Lac qui Parle EDA Director, to talk to some regular users of the Computer Commuter…