Monthly Archives: March 2012

TISP ForumApril 11: MAKING THE “CONNEXION:” A PROGRESS REPORT ON EAGAN’S DATA CENTER & COLOCATION FACILITY

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Always interesting presentations…

TISP FORUM: MAKING THE “CONNEXION:” A PROGRESS REPORT ON EAGAN’S DATA CENTER & COLOCATION FACILITY

April 11th, 2012 * 4:00 to 5:30 pm
Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs
Roy Wilkins Room (215)
301 19th Avenue South * Minneapolis, MN 55455

Join us for a discussion of the “Connexion” – the carrier neutral, multi-tenant data center and colocation facility development announced in Eagan. The session will address the public/private efforts to make it happen, and the broadband implications for Minnesota in avoiding “single points of failure.”

MODERATOR:
MILDA HEDBLOM – Director, TISP Forum

OPENING REMARKS:
COMMISSIONER MARK PHILLIPS – Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development

PRESENTERS:
TOM GARRISON – Communications Director, City of Eagan

BRIAN GINKEL – Vice President, Jones Lange LaSalle

BRETT SEVERSON – Senior Associate, Jones Lang LaSalle

Special thanks to our program’s sponsors:
Blandin Foundation * League of Minnesota Cities * Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association

MTA Annual Convention: Clouds, Videos, partnerships and planning for the future

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On Monday I had the opportunity to attend the Minnesota Telecom Alliance Annual Convention. With 1,400 attendees, the MTA Annual Convention is one of the largest  conferences of its kind in the US. It included two large rooms for trade shows, a series of educational workshops and association meetings (votes, awards, planning). I was able to see a little bit of everything.

Here are a couple of the sessions that I thought would be interesting to folks outside the industry as well as those in telecommunications:

  • Beyond the Demarc: The Revenue Opportunity Inside the Digital Home
  • Revenue Generating Opportunities for the Digital Marketplace
  • Putting a Wall Around the Cloud? Security in the Cloud
  • The Cloud Has a Silver Lining: Becoming the Service Provider of the Future
  • Central Office Strategies for Speeding FTTH Service Turn-up Requirements
  • What Impact Will Over-the-Top Video Have On My Bottom Line?
  • The Evolution of Mobile Technologies 2G to 4G LTE
  • IPTV for People Who Aren’t Engineers
  • Managing Customer Service Via Apps

Cloud, video and apps seem to be some strong themes, which would indicate to me that they will be broadband drivers in the future. Sadly I was unable to attend the session on customer service apps, which sounded really good.

I was able to attend the session on public-private partnerships: Making Public/Private Partnerships Work for You – and Your Revenue Stream with John Schultz, U-reka Broadband Ventures. I thought that would interest a wide swath of readers and I was able to capture it on video. John talked about his experience working to develop partnerships with local communities.

I was also able to talk to some of the MTA members – specifically about telework. I’m very excited to talk more about that – but will make that a new post, hopefully for Monday.

Broadband deployment – bumpy ride, but moving forward

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I was at a non-broadband meeting yesterday morning when someone came up to ask me about the problem with fiber. He had recently heard MPR’s story on fiber  (Broadband projects take a bumpy ride) and it left him feeling like things weren’t going that well for broadband in Minnesota.

The article highlights the trials and tribulations with some of the ARRA funded broadband projects…

Eighteen local construction projects won federal grants and loans as part of the Recovery Act of 2009 totaling almost $229 million. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some will be owned by the public, while others will be built and run by small phone companies and electric coops. And they are at various stages of completion. The federal government’s Recovery.gov website lists 14 as less than 50 percent completed, two as more than 50 percent completed and two as not yet started.

Many have proceeded without hitches. But others have faced obstacles like difficulty obtaining building materials, opposition from incumbent providers, cost overruns, frustratingly slow bureaucracies and trouble clearing environmental hurdles.

What’s funny is that the discussion in the article reflects fuzzily one of the sticking points in broadband adoption. It’s happening, but is it fast enough? We’re just talking about deployment here, not speeds. Ironically, another recent article in MPR raised the speed issue asking if wireless in rural areas was an improvement to existing broadband options in rural areas or rather a stop-gap measure that might delay a larger solution. I might ask a similar question here – are we seeing improvements or are we seeing federal funding getting in the way of other investments? I think we’re seeing improvement – at least in the 16 (out of 18) projects that have been started.

It’s true that some projects have run into hiccups – for the reasons listed by reporter Jennifer Vogel. (For a more comprehensive list of what’s happening with projects, you can check out the Minnesota Broadband Task Force Report (Dec 2011); it includes a table that details progress of ll of the projects that received ARRA funding.) Some projects are actually ahead of schedule. (According to the Task Force report, the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services is ahead of schedule.)

I might not look at whether the glass is half full or half empty with these federally funded projects – but I might celebrate the fact that the glass is filling! Lac qui Parle County (one community listed as waiting for fiber) may be stalled, but they are moving forward – as are most of the other projects mentioned. Federal funding (and I think results of federally funded mapping) has spurred other communities, such as Kanabec, Redwood Falls and Sibley Counties to take a more serious look (and/or strides) towards broadband deployment. The stimulus funding has stimulated broadband projects and an interest in more!

Finally I have to sing the praises of Blandin Foundation-led Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) project. Yesterday at the Task Force meeting we got to hear about the federally funded project and its impact on one community – Benton County. Here are a handful of their measures of success;

  • More than $20,000 in-kind match
  • More than 200 businesses assisted
  • More than 500 residents assisted

Benton County is just one of 11 participating MIRC communities – and some MIRC activities reach beyond the select demonstration communities. The project is making a difference in the quality of life in the area; it’s also boosting a demand for greater broadband, which will help support deployment efforts, which as the MPR article points out – can be a bumpy ride – but I’d emphasize that it’s a bumpy ride forward.

Sibley & Renville Counties postpone fiber vote

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Sibley and Renville Counties have been looking at a community-led fiber effort for years. In January, the Joint Powers in Sibley County held a public meeting to talk about progress towards getting broadband in their area. Their hope was to build the backbone this year and start bringing it to residents next year. The estimate cost is $50 million; they are looking for revenue bonding for $70 million.

According to MPR’s Ground Level, the project has been postponed…

So far, there have been four votes. Three communities–Buffalo Lake, Winthrop and Renville County–have voted yes. The city of Arlington has voted no. Sibley County commissioners were supposed to vote yesterday, but instead opted to postpone a decision. Sibley County is the entity that would bring farms into the customer base. A no vote wouldn’t kill the project, said Mark Erickson, Winthrop city administrator and project champion, but it would make it more city-based.

“Sibley postponed and wanted more commitment cards and buy-in from the townships,” said Erickson, who interrupted a meeting with local township representatives this morning to talk with me. “I think we have a way forward.” The project’s success hinges on having enough customers to make the bond payments, but it’s hard to know how many customers the network will have before it’s built.

Minnesota Broadband Task Force: March 2012 Full Notes

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Yesterday the Minnesota Broadband Task Force met in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota at Independent Lifestyles, a center for independent living and home to a new tech center sponsored by Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC). It was fun to hear about the MIRC project, to hear from a number of community members who spoke up about their experience with (and without) broadband and to get reports from the Task Force subcommittees about their various tasks.

Here are the full notes: Continue reading →

Where does wireless fit into the rural tapestry?

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Today Dave Peters at MPR’s Ground Level looks at wireless in rural areas. He asked folks on different sides of the issues about the role that wireless does and potential could play in rural areas. Here’s a Readers Digest version…

Verizon – plans to provide service…

Verizon earlier this month announced its HomeFusion product, offering rural wireless Internet access faster than many urban residents have today and riding on the company’s expanding 4G network. You stick a bucket-sized antenna on the side of your house and pay $60 a month and, presto, you allegedly get downloads speeds of up to 12 megabits per second and upload speeds up to five megabits per second. That’s faster than a lot of people get in the Twin Cities.

I just heard someone talk about using Verizon’s MiFi as an alternative to her not-so-great broadband in a suburb of the Twin Cities. I’m a fan of MiFi – but as I learned on a recent road trip, you can hit the data caps pretty quickly. I wouldn’t want to worry about that each month. And as MVTV Wireless points out in the story, Versizon may not be serving the smaller towns (or space between towns) any time soon.

MVTV Wireless (a local wireless provider) is providing wireless service to rural homes now…

MVTV is upgrading its service steadily, now covering almost 20,000 square miles. It’s residential service offers speeds of 2.5 megabits but the non-profit company is preparing for 4G and faster service. He says he’s adding about 100 customers a month.

But he’s not really trying to compete with wired services. “We want to go where people aren’t,” he said. Most of his customers are rural and are switching from satellite service or dial-up service or getting Internet access for the first time. “Wireless is just one piece of the whole puzzle,” he said, but he cautioned people not to rule out the long-term potential of wireless speeds.

Some folks feel that wireless is a Band-Aid that sort of distracts consumers and prohibits providers from investing in fiber…

“Most Americans don’t know what they’re missing” with slower speeds and data caps, said Christopher Mitchell, who follows telecommunications issues for theInstitute for Local Self-Reliance and who is a big proponent of community-built fiber projects. …

Still, Mitchell notes how wireless service can make the economics more difficult for those pushing for high-speed fiber networks.

And yet others feel there is room for both…

“Most tech futurists would say we need them both” said Bill Coleman, who runs the broadband and economic development consulting firm Community Technology Advisors. Simply put, for some people at least, wireless works, he said.

24 hours, 180 nerds, 18 websites

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For several years, The Nerdery, a web development company is Minneapolis, has hosted an Overnight Website Challenge. Nonprofits are invited to submit applications to have their website created or recreated, for free by web development specialists working through the Nerdery. Well, last weekend was the magic weekend for 18 nonprofits who are now sporting brand new websites.

The Nerdery blog estimates the value of the volunteer time as about half-a-million dollars…

During more normal business hours the more than 4,200 hours of pro bono services freely given would have a real-world street value of about half-a-million dollars. The 18 nonprofits were chosen from a field of more than 80 applicants, and the 18 teams were picked from a field of 34.

Wondering how a day like that goes? Here’s the schedule from their website:

7:00 a.m. – Registration, set up work stations. Volunteers: You are welcome to come as early as 6:30 am to set up; please be there by at least 8:00.
8:45 a.m. – Welcome, get ready to rumble, announce team assignments
9:00 a.m. – Countdown begins. Nonprofits meet their team of volunteers and get to work.
Noonish – Lunch from Gyropolis
6:00 p.m. – Dinner from Bacio and Zelo
Midnight – Second dinner from Pizza Luce
6:00 a.m. – The most important meal of the day. Meanwhile, judges make the rounds between 6-9 a.m., spending 10 minutes assessing each team’s work.
9:00 a.m. – Final presentations
10:00 a.m. – Winner announced. Good night, and good luck.

You can learn more about the project, the volunteers and the nonprofits on The Nerdery website.

Digital Inclusion Workbook and Teacher’s Edition now available

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Last week the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) released their tools to help communities address digital inclusion:

They’re like student workbook and teacher’s edition how-to develop community digital inclusion manuals. The framework is simple:

  1. Vision for the future – Describes a digitally inclusive community as it is experienced by residents
  2. Principles that define digital inclusion – Statements of intention to focus effort in specific areas
  3. Goals to make digital inclusion a reality – Specific achievements required to achieve the vision
  4. Strategies for achieving the goals – Actions to achieve the goals within a community context

What I like most about the documents is how they have divided up each segment into smaller, manageable tasks. In that way it is like a workbook. The tasks are finite and “doable” and the framework builds from the known to the unknown – it’s curriculum development 101. Also the framework recognizes that there are no one-size-fits all solutions – but there are some standards options that will help guide a community to a unique solution.

While each community will have different priorities, the fundamental needs are the same:

  • high-speed infrastructure to carry Internet traffic and connect households to businesses and community institutions;
  • help people learn to navigate technology and provide a safe environment for doing so;
  • maintain public options for those who are unable, can’t afford, need temporary access, or for whom it doesn’t make sense to maintain private access;
  • remove barriers to access for people with disabilities or facing other obstacles to access; and
  • address the special needs and requirements of key sectors that drive the local economy

The IMLS talks about their next steps…

As a next step, IMLS is working with WebJunction, Tech Soup, and the International City/County Management Association to develop curriculum and training resources to support community efforts. They are currently conducting a Digital Inclusion Community Needs Assessment, surveying directors of organizations on level of awareness, the priorities for getting started or continuing existing efforts, and the challenges and successes encountered. They will hold a test summit in May and a full leadership summit in June.

The good news is that there’s also an effort in Minnesota towards taking some next steps. Last fall, the State, collaborating as part of the Technology Literacy Collaborative, hosted a digital inclusion forum, which was well attended and started a lot of conversations that will help us move forward together. In fact I recently ran into Mary Ann Van Cura, one of the event organizers, who said that a tremendous number of people signed up to actively participate in any follow up. (If you are interested in joining this group – please let Mary Ann know.) I’ll try to post any updates here as well. It feels like these new publications are getting the momentum going – and that Minnesota is poised to be a leader in the movement.

Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services’ office opens in Jackson

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We’re been tracking the progress of ARRA-funded fiber project in Southwest Minnesota. (I think the last report was on their business partnership with Windomnet.) The latest sign of success is the opening of Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services office in Jackson Minnesota. The Jackson County Pilot reports…

Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services, a multiple-municipality-owned and government-grant backed fiber-optics communication utility, will open a Jackson office Monday, March 19. The location is the former Lachlan B. Muir law office in downtown Jackson, currently the front of Pillars Pub and Eatery’s banquet facility.

The opening of the Jackson office comes on the heels of the Jackson County Courthouse and Jackson Public Library being hooked up to fiber-fast Internet and in advance of crews commencing to build the entirety of the Jackson network on April 15….

“Right now, the plan is for the office to be a temporary sales office manned full-time during the build process,” he said. “People can come in, sign up for service, ask questions — whatever. As we go along, however, I think it’s certainly something we can look at, in terms of a permanent Jackson office.”

Broadband keeping seniors healthy and home

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I’m delighted to see another story of a senior staying in their home longer thanks to broadband technology. Todays’ story comes from Cold Spring Minnesota via KARE 11 and features GrandCare, a system developed to help keep an eye and ear to seniors remotely via an online system.

First I wanted to mention that I was delighted that this was featured as a Health segment, not a Technology segment. It indicates that broadband technology is integrating into various sectors and segment of everyday life. It’s fun to see what a different it has made for Ed Thelen in Cold Springs. Ed has Parkinson’s, Diabetes and depression; unfortunately what he doesn’t have is family nearby. The GrandCare systems helps the family keep an eye on his health…

GrandCare helps families remotely monitor daily activities with sensors that send notifications when pills are taken or when a door is opened. Thelen said, “I can take my blood pressure and that automatically goes onto the system. I can take my glucose.”

But even more valuable, GrandCare is helping them keep in touch…

In his apartment in Cold Spring, Ed Thelen now has this magic window to a healthier world. As he touched a picture of a camera on his GrandCare touch screen he said, “My favorite things is merely touching this little thing and having all these beautiful people available to me.”

He’s talking about being able to talk to his three kids and six grandkids through a simple touch screen version of Skype. He said it has been beneficial to his emotional health.

The story is available on video – and worth a couple of minutes if you have time.

To learn more about the GrandCare system you can check out the complete description from their website…

The GrandCare System is connected to any dedicated Internet Connection and communicates with “wireless” sensors throughout the residence. Designated caregivers can log into the GrandCare Website to send communications to the Loved One, view Activity & Tele-wellness sensor information, and customize the automatic caregiver alerts. A caregiver may choose to receive a call, email or text message if specified conditions occur (medication noncompliance, unusual activity, door opens at unusual time, etc).

The Loved One may enjoy the socialization, entertainment and communication portion of the GrandCare System. Family can virtually send pictures, messages, emails, reminders, calendar appts, voice messages, family videos, music and more right to the GrandCare System (Interactive Touch & Non-interactive TV models available). The Loved One may also choose to play games, engage in brain benders, listen to favorite music, watch old film clips, view news & weather reports and more, right from their own GrandCare System.

(GrandCare is also working with Benton County as part of the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities – MIRC – initiative.)

Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Fund Languishing

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The Freedom Foundation recently asked some good questions about Minneapolis Wireless and the Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Fund (DIF). As a  reminder: US Internet Wireless provides wireless service to Minneapolis. Part of their original contract included a clause that said that they would contribute on an ongoing basis to the DIF. Apparently that’s not going as well as planned…

The venture promised and eventually delivered on “community benefits” such as dozens of wireless hotspots, free community internet accounts and a “civic garden” with free access to “culturally sensitive” online taxpayer-funded resources in multiple languages.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of all was to be a revolving account managed by the Minneapolis Foundation to bridge the so-called digital divide—a Digital Inclusion Fund (DIF) financed with a “minimum” of five percent of the network’s profits. The Wireless Minneapolis website states that “about $11 million will go into the digital inclusion fund over the 10-year term of the contract.” …

A cumulative total of $1.3 million was projected to be paid into the DIF by the end of year four (2011) with another $1,015,764 million projected to be paid this year. Instead, only $68,307.35 from network profits appears to have been deposited into the fund to date, based on figures from the Minneapolis Foundation.

The problem is that they don’t have the funds to contribute. The article alludes to two potential reasons for this:

  1. It’s expensive to deploy a network
  2. They have about 30 percent few customers than they anticipated.

So first for other communities looking at building broadband – it’s a reminder to pay careful attention to estimated costs for build out and projected take rates. Those are obviously big parts to the business plan equation and discrepancies mean the difference between success and failure. But back to Minneapolis – I suspect that some frustration here is felt because the estimates probably came from US Internet – the same folks who estimated the amount to be contributed to the DIF.

Another piece to this puzzle is that the US Internet has a guaranteed $12.5 million, 10-year contract with the city of Minneapolis. When we last reported on that contract, it was causing some issues because although many departments did not use wireless, they still paid for it. The latest Freedom Foundation alludes this to still being the case. That may add to the frustration. (Perhaps some of the departments who don’t use wireless could pay into the DIN fund rather than to the provider. Those payments could be credited to the provider’s promise.)

The final sour note…

The 2006 agreement also obligates USI Wireless to hold an annual DIF fundraising event, seek funding from other community sources for DIF, and convene two community meetings per year to encourage digital inclusion. USI Wireless made a $5,000 contribution to the DIF in lieu of holding a fundraiser one year and transferred fundraising efforts to the city, according to the company’s project manager.

“We’re hoping the fundraising efforts are going to supplant the lack of funding that we’re receiving from the percentage of profit we get from USI Wireless and hopefully that will start to pick back up as their financial situation improves and they pay back their loans,” Otto Doll said about the city taking over fundraising efforts. “I’m banking on the fundraising to pick it up more than expecting USI Wireless will increase substantially.”

In the meantime, the only digital inclusion grant made to date in 2012 went to the City of Minneapolis for $25,000. The purpose was to gather data regarding the status of the digital divide in Minneapolis. The survey has been completed and the approximately 2,700 responses are being compiled, but preliminary results indicate a surprising lack of familiarity with the municipal wi-fi network.

“I think they need to get themselves better known out there. For whatever reason, only about one-third of the population knew about them,” Otto Doll, chief information officer for Minneapolis, told FFM. “I would like USI Wireless to advertise their services better to the community because that recognition should be stronger than that.”

This is an ongoing project. There is time for it to turn around – but it’s good to see that someone is keeping an eye on what’s happening. And of course I think the transparency involved in a public-private partnership is valuable – both in terms of taxpayers knowing what happening – but also for other communities looking to find ways to get service in their own towns.

Broadband traffic to double annually on mobile networks

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Thanks to Ann Higgins for the heads up on the expected future of mobile broadband. According to TeleCompetitor…

Internet-generated broadband traffic will increase approximately 50% year-over-year on fixed networks and double on mobile networks, driven in large part by “power users” that are using a disproportionate amount of bandwidth, according to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC).

The report itself is $7500; so I won’t be using many direct quotes. But again TeleCompetitor highlights from the report…

    • HD video content will drive a new level of bandwidth demand, with more than 50% of video and audio streaming destined for a connected TV, an iPad or another mobile device or tablet
    • In North America, downstream traffic typically exceeds upstream traffic by a factor of 10 or more
    • Web browsing represents a declining share of traffic across the globe, especially in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region. Accordingly IDC advises service providers to deliver more bandwidth in order to spur usage of new services and drive new subscriptions and revenue.

On a potentially related note, I just happened to notice that  a recent Pew Internet & American Life indicates that 23 percent of teens (ages 12-17) have a smartphone. Having just been on a road trip and sharing a wireless network with two members of that demographic (who don’t have smartphones but do have laptops), I think that the IDC estimates are probably conservative because teens are power users. It doesn’t occur to them not to download a video (even full length feature film) and they have time to download and watch them. And uploading video is just as easy.

Intergenerational Digital Literacy Classes in Alexandria

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According to Pew Internet & American Life project, 78 percent of American adults are online and 59 percent of American adults send or read email every day (43 percent use a social networking site such as Facebook). So folks who aren’t online are finding themselves out of the loop.

The Alexandria Echo Press, recently interviewed someone who was out of the loop…

“I feel like an orphan,” said Alexandria’s Romayne Strand. “People ask me if I have e-mail, and when I tell them I don’t, they say, ‘Well, I guess I’ll have to send you a letter then, or give you a phone call’.”

The Alexandria Echo Press article highlights a local twist on a statewide program that has been bringing people, especially seniors, back into the loop – both by getting them online and getting them working with area high school students.

The curriculum for the class was developed by the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) as part of the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) project. (You can get a glimpse of the training here.) The curriculum is available online – but as it’s designed to be used with folks on the far edge of the digital divide, so the intention is that the course is led through local trainers. Which as the Echo Press reports is how it started in Alexandria…

In January 2011, the Alexandria Area Adult Basic Education program received a grant to teach a community computer class for seniors for one year. There were about 100 participants.

Unfortunately, the funding ran out in January – but a little local innovation helped solve that problem…

“Because Community Education couldn’t continue teaching this class, we began wondering if we could get high school students to teach a class to senior citizens,” Ransom said.

After sharing her idea with JHS teacher Wendy Watts and members of the National Honor Society (NHS), Ransom was granted use of the JHS technology labs and had six student volunteers.

The computer classes, sponsored by Community Education, are held every Monday for eight weeks in the JHS technology labs. Currently, 23 senior citizens participate in the program, and there is a waiting list.

It’s a great solution – one that I think could be replicated in other areas. The digital inclusion curriculum they are using is available for public use online.

Impact of Internet on GDP – 4.7% in US

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I am often asked about the value of the Internet – so I was pleased to see the results of a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group. They study the economic impacts of the Internet in G-20 countries. Some quick facts from the report make the case quickly:

    • Across the G-20, it [the Internet economy] already amounted to 4.1 percent of GDP, or $2.3 trillion
    • The Internet accounted for $684 billion, or 4.7% of all U.S. economic activity in 2010
    • Social networks reach about 80 percent of users in developed and developing economies alike. Mobile devices—smartphones and tablets—will account for four out of five broadband connections by 2016.
    • The Internet economy in the developed markets of the G-20 will grow at an annual rate of 8 percent over the next five years, far outpacing just about every traditional economic sector, producing both wealth and jobs.
    • Retail represents almost one-third of total GDP in the G-20, and online retail contributes a significant and increasing share in many countries.
    • In retail alone, G-20 consumers researched online and then purchased offline (ROPO) more than $1.3 trillion in goods in 2010—the equivalent of about 7.8 percent of consumer spending, or more than $900 per connected consumer.

These are compelling reasons for any community or business to consider their use of the Internet. The report seems to give ingredients, if not a recipe for growth too…

The growth is being fueled in large part by two factors: more users and faster, more ubiquitous access.

That seems to indicate that ubiquitous, faster connectivity will lead to increased economic growth. Hmm. More fuel to the fire of reaching remote areas with broadband and reaching users who have not yet shown an interest in the Internet. An interesting and related statistic is the perceived value of the Internet. Connected Americans perceive the Internet to be worth about $3,000 a year. It would be interesting to get a line item budget to see how people came up with that number – because it would be interesting to share that with folks who are not online despite its availability.

The report also makes a business case for businesses, especially small businesses, who have been dragging their feet when it comes to getting online. They classify businesses into four categories:

  • High-web
  • Medium-web
  • Low-web
  • No-web

Many U.S. SMEs have integrated the Internet into their businesses. They are much more aggressive online than low-Web companies, particularly in activities such as search engine optimization, social networking, buying from and paying suppliers. They are even managing their business finances and recruiting staff online.

In many developed and developing markets, high-Web companies are twice as likely as their low- or no-Web counterparts to have a national and international customer base, as opposed to selling only locally. In the U.S., high- and medium-Web businesses expect to grow by 17 percent over the next three years, compared with 12 percent for low- and no-Web companies.

High- and medium-Web SMEs generate more jobs. In Germany, 93 percent of high-Web and 82 percent of medium-Web companies increased employment over the past three years, compared with only 50 percent of the no-Web firms. Japan experienced similar results. In South Korea, employment increased at 94 percent of high-Web SMEs and at 60 percent of no-Web companies.

Again – very compelling. It’s nice to have the numbers to help make the case. Now I’d have to think about whether the Internet was worth giving up chocolate – but apparently 77 percent of American Internet users feel it is. (Luckily I think that was a theoretical question!)

AT&T Aspire Education Grants – for interactive gamification, Web-based content and social media

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According to their press release, AT&T has apparently invested more than $100 million in American education programs since 2008. (The press releases indicates that Minneapolis Public Schools and St. Louis Park School District have benefitted from funding.) They are announcing a new (or renewed) initiative that focuses on high school success and college/career readiness for students at-risk of dropping out of high school through a much larger, “socially innovative” approach…

The greatly expanded effort centers on a new, $250 million financial commitment planned over 5 years. AT&T Aspire will build on that commitment by using technology to connect with students in new and more effective ways, such as with interactive gamification, Web-based content and social media. The company will also tap the innovation engine of the AT&T Foundry to look for fresh or atypical approaches to educational obstacles. Finally, AT&T Aspire will capitalize on the power of personal connections in the form of mentoring, internships and other voluntary efforts that involve many of AT&T’s approximately 260,000 employees.

It looks like a great opportunity both built on some solid funding and a base of four years of work in the field.

Between now and April 18, 2012, AT&T is also encouraging Minnesota organizations to submit applications to pre-qualify for funding through the Local High School Impact Initiative Requests for Proposals (RFPs). AT&T is most interested in funding local programs that have strong, evidence-based practices grounded in the What Works Clearinghouse Dropout Prevention: A Practice Guide and data-driven outcomes demonstrated to improve high school graduation rates. More information on the RFP process is available at www.att.com/education-news (click on the “Aspire Local Impact RFP” option).

They are seeing programs that will be ready to go by next September. They are looking to invest $100,000 to $300,000 for 24 months. And here’s a little bit (from the RFP) on the communities that most interest AT&T…

What Makes a Competitive Program: The 2012 Local Impact RFP features an increased focus on metrics with a preference for programs showing results for those served vs. peer groups; and a stronger emphasis on underserved populations. AT&T is most interested in funding local programs that have strong, evidence based practices and data driven outcomes demonstrated to improve high school graduation rates.

The most competitive Local Impact RFP responses will:

  • Deliver measurable, proven interventions,
  • Contain elements that demonstrate improvements in high school retention, promotion, and graduation rates,
  • Demonstrate the capacity to provide data,
  • Provide student-level records to assess the impact intervention(s) on student outcomes.

AT&T will give special consideration to organizations that incorporate social innovation in their programs. AT&T also has a keen interest in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and increasing the number of minority and underrepresented students in these field