Carver County – This nearly $6 million award will allow the County of Carver to offer affordable middle-mile broadband service in south central Minnesota. The project plans to connect schools, libraries, and community colleges, including the Waconia Library and the South Metro campus of the Dunwoody College of Technology, to improve educational services, distance learning, and remote teaching. The project also proposes to construct 121 miles of new fiber that will be open to as many as nine last-mile providers in the region in order to improve commercial broadband availability and adoption. As many as 57,600 people stand to benefit as do 2,700 businesses.

The Sun Patriot recently provided more information on Carver County and their plans…

“The grant means we can leverage local funding to build a much needed fiber ring for county government and then use federal funds to add connections to the ring to benefit the greatest possible number of other public entities,” [Carver County Board Chair James] Ische said. “In addition, the redundant ring makes it possible for the private sector to offer last-mile broadband service to residents and businesses throughout the county. Even those in the rural areas will have access and be able to reap the benefits of high-speed broadband services.”

The fiber ring will be nearly 89 miles long, run directly through every city in the county, and have an additional 32 miles in lateral connections. The 121 miles of new fiber will be open to as many as nine private last-mile providers in the region to improve commercial broadband availability and adoption. Instead of connecting nine sites as it was originally proposed, the fiber ring will initially connect to 55 sites that represent 86 “anchor institutions.”

Referred to as the Carver County Open Fiber Initiative (CCOFI), the anchor institutions represent a far-reaching collection of city, county and township governments, schools, fire departments, public safety towers, law enforcement agencies, community support organizations, and healthcare providers. All six school districts with buildings in Carver County will be connected to the ring through connections to a total of 28 public school buildings. The public will be able to access high-speed Internet at all six county libraries and at the Workforce Service Center.

Carver County will own the ring and will manage and support the fiber network deployed to the other public anchor institutions. The county will not support private sector businesses or residents who connect to the ring. That will be left up to the private companies. They will have equal opportunity to deploy last-mile infrastructure to the ring and provide network management to private businesses and residents.

First – thanks to Ann Higgins for the heads up on a recent article about Woodstock Telephone. I didn’t know much about them except that they were awarded $15 million in ARRA funding earlier this month and I welcomed the opportunity to learn more.

The article is really more of a case study written by Tellabs, which provides the Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP) that allows Woodstock to take fiber all the way to customers’ desktops. If you are interested in technical details – this case study is for you. But even if you aren’t interested in the nitty gritty the study paints of picture of what it’s like to be or have a small independent broadband provider…

Woodstock Telephone Co., where Knuth is owner and president, decided that FTTH was essential for staying ahead of both his customers’ bandwidth needs and the competition. With 1,300 access lines serving an operating territory of 450 square miles in southwestern Minnesota, the independent operating company provides Internet and voice services to subscribers in 5 neighboring communities and the surrounding rural areas.

Knuth said many of his customers are farmers who use the Internet for applications such as checking commodity prices, buying equipment, plowing their fields along GPSdefined grids and using software to measure crop yields in real time.

So it sounds as if the upgrade has been done like patchwork over the last few years. They upgrade when replacements are required. They upgrade equipment on a more planned basis – but as they could, including a few miles of fiber with each upgrade.

They ARRA grant will help them be more organized, systematic and obviously quicker with their upgrade. Their plan (taken from the ARRA award announcement) is…

Woodstock Telephone Company will use this more than $15.1 million award to expand its fiber network into neighboring rural communities by providing Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) for over 3600 premises in 15 communities located within 3 counties in Southwest Minnesota. This expanded fiber network will provide bandwidth of over 20megabytes per second for advanced voice and data services. More than 8,000 people stand to benefit, as do approximately 180 businesses and nearly 50 community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.

This approximately $9.65 million award to Farmers Mutual Telephone Company will bring Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) technology to Minnesota’s Lac qui Parle County. This network will make Lac qui Parle, now an area with limited technology choices, one of the leading technology counties in the state. More than 3,700 people stand to benefit, as do roughly 165 businesses and 12 community institutions. Farmers Mutual estimates the construction will directly support 110 jobs upfront, and will also drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come

Dave Peters, at MPR, just wrote a nice history of how Lac qui Parle got where they are sitting now. As he points out, it’s not a story that starts when the ARRA funding was announced. Like so many other strong broadband projects (well any project!), it starts with a local champion (Pam Lehmann, director of the LqP EDA), a plan and being prepared for good luck.

Pam has been at the EDA since 2007. They got funding from the Blandin Foundation and worked with Bill Coleman on broadband plans. Just recently they have moved forward the Commuter Computer. In fact the Commuter Computer is getting its official launch on August 25. It will be fun to see how the project progresses and what LqP will do with FTTH!

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the funding of 126 new Recovery Act broadband infrastructure projects that will create jobs and provide rural residents in 38 states and Native American tribal areas access to improved service.

And here are the projects in Minnesota…

1. Wikstrom Telephone Company, Incorporated
   $7,398,600
   This $7.4 million grant to Wikstrom Telephone Company, Inc. will deploy 414 miles of new cables and electronics for GPON fiber to the home in 6 communities of Kittson, Marshall and Roseau County for Broadband Services over 100 megabits. Electronic enhancements will be made to existing DSL customers to increase Broadband speeds up to 48mbs, along with 74 miles of additional fiber to the node, and a 150mb microwave upgrade for service to the NW Angle. Wikstrom Telephone’s project stands to benefit approximately 12,000 people, 1,500 businesses, and 83 other community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
2. Woodstock Telephone Co Inc
   $15,184,424
   Woodstock Telephone Company will use this more than $15.1 million award to expand its fiber network into neighboring rural communities by providing Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) for over 3600 premises in 15 communities located within 3 counties in Southwest Minnesota. This expanded fiber network will provide bandwidth of over 20megabytes per second for advanced voice and data services. More than 8,000 people stand to benefit, as do approximately 180 businesses and nearly 50 community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
3. Farmers Mutual Telephone Company
   $9,652,956
   This approximately $9.65 million award to Farmers Mutual Telephone Company will bring Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) technology to Minnesota’s Lac qui Parle County. This network will make Lac qui Parle, now an area with limited technology choices, one of the leading technology counties in the state. More than 3,700 people stand to benefit, as do roughly 165 businesses and 12 community institutions. Farmers Mutual estimates the construction will directly support 110 jobs upfront, and will also drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
4. Arvig Telephone Company
   $5,048,168
   This over $5 million award to Arvig Telephone Company, matched by nearly $1.7 million in private contribution, will bring high-speed DSL broadband service to unserved establishments in its rural service territory. This network will be comparable to the DSL service provided in its more populated areas. The network will also be engineered so that it can be easily upgraded at a reasonable cost to meet future needs. More than 1,800 people stand to benefit, as do nearly 70 businesses. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
5. Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association
   $19,632,404
   This $19.6 million grant will allow the Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association (WCTA) to provide FTTP for rural portions of about 21 communities in Iowa and Minnesota, and will provide bandwidth of over 5megabytes per second for advanced voice, video, and data services. WCTA’s project stands to benefit over 8,000 people. Not only will this project create jobs upfront, but it will also help drive economic development in the community that will help create jobs for years to come.
   Note: Mostly in Iowa but includes MN too.

You can see the full list of awards online.

I happened to be in Lac qui Parle yesterday meeting with the Pam Lehmann and Andrea Lewis at the LqP EDA. I thought they seemed awfully happy! We were talking about their new website (which shall be unveiled soon) but of course we were also talking about broadband and the impact it can have in a community such as Madison Minnesota – or the whole county.

Minnesota is a beautiful state, driving through it I was reminded of just how livable the communities are – so long as you can get a job. These broadband projects (in and out of Lac qui Parle) will open the door to residents finding jobs without the barrier of location/proximity. It will open the door to new residents who already work online and therefore can live anywhere they can get broadband. It will open the door to business relocation and/or developing in these areas where their main requirements are broadband and good people.

Congrats to all of the awarded projects!

He learned about rural telcos and the need for broadband Internet to reach every home in rural Minnesota. He also learned about Paul Bunyan Telephone’s leading-edge push to bring broadband to remote areas, including Ash River at Lake Kabetogama.

After learning more about Paul Bunyan’s recent upgrade (last year they extended fiber optic to homeowners’ premises – including to areas such as Big Fork, Little Fork and International Falls), Emmer commented…

“Japan is touted as having the greatest telecommunications network in the world? They don’t, we do,” Emmer said, referring to comments by Randy Young of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance that Japan is totally wired in the cities, but has yet to bring broadband to rural Japan.

“It’s amazing when you look at this (service) map and see what this company has done,” Emmer added. “When I saw how they just expanded to 100 customers in Ash River, one of the most remote locations in northeastern Minnesota, it gets amazing. And these guys are always taking a chance.

“This is one place where government is important,” he said, “to make sure that the little guys can compete; make sure that the little guys can provide the competition for service that is necessary. Bemidji may not be where it is today if it hadn’t been as far as communications if Paul Bunyan had not been here.”

(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 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?

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.)

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.

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.

The dollar amounts per project ranged from half a million dollars to $48 million in Georgia. There were a handful of $20-30 million projects – but otherwise the Minnesota projects are kind of in the bell-shaped curve. Just perusing the list – it seems as if Iowa did well with this batch.

You can see the full list of BIP awardees or I’ve pulled out the Minnesota projects below. Congrats to all the awardees!

• Zayo Bandwidth – This $13.4 million grant with an additional $5.7 million applicant-provided match will fund almost 300 miles of new fiber network. Zayo Bandwidth estimates that this project will create over 100 jobs upfront and help drive economic development in the community that creates jobs for years to come. Over 360,000 people stand to benefit from this grant, along with over 11,000 businesses and nearly 700 community institutions.
• Federated Telephone Cooperative – This $1.3 million grant/loan project consists of building a FTTP system to deploy voice, video, and data services to rural Appleton, Minnesota. The service area is primarily located in Swift County, with small portions in Big Stone and Chippewa Counties. Nearly 400 people stand to benefit from the Federated Telephone Cooperative grant, along with 7 businesses and 1 community institution. Not only will this project create jobs upfront, but it will help drive economic development in the community that will create jobs for years to come.
• Leech Lake Reservation Business Committee – This $1.7 million grant with an additional $790,000 applicant-provided match will create seven new public computer centers and upgrading ten existing facilities on three Indian reservations in Minnesota. The centers will be located at Boys and Girls Clubs within tribally operated community centers, providing public access to all residents. Not only will this project create jobs upfront, but it will help drive economic development in the community that will create jobs for years to come.

University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development – This $62.5 million grant with an additional $34.3 million applicant-provided match will interconnect more than 30 existing research and educational networks, creating a nation-wide high-capacity network that will enable advanced networking features for more than 100,000 essential community anchor institutions. University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development estimates that this project will directly create hundreds of jobs upfront and help drive economic development in the community that creates jobs for years to come. The United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN) project proposes a large-scale, public-private partnership to interconnect more than 30 existing research and education networks. This Comprehensive Community Infrastructure project is designed to span all 50 states and every network