Fiber in Lake County

May 11, 2009

Lake County Minnesota has engaged Tim Nulty and Gary Fields for a fiber to the Home project in Lake County. The project would include fiber for each home and business throughout Lake County.

Tim Nulty and Gary Fields will provide the study, design, build, and operation of the network. Lake County will own the asset but will not operate the network.

You can learn more about the project from a recent article in the Lake County News Chronicle; they covered a recent Lake County Board meeting. (Or you can learn a little bit about Tim and Gary’s history with the Iron Range’s former FiberNet project.)

2 Comments | FTTH, MN, Open Networks, Policy, Rural | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

Notes from the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Forum

March 8, 2009

I want to send a big thank you to John Schultz from U-reka Broadband Ventures LLC for sending us notes from the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Forum in Paris last week. He’s done a great job of giving a little flavor of Paris – and more importantly highlighting the hot topics from the conference. It’s interesting to read about how providers are working together, with municipalities and with electric companies.

Tuesday March 3rd

After a couple days of getting use to the time zone changes and general tourist visits (check out our touristy videos at www.youtube.com/jurekab) it is time to look for some telecommunications applications in Paris. One of the first things that I noticed as we walked the street was the prevalence of ADSL modems/gateways in the windows of telecommunications carries storefronts. All of these devices combine VOIP, Internet, Wi-Fi and IP video into one device. It is pretty obvious that ADSL is the default technology currently in Paris (I was surprised by the number of technology magazines on newsstands that had comparisons of ADSL modems/routers on the cover) but there are signs of Fiber-to-the-Premise deployments also.

As I was reviewing this January/February copy of Broadband Properties magazine and their snippet on French Providers agreeing to share In-Building Wiring. Three of the major FTTP providers have signed onto this agreement which allows a single fiber to be placed into a property and then the provider of choice is able to utilize the fiber. The fourth provider still has not signed onto the agreement but instead prefers a solution that requires four fibers to be installed into each building. With the low-rise multi-dwelling units that I see here in Paris the ability of the providers to utilize a single fiber infrastructure within the residence not only brings them the ability for choice but also for a clean install (I kept thinking how important reduced-bend radius fiber must be in these deployments). As we walked the Latin Quarter this afternoon on the way to the Pantheon (which if you are a fan of French history you must see in Paris) I noticed that there were construction crews pulling fiber into the existing duct banks through the area, what I also found out is they don’t like pictures! Since many of the buildings in this area are both business (on the bottom floor) and residences (on the top floors) these fiber providers have the opportunity to provide services to both sets of customers at the same time which is different from deployments in the States. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Broadband Applications, Building Broadband Tools, Community Networks, Conferences, FTTH, Open Networks, Policy | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group

February 25, 2009

Thanks to Amalia Anderson for sharing the Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group’s Rural Broadband Principles and Policy Recommendations with me.

So the story is a bunch of smart people, who clearly understand the issues in rural America got together to talk about the implications of broadband in rural areas.

They came up with two straightforward goals:

The Rural Internet and Broadband Policy Group has two goals: 1) to articulate national broadband policies that provide opportunities for rural communities to participate fully in the nation’s democracy, economy, culture, and society, and 2) to spark national collaboration among rural broadband advocates.

And then they backed it up with principles and policy recommendations, “based on four main needs of rural communities: 1) accurate data on service availability and adoption, 2) locally‐owned infrastructure, 3) assistance in technology adoption, and 4) uniform and transparent federal policies.”

Here’s the refreshing thing – the big answer isn’t more money. Instead many of the recommendations revolve around sharing info and resources that already exist, or would not monumental to create such as accurate mapping, upping minimum speed defined as broadband, creating a database of transportation projects to allow broadband providers to recognize opportunities for open conduit. They are pro open access networks, pro net neutrality and pro transparency.

The report is only six pages and is well worth the time – it definitely cuts to the chase.

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Posted by Ann Treacy

Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force February 20, 2009

February 21, 2009

Here are my notes from yesterday’s Broadband Task Force meeting. I had to leave early – but this morning I saw that they now have video archives of the last few meetings available online. So, I was able to catch up a little – it’s very difficult at times to hear the conversation on the recording. In fairness, it can be hard in person too.

One quick aside, I had to leave to present at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, New Times – New Technology conference. While there I met a woman from the Minnesota Commission Serving Deaf & Hard of Hearing People. She was curious about BB Task Force and how they would be considering the needs of her constituents. As she pointed out remote classes by video is great – but without subtitles or sign interpreters, they close the door to some students. I don’t know if this is an issue for the Task Force; I don’t know that it isn’t. I know it’s an issue worth addressing.

OK back to the meeting…

Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments | Community Networks, MN, Open Networks, Policy | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

Minnesota Broadband Task Force Special Meeting

February 7, 2009

It was tougher to take notes at today’s meeting than it has been at previous Task Force meetings – especially when they discussed the shovel-ready projects because there was a lot of back and forth dialog and I’m a blogger not a stenographer. I’m going to include all of my notes – but I wanted to add a couple of notes.

First – I didn’t take great notes on the Broadband Mapping presentation because it was remarkably similar to the sneak preview I wrote about on Thursday. I just added notes and questions that were new.

Second – I just read an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Broadband task force drops plan to get stimulus funds). I think the tone of the article is misleading. I don’t think the Task Force dropped the list of projects so much as they decided that realistically they couldn’t be the ones to decide which projects should be funded – and if they handed over a list of projects that the powers that be would assume that the Task Force had made some qualitative decisions to create the list.

They couldn’t decide which projects should be funded because (1) they don’t know the rules for funding yet because Congress is still creating rules and (2) they don’t have the time to delve into these projects and create a recommendation for the future of broadband in Minnesota, which is their primary goal. So instead of providing a list, it sounded to me at if the Task Force decided to provide benchmarks or guidelines for Legislators to decide which projects to fund after they gather their own list of potential projects.

Third, the Star Tribune article did pick up on the tension in the room between potentially opposing views on how and where to increase broadband in Minnesota. I think we saw a touch of this last month – I think we’re going to see a lot more as the group moves forward to make recommendations on how and where to increase broadband in Minnesota.

On with the meeting notes… Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | Digital Divide, FTTH, Funding, MN, Open Networks, Policy, Research, Rural, Vendors, Wireless | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

February Blandin eNews

February 4, 2009

Blandin Get Broadband CommunitiesHere’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.

Broadband News from around Minnesota

Carver County
The Carver County board approved a fiber optic project linking the county’s cities, schools and libraries, and ultimately businesses and homeowners. http://tinyurl.com/d4lxs2

Duluth
Verizon Wireless launched its high-speed wireless broadband Internet service in northern Minnesota. http://tinyurl.com/apt83p

Grand Rapids
Bill Coleman and Ann Treacy on behalf of the Blandin Foundation have been working with nonprofit executive directors in Grand Rapids to assess shared technology needs and collaborate on solutions. They are also working specifically with arts organizations in Grand Rapids to create a community arts blog, which should be unveiled later this month.

Kandiyohi
The Willmar Economic Development Commission is extending their Blandin-sponsored Get Broadband grant by offering a second ground of grants and more classes to local business working on their web sites. http://tinyurl.com/borafd

Minneapolis
Forbes names Minneapolis number 7 of their top 30 Most Wired Cities. http://tinyurl.com/btfsqn

Monticello
The NATOA (National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors) recently filed an Amicus brief in support of the City of Monticello and their quest for FTTH. http://tinyurl.com/d3r46f

North St Paul
On February 24, North St Paul will hold a special election on an $18.5 million bond to build a fiber-optic network to provide high-speed Internet, telephone and cable services. http://tinyurl.com/c5cure

Olmsted County
Olmsted County supports 140 telecommuters. http://tinyurl.com/d43ehh

St Cloud
A St Cloud man has come up with a better wireless solution based on light, not radio waves. http://tinyurl.com/dbmwrr

Windom
The Windom Schools have benefitted greatly from broadband technology enhanced by funding from the Blandin Foundation’s Light Speed program. http://tinyurl.com/dak23k

(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

As a big Bruce Springsteen fan, last night’s Super Bowl halftime show was a bonus for me. I am now watching the clock so I can go online and purchase tickets for his upcoming St. Paul show. I have seen Springsteen shows many times over the years and through the usual three hour shows, Bruce orchestrates the band and the crowd through a well choreographed outpouring of energy and emotion. Watching him play a 12 minute set was fun, but a bit unreal. When his set was over, I wondered how many attendees would have voted to skip the second half just to have the E Street Band keep playing. Luckily for the NFL, the game turned into a thriller.

In a pre-game interview, Bob Costas asked Bruce why, after all these years of being asked, the band agreed to play at the Super Bowl. Springsteen laughed and said “’Cause I have a record to promote!” The title song of the album is “Working on a Dream.”

Communities pursuing a better future through broadband might well adopt “Working on a Dream” as their theme song. The opening lyrics, “Out here the nights are long, the days are lonely” and later, “I am working on a dream, though sometimes it feels so far away” and finally “My hands are rough from working on a dream” capture the challenge of community transformation whether pursuing a fiber to the home network or stimulating technology adoption by hesitant or budget stretched community organizations. As with many Springsteen songs that speak to challenge, “Working on a Dream” has a hopeful conclusion that is the outcome of hard work and perseverance. So keep up the good work and the benefits of technology transformation will emerge!

Featured Article – Minnesota broadband mapping unveiled

This is a big week for Minnesota broadband for two reasons. First, Connected Nation will be unveiling a preview of their maps this week. Second, the Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force is holding a special meeting to look at the mapping and shovel-ready broadband projects around the state.

Over the past few months, Connected Nation (http://tinyurl.com/d92×93) has been working with broadband providers across the state to create a map of broadband availability and speed. They primarily use the information supplied by the providers to create the maps.

To double check the speeds supplied by providers, Connected Nation has created a speed test and they are asking everyone in Minnesota to test and record their speeds by visiting the site.

Unfortunately, one of our local ISPs (ipHouse) found a hiccup in the Speed Test (http://tinyurl.com/c6cs37).  Apparently the test is skewed for any connections other than DSL or cable, it’s limited to 10mpbs connection and the tests are run out of Texas. Connected Nation has been criticized for their strong relationship to providers in the past (http://tinyurl.com/dkqhh7). The speed tests are a way to balance provider-supplied data so I look forward to hearing how this can be rectified and/or how this affects the results.

Also I’m anxious to see the maps. I suspect we’ll see holes up North and I wonder if we’ll see patchy areas closer to the Twin Cities. I’m curious to see how areas where the large businesses can pay top dollar for broadband but homes and small businesses cannot get access are represented on the map.

Even in their preliminary state, I suspect these maps will be put to work immediately to gauge which areas in Minnesota might be most in need of shovel-ready projects. The Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force will be discussing shovel-ready projects and the mapping on February 6, 2009.

There are three ways to add your two cents to the mapping project and the economic stimulus proposals:

  1. Visit the Connected Minnesota site to test and record the speed of your connection. (http://www.connectmn.org/)
  2. Submit a shovel-ready project idea to the Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force. (http://www.ultra-high-speed-mn.org/)
  3. Come to view the meeting on February 6, 2009 (http://tinyurl.com/d953zk)

The broadband maps will also be unveiled to Senate on February 5 at 3:00 (http://tinyurl.com/blftea) and the House at 8:30 am on February 6 (http://tinyurl.com/d2kevk).

Leave a Comment » | Blandin Foundation, Digital Divide, FTTH, Funding, Get Broadband, LightSpeed, MN, Open Networks, Policy, Rural, Wireless | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

House Stimulus Package and Broadband

January 22, 2009

I’ve put it off long enough – I have to tackle the House Stimulus package in regards to broadband. The super quick take (borrowed from PC World) – “A U.S. House of Representatives committee has recommended the U.S. government give out US$6 billion in grants for wireless and broadband roll-out in a $825 billion economic stimulus package to be considered in Congress.” There are also some pockets where broadband could fit in – such as $20 billion for health IT programs.

So some of the big questions have been – what are the details and is it enough (or too much)? I guess the biggest question is – how can we get some of that? The best answer I have for local folks is to contact the Ultra High-Speed Task Force – not because I think they will be making decisions but because they are the ones in Minnesota asking for ideas right now.

So what are the details?

Here are details I’ve garnered from different places:

  • The overall focus is projects that will have an immediate economic impact, with a goal of using at least 50% of the funding for projects that can be initiated in 120 days.
  • The broadband infrastructure funding is for “open-access” networks.
  • The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) would get $2.825 in rural Broadband
    Infrastructure Recovery Funding. They are looking for under-served areas, they are looking for repeat customers (folks who have worked with the RUS before), and they want a quick start date.
  • NTIA would get $2.825 billion for the Wireless and Broadband Deployment Grant Programs to subsidize the development of broadband and wireless services in un-served and underserved areas. About half to go to voice service and broadband (mobile broadband I think); half would go to fixed wireless. They want to have at last one project per state, need matching funds and again call for open access networks.
  • NTIA will get $350 million for broadband mapping.

So is it enough?

I know this part gets longer than I intended – but think of it as the Cliff Notes version of what the scuttlebutt is. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | Community Networks, Digital Divide, FTTH, Funding, Open Networks, Policy, Rural, Vendors, Wireless | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

Energy, Utilities, Technology and Communications Committee Notes from Jan 13, 2009

January 18, 2009

Earlier this week the Energy, Utilities, Technology and Communications Committee met to talk about how to take advantage of President Elect Obama’s stimulus package.

I wasn’t able to attend on January 13 – but I was able to watch and take notes today. You can watch it online too or you can read my notes… Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Funding, MN, Open Networks, Policy | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

Broadband + rural = stimulus?

January 10, 2009

Earlier this week President Elect Obama spoke about his stimulus package. He promised that this wouldn’t be just another public works program. He wants federal money to invest in infrastructure such as roads, bridges and broadband in rural areas. The goal is to expand “broadband lines across America, so that a small business in a rural town can connect and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world.”

So it’s great that he mentioned rural and broadband. I’ve posted articles  on the number of jobs that will be created by a large scale broadband deployment project and the economic impact of broadband in a rural area. We love to see that. Well, it seems like we ought to love it – but some people have had some thought-provoking perspectives.

The Daily Yonder point out that broadband is all rural areas have seen or heard from Obama up to this point. Families cannot live on broadband alone. They are afraid that other rural needs are being forgotten. The example they give is the White House Task Force on Working Families. It includes the Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Commerce, as well as folks from the president’s economic team. But the Secretary of Agriculture was not included in the original announcement.

The good news is that there are members of Congress who are aware of this discrepancy and they are speaking up. As Daily Yonder notes, “Democratic Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (of South Carolina) leads several House Democrats who ‘are pushing for language in the economic stimulus package that will ensure that rural communities and more impoverished areas receive their fair share of development funds,’ according to Congress Daily.”

It will be telling to see how Obama is able to fit that perspective into his plan. I think/hope that there is room for such collaboration and expansion of his plan.

Art Brodsky at Public Knowledge has other concerns. The title of his post is a top off, Stimulus Package Shouldn’t Reward Bad Broadband Behavior. His concern is that we’re pouring more money into a solution that didn’t work the first time around. (I paraphrase hugely.) As with the Daily Yonder, he’s got a point. I’ve read several articles where Qwest has promoted Obama’s plan – including a local article in the West Central Tribune. (OK, promote is a little strong for the article – but I love to use MN examples.)

Brodsky points out that if underserved areas are going to be served then the local incumbents need to “clean up their acts, or they have to make way for others.” He also says the consumers need to benefit too – which sounds a lot like feedback on the big bank bailouts of late. (I have to add my own note to say that some incumbents are great.)

He suggested getting the FCC to open up competition by allowing for other companies to have access to the lines of telecom and cable companies through wholesale or line sharing. Also support for consumers and companies, like Lifeline or universal service, should be reconfigured to encourage broadband.

He offers a grant process too – but says we should open it up to anyone in underserved areas, including municipalities. Incumbents could qualify under conditions that could range from line sharing and wholesaling to build-out and data speed requirements with obligations to report publicly on deployment progress and location.

Finally he suggests that early adopter consumers get tax breaks too for upping their broadband orders. I love that. So we consumers get a bump and providers get a bump in demand.

2 Comments | MN, Open Networks, Policy, Rural, Vendors | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

Open Networks with Geoff Daily & Christopher Mitchell

December 24, 2008

Recently Geoff Daily of App-Rising and Christopher Mitchell of Institute for Local Self Reliance spoke on Geoff’s blog via VidChat about Open Networks.

The conversation starts with why this is important, what Open Networks are and goes into some of the more detailed issues. They do a good job of describing what an Open Network might mean for a resident, a community and provider perspective.

As they point out, the change in Administration indicates that there may be a greater interest in Open Networks on a national level so it makes sense to learn more about what they are, the advantages and the risks.

I think it would be helpful to anyone who was pretty new to the idea of Open Networks – regardless of their background knowledge of telecommunications.

Leave a Comment » | Open Networks | Permalink
Posted by Ann Treacy

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