SMBS offers television through a partnership with Windomnet based on per customer charge…

Windomnet oversees the cable TV system, handles service and repair of equipment, updates channels and pays for programming. When residents pay their cable TC fees, Windomnet essentially received $5 per customer to help cover costs.

The phone and Internet services are purchased differently…

On a monthly basis, SMBS pays Windomnet for Internet based on the total amount of bandwidth used. Essentially, Windom is paid so much per megabit.
…
“For telephone, we bill based on number of minutes used, ” [Windom City Administrator Steve] Nasby said, “Everything runs through our switch and we bill the broadband group.”

It sounds as if things are running smoothly both from the perspective of SMBS and Windomnet. SBMS expects to begin connecting more folks very soon – hoping for a pace of about 250 customers a month through 2012. Windomnet may be hiring new staff or at least bumping up a part time employee to full time. So although this is a very high level look, this seems to be a successful recipe.

No surprise that the Twin Cities, with its population density and multiple providers, meets the goal [state's 2015 goal for adequate high-speed Internet access for all households]. But it’s intriguing to see the two large outstate areas in the upper Minnesota River valley and up north.

A big reason is the optic fiber work done in recent years by small rural cooperatives like Farmers Mutual in Madison, Federated Telephone in Morris and Paul Bunyan in Bemidji. Folks in those co-ops will tell you in makes a different when the goal is customer-owner service instead of shareholder profit.

It’s heartening to see coops getting more recognition for their appetite and capacity for helping communities achieve community and statewide broadband goals. It’s a trend that others are picking up as well.

By the end of January, about 300 Lakefield residents will enjoy a range telecommunication services powered by fiber-optic cables.

And here’s the tidbit that caught my eye this morning…

Personalized higher speed Internet up to 1000 Mbps is available to customers upon request.

I love my house and my neighborhood – but 1000 Mbps could have me checking out open houses!

Saint Paul, Minnesota nonprofit organization PCs for People is leading a mobile computer refurbishing project funded by the Blandin Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The project seeks to reduce electronic waste while simultaneously helping bridge the digital divide in greater Minnesota.

“We have created a mobile unit to travel to cities across the State of Minnesota, refurbish donated computers on-site and give them right back to families in the local community”, said Casey Sorensen Executive Director of PCs for People. “We are very excited about the project, last month we gave 113 computers to families in Duluth and saw overwhelming demand. Families were extremely grateful since over 80% were receiving their first home computer!” noted Casey. Over the next 7 months PCs for People will travel to 10 communities to replicate the successful Duluth event:

1. Alexandria
2. Bemidji
3. Crookston
4. Fairmont
5. Austin
6. Marshall
7. Hutchinson/Litchfield
8. Faribault/Rice County
9. Cambridge
10. Hibbing

The project will focus on getting computers to two demographics that generally do not own home PCs; low income families and senior citizens. Recipients are identified through partnerships with local community organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs, Head Start programs and Senior Centers. To be eligible for a computer each recipient attends a basic computer training session and they must be below the 150% poverty level.

Two critical components to making sure the computer is useful are an internet connection and ongoing technical support. Each computer comes with free support from a local computer repair shop and self-paced basic computer skills training. For internet, recently ISPs such as Comcast and CentruyLink have created $10 a month high speed internet programs exclusively for low income households. Sorensen said, “Families that receive a computer through our organization have never had the opportunity to search for jobs or use search engines from their homes. It is a big deal for them.” With an average income under $12,000 per year recipient families generally can’t afford $50-60 a month for internet. Sorensen mentioned, “In most cases families want a computer for the Internet and for school work. Even though they can’t afford the most expensive service we have found they are able to prioritize a $10-20 internet bill.”

According to Michael Graif, project lead for PCs for People’s Mobile Refurbishing, finding people in need of a computer is the easy part. “What we need now to make sure these events are successful is to find local businesses willing to donate their old computers.” Prior to arrival in each city, PCs for People will reach out to local businesses to source at least 100 computers. “This is a win-win for businesses needing to manage their end-of-lifecycle digital assets in a cost-effective way, and for the community,” said Michael Graif. “Not only are we offering businesses valuable data wiping and hardware recycling services for free, but it’s an opportunity to help their local community.”

Businesses looking to participate in the program and donate their equipment should contact Michael Graif at: mgraif@pcsforpeople.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling (651) 243-0093.

PCs for People, a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting and refurbishing used computers for distribution to those who lack this essential communication and education tool. Since 1998, the organization has distributed refurbished computers to over 10,000 Minnesota families.

We were talking (emailing) a little but about how those articles were connected. I think both speak to a great schism in economic development strategies.

Information Channels as Economic Development Tools

The first article talks about the shift from an economy based on dollar value vs an economy based on knowledge. Specifically the article looks at Twitter. It’s difficult to monetize the value of Twitter and Tweets – because the value isn’t in the technology; the article claims that the value is in the database of information that’s being collected.

Tweets are unique bits of information in that their lifespan is brief. So even the value of the information is sort of misstating the value. (Although I’m sure there is value to be gleaned from looking back at Twitter trends.) The real value lies in that stream of information – and immediate access to users. The value will be reaped by those who listen, act or react to the information.

So we’re seeing a change in the value chain. Value shifts from that which we can monetize today, to information – and I’d claim to information channels. Folks who have access to technology and broadband have access to those channels. Others do not and will therefore be at a disadvantage – regardless of what else they do. (You can get the information – but that’s yesterday’s coin of the realm – today you need to have access to the source.)

A great underpinning in this shift is that money loses its value once it’s spent. If I have a dollar, I can keep it or give it to you. We can’t both have it. With information, we can both have it. And I think folks who learn to retain the value while sharing have the greatest opportunity to succeed in today’s economy.

The Recipe for Success Has Changed

The second article dispels the myth of the “rural brain drain” by telling two stories. First the story of the smart rural people who never left. Second by telling the story of the people who left for the promise of something bigger beyond, who are not finding that the rules have changed. Young people are leaving school and there are not enough jobs to fill. Families are finding that the security and homes they built are slipping away with economic uncertainty. These people are looking for new opportunities for success and rural areas are part of the equation. (I would defer to Ben Winchester’s research on the “Brain Gain” to back up this point.)

The author of this article makes the point that rural communities saw the economic uncertainty before other areas – and one positive reaction has been the birth of the New Farmers – fueled by, “first, an increasing consumer preference for locally grown and organic food and second, the economic downturn and increased unemployment.”

While this article doesn’t mention technology, I read with technology-colored glasses, and I remember speaking with a “New Farmer” about her use of broadband. It was an essential utility for her. There were many things she was able to give up to start her new rural life, but broadband was not one of them.

Also I think that success in rural and urban areas requires a connection between the two worlds. There is a report from Minnesota Rural Partners that quantifies the economic connection between rural and urban Minnesota – but even more directly I think that broadband removes the barrier of geographic distance that in the past has also kept an economic distance between rural and urban. I think rural communities felt this first and not in a positive way. Consider local bookshops closing once Amazon emerged. But I think that local entrepreneurs are realizing that broadband goes both ways. Or at least those who have access to broadband are able to realize that it’s a two-way street, which brings us back to the original article. Broadband opens a new channel for commerce – but it also opens the door to accessing the information channels.

• Bingham Lake,
• Brewster
• Heron Lake
• Jackson
• Lakefield
• Okabena
• Round Lake
• Wilder

The project has been going very well – and even hooked up their first customer in December. So that part of Southwest Minnesota is going strong.

Unfortunately, according to Watch Dog, not all of Southwestern Minnesota is faring as well..

The recipient of a major federal stimulus grant and loan in southwestern Minnesota appears to be having second thoughts about proceeding with a broadband project spread out over three counties. The $15 million project which planned to expand broadband service in 15 communities may be in danger of going into the financial red zone, apparently due at least in part to the escalating costs of fiber optic cable.

Woodstock Telephone Company was approved by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to receive a $10.6 million grant and a $4.5 million loan from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to expand its fiber network by installing Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) to an additional 3,600 premises in Lyon, Pipestone and Rock counties.

While there’s evidently been no formal announcement, the Minneota city administrator told the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) that Woodstock Telephone informed her the company no longer intends to build a key facility in their community to house equipment for the network. FFM calls to Woodstock Telephone had not been returned at the time of this post.

I haven’t spoken to Woodstock, but I spoke to others who also indicated that Woodstock seemed as if it was running into some roadblocks.

The City of Arlington and the RS Fiber Joint Powers Board will be hosting a gathering of representatives from the 11 city councils and two county commissions that make up the RS Fiber Joint Powers Board on Thursday, January 19th at the Arlington Community Center.

The focus of the meeting is to update all of the councils and commissions on the progress of the project and discuss next steps for moving forward.

An agenda for the meeting is attached, along with bios for the presenters.

A light supper will be served beginning at 6 p.m. sponsored by the Sibley County Economic Development Commission (SEDCO).

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Representatives from each council and commission will have assigned seating.

The gathering is a work session. No motions or votes will be allowed or taken. If a particular city or county needs to call their group to order, please let RS Fiber JPB Chair Jim Swanson know ahead of the meeting and he will accommodate your request.

There will be five presentations made during the meeting.

During the presentations questions will only be allowed from councils and commissions.

Handouts of the presentations will be available at the meeting.

A general Q&A session will take place following the presentations for the general public.

Cards will be passed out prior to the general Q&A and questions will be read from those cards.

Wade Werner from the AGGW Cable Commission and GFW will be taping the meeting.

Shannon Sweeney from David Drown Associates will moderate the presentations and Q&A.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please contact either me or one of the members of the JPB.

If you know of someone you think should receive this email, please forward it to them.

This is a public meeting and everyone is welcome.

Lily was the Black Bear that gave birth in Ely, Minnesota last year. This year her sister is stepping in…

Three-year-old Jewel is the younger sister of Lily, who gave birth in January 2010 to Hope. The birth and early days were followed by millions of viewers over the Internet. A hunter killed Hope last year and biologists say it was a blow to their research.

This is the third year the institute and the North American Bear Center are broadcasting from dens in northeastern Minnesota.

I think it has been a huge opportunity for the Wildlife Research Institute to raise both awareness and funds. They are apparently expecting her to give birth any day now. I checked it out and it is kind of amazing how much they are learning through the webcams.

Thanks to a grant from the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities Program (MIRC), WGTN-TV 3, formerly only accessible for cable subscribers in Worthington, can now be accessed through the Internet.

Available at www.wgtntv3.com, anyone with an Internet connection can watch live coverage of local sports games, community meetings and other events covered by WGTN-TV 3.

The events will also be archived for viewing at anytime.

The benefit for snow birds and other seasonal or past residents is easy to imagine. And although it’s tough to imagine that we’ll ever see snow in Minnesota – it will come. And when it does it will be more difficult for many people to get around; viewing programs at home is more reasonable for folks with any mobility issues.

The ability to view anytime may be at least as valuable. People lead busy lives and attending local community meetings can be impractical – but imagine being able to view at your leisure. Suddenly it is possible to keep up on the Nobles County Board or Worthington City Council. And once you’re informed, it’s easier and makes more sense to get involved.

It’s also now easier to get involved on the other side of the camera – the article indicates that there may be more opportunity for local programming – and I suspect the incentive may be higher when you know there’s a chance for a greater audience. The Daily Globe reports..

“As time goes on, we’ll try to further develop other programs within the community,” Reeves said.

“We’re hoping that this will also encourage and help people become more involved with how to film,” Schnieder said. “Staff-wise, the station is limited, but maybe we can get something going with community education classes. There are a lot of talented people in the area, and we’d like to get them involved.”

It will be interesting to hear if there is an increase in civic participation and community engagement.

LightSquared vs. GPS

A new wireless start-up with Minnesota connections has been in the news lately with plans to provide a unique wireless-satellite communications network that could bring ubiquitous broadband coverage to rural America for a fraction of the cost of existing, limited service.  The issue?  The new LightSquared network threatens to overwhelm America’s Global Position System (GPS) receivers, making the devices obsolete.

The Company and the Technology

Reston, Virginia-based LightSquared Subsidiary LLC was formed in 2010 with plans to provide a wholesale, nation-wide 4G-LTE wireless broadband network with integrated satellite coverage.  The new service is built on spectrum used by two Mobile Satellite Service(MSS) sat-phone companies Inmarsat and SkyTerra, and has announced a significant network partnership with Sprint-Nextel.  Forbes magazine reports that the company invested $50 million to develop new microchips to provide dual-mode wireless at a price below existing cellular service.  By avoiding costs of supporting legacy voice networks, LightSquared projects to wholesale 1 gigabyte data service for about $7, compared to the $50-$60 typically charged retail 3G/4G customers today.

In January 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an Order giving LightSquared conditional approval to build out a ground-based wireless network using its MSS spectrum.  However, that order was subject to further testing and FCC review due to potential GPS interference.

The Issue with GPS

The federal Space-Based Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT) Committee has been examining potential interference by the LightSquared network with GPS receivers.  They state the issue:

The base stations of the LightSquared network will transmit signals in a radio band immediately adjacent to the GPS frequencies. The GPS community is concerned because testing has shown that LightSquared’s ground-based transmissions overpower the relatively weak GPS signal from space. Although LightSquared will operate in its own radio band, that band is so close to the GPS signals that most GPS devices pick up the stronger LightSquared signal and become overloaded or jammed.

There is also concern that the FCC may approve a technical solution to the problem that requires millions of existing GPS users to upgrade or replace their devices…

The results [of PNT testing] clearly demonstrate that implementing LightSquared’s planned deployment for terrestrial operations poses a significant potential for harmful interference to GPS services.

There are basically two technical issues.  First GPS signals are very weak—satellites are 12,000 miles above the Earth and operate on solar power—so receivers have been designed to be sensitive to the full GPS spectrum.  This, however, means many GPS receivers also pick up adjacent frequencies.  Second, LightSquared proposes to change weaker satellite signals in adjacent spectrum to much stronger ground-based 4G wireless signals, exacerbating interference.  Further federal testing results, leaked in December, confirm interference with 75% of general purpose GPS receivers;  however, no “significant interference” was found with cellular phones.  The NTIA will next test high-precision receivers used in farm equipment and scientific instruments.

Different groups have suggested different ways to eliminate conflicts.  (The Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGEO) Emergency Preparedness Committee has tracked the evolving issue on their blog.)  LightSquared’s position is that GPS makers were aware of potential interference and should have built better technology.  The company has petitioned the FCC to re-affirm their spectrum license.  LightSquared has also offered to limit initial use of spectrum closest to GPS signals and delay boosting power on ground stations.

Opponents, including The Coalition to Save our GPS, contend that LightSquared is causing the problem by changing from low-powered satellite service with limited ground stations to high-powered ground-based service.  Members of the coalition include GPS makers; agricultural equipment manufacturers such as AGCO, Case New Holland, Caterpillar, and Deere & Company; and national organizations including the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, among many others.  .

The Issue with Politics

Many media sources have touched on multiple political issues involved in the LightSquared proposal.  Philip Falcone, a native of Minnesota’s Iron Range, acquired control of the company through Harbinger Capital, his New York hedge fund that is now being investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski have feuded through the year on Congressional oversight in the matter.  The FCC’s National Broadband Plan specifically calls for accelerating terrestrial deployment of MSS frequencies.  Questions have, however, been raised about why FCC approval was granted to LightSquared prior to testing, and also about a report that General William Shelton was pressured by the White House to change testimony to Congress in favor of LightSquared.  Grassley placed holds in December on two nominees to the FCC over the issue.

LightSquared has also touted support where it doesn’t seem to be clear.  For example, a September press release stated that “we received a strong endorsement of our view that LightSquared and GPS can co-exist from several of the country’s leading agricultural organizations…” including the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Farmers Union.  However, far from endorsing the proposal, the letter referenced supports both rural broadband and precision agriculture.  In testimony to the House Committee on Small Business, AFBF President Bob Stallman urged Congress to assure that “LightSquared should cover the expense of all technical fixes to the interference issue.”

-John C. Shepard, AICP

Note:  No endorsement of a particular political position is intended or implied