Posted by: Ann Treacy | May 5, 2012

What’s your broadband worth?

I get a lot of suggested topics and volunteers to help write blog posts. I always wonder what the angle is and I rarely decide it’s a good idea – but this infographic came last week and caught my eye. Here’s the explanation I got from the introductory email…

Last year, the FCC published a report that shows most broadband Internet providers aren’t providing the speeds and quality customers are paying for. The information is highly technical, and fairly overwhelming for the average consumer.

High Speed Experts has taken this information and displayed it in an easy-to-digest infographic format so that your readers can clearly see what their provider offers and whether or not they’re getting the best value.

Broadband Internet

Now it doesn’t take much sleuthing to see that they favor Verizon FIOS and they sport a Verizon FIOS ad on their homepage – but I still think that graphic is worth sharing – partially because it echoes conversations I’ve heard at the Minnesota Broadband Task Force meetings in the small group discussions on digital inclusion. The truth is many, if not most, residential users are unaware of their broadband options, they’re unaware of what’s the best fit for them and they don’t know if they’d got the best deal around or are being robbed.

I know that the National Broadband Plan was working on “transparency in the retail broadband market” and I know progress has been made with maps and speed tests. In fact with the handy National Broadband Plan Action Agenda, I can see that the tasks related to consumer benefits are 80 percent done. Maybe what they need to reach the 100 mark is some slick packaging!

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Posted in Research, Vendors

Posted by: Ann Treacy | May 4, 2012

Broadband businesses bring in an extra $200,000 in MN

Connect Minnesota recently released a report on business use of broadband. Here are some of the highlights as reported by their press release:

  • Broadband-connected businesses bring in approximately $200,000 more in annual median revenues than non-broadband adopting businesses
  • About 83,000 Minnesota business establishments have websites
  • 47,000 Minnesota businesses use the Internet to advertise job openings or accept job applications
  • Online sales in Minnesota account for approximately $6.2 billion in annual sales revenue
  • More than one-half of Minnesota businesses in the healthcare sector (55%) use the Internet to stay in touch with their customers and patients
  • 40,000 businesses in Minnesota are still not connected to broadband and are unable to actively participate in the digital global economy

Connected Nation also put out a broader report based on the surveys in the nine states where they work. It’s interesting to note that  the broader reports broadband-connected businesses bring in approximately $300,000 more in annual median revenues than non-broadband adopting businesses; that number is reduced to $200,000 in Minnesota.

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Posted in economic development, MN, Rural

Posted by: Ann Treacy | May 3, 2012

Minnesota Broadband Task Force – Next Meeting May 8 in Winona

The Department of Commerce just posted the agenda for the next Broadband Task Force on the Connect Minnesota site. They are meeting in Winona. It looks like a lot of the time will be spent in small groups discussing the various aspects of broadband. The advantage of the small group time is that the groups seem willing, happy even, to welcome attendees to the discussion. The disadvantage (for someone who takes notes) is that it’s impossible to track everything that’s happening. Last month it was suggested that the small groups report back to the whole task force after their discussion. I think that will help with the flow of information.

Here’s the agenda:

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
Winona Health, 855 Mankato Avenue, Winona, MN 55987
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

  • 10:00 10:15 Greetings and introductions, approve meeting minutes
  • 10:15 11:30 E Health Presentations
    • Welcome and Background on Winona Health Mike Allen
    • Mayo Beacon Project—Lacey Hart
    • Beacon Project and A Vu Media—John Goodman
  • 11:30 12:15 Subgroup work time
    • Coordination Across Government Levels Leader: Danna MacKenzie - Westview Conference Room, 1st Floor
    • Best Practices/Incentives Leader: Dick Sjoberg - BA Miller—main meeting room
  • 12:15 12:45 Lunch
  • 12:45 1:30 Subgroup Work Time
    • State of Broadband Leader: Matt Grose - Westview Conference Room, 1st Floor
    • Broadband Adoption Leader: Shirley Walz - BA Miller—main meeting room
    • Monitor/Understand Impact of FCC & PUC Decisions; Cost of Broadband Leader: Gary Evans - Lab Conference Room, 1st Floor
  • 1:30 2:10 Subgroup reports to full task force and feedback
  • 2:10 2:25 Public comments
  • 2:25 2:30 Other business/Upcoming meetings/Adjourn meeting

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Posted in Conferences, Minnesota Advisory Task Force, MN, Policy

Posted by: Ann Treacy | May 3, 2012

A sneak peek at ebusiness training in Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Extension has been offering hands-on, ebusiness training throughout the state, often through the MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) program. We’ve featured some stories about the training. This week I’ve received a nice testimonial from an attendee from the classes held in Lac qui Parle (on their tricked out Computer Commuter). I wanted to share the testimonial because I think it gives a good glimpse at what happens in the class and what it means to the attendees.

So shared with permission from the owner of The Cellar Door…

When I took the Computer Commuter Classes on Websites & Social Media I had 50 people who “liked” my business on Facebook. Today I have 206 and it continues to grow every week. Neil showed me how to switch back & forth from my personal site to my store site & how to utilize it. I post pictures of each item that comes in and nearly every picture is either commented on or liked. Sometimes it is shared with a Facebook page that has an audience of 1000+. Customers have come in to purchase something, solely because of a picture that was posed.

An important component has been making it personal, another idea that came from the classes. Facebook helps me connect with younger customers. During the class I realized that my website pictures were slow to download and have since updated the site to make it faster and more entertaining. I have enjoyed continual increase in sales and traffic.
These classes really helped me use the internet to my advantage at little or no cost. It has saved my hours of time trying to figure these things out on my own. At one of the classes I learned how to email a survey. After our Retail Group events, I am able to send one out and receiver invaluable feedback from other retailers in a fraction of the time it took me before learning about this tool.

These classes have been a springboard of ideas for me as an entrepreneur in a small town with limited resources.

Thank you.
Annette Seivert, owner of The Cellar Door in Dawson, MN

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Posted in Broadband Applications, economic development, MIRC, MN

Posted by: Ann Treacy | May 2, 2012

Akamai State of the Internet – Where is MN? Not on the list.

The latest Akamai report on global broadband speeds and rankings is out – based on Q4 2011 research. The news isn’t great for the US, it’s even worse for Minnesota. Here’s a partial list of what Akamai tracks:

Average Broadband Connection Speeds – The US comes in 13. Japan dominates the list of top global cities, especially in the top 50 cities. At number 51, Boston is the top US city listed. There are 22 US cities listed; none were in Minnesota.

Average Peak Connection Speeds – The US comes in 10. Japan and South Korea dominate the top city listings. North Bergen, NJ ranks top (for US city) at 24. The list includes 30 US cities in the top 100; none are in Minnesota.

Broadband Connectivity (broadband adoption) – The US comes in 12 for connectivity over 5 Mbps; we rank at 35 for connectivity over 2 Mbps. (The Isle of Man comes in number 1 with 97 percent!)

Narrowband Connectivity – The US comes in 27 for narrowband connectivity.

The report looks at global ranking and ranking by geography. Minnesota is not listed – not once. In the past we have occasionally ranked. Minnesota Broadband buffs will know that part of the Minnesota Broadband Bill was an aspiration to be a national and world broadband leader…

It is a goal of the state that by 2015 and thereafter, the state be in:
(1) the top five states of the United States for broadband speed universally accessible to residents and businesses;
(2) the top five states for broadband access; and
(3) the top 15 when compared to countries globally for broadband penetration.

We’re not getting closer to that goal.

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Posted in MN, Research

Posted by: Ann Treacy | May 2, 2012

Why Videoconferencing in Worthington Schools?

With help from the Blandin Foundation, Worthington School District is installing videoconferencing equipment. In fact, the equipment is expected to arrive sometime this week. Once it’s installed they’ll be working with Video Guidance to set up and learn to use the equipment.

So that’s kind of exciting. I was interested in what they planned to do with the technology once in place – and I got one of the best responses I’ve seen from Maggie Kraemer at the school…

My goal/hope is this equipment will allow students in Independent School district to experience a world that is larger than Nobles County. I want them to see live knee surgery, talk with scientists, compare notes their peers in other countries, tour world-class museums – I want to open the world to them. I hope to increase understanding and open students’ minds to the possibilities that exist in our great big, beautiful world. Some of my teachers have thoughts and dreams of their own others will need more structure; to this end, I’m going to enter in to a contract with CILC. This URL will show you some of what CILC has to offer – I created it for my teachers yesterday -http://www.screencast.com/t/CmWheD6P8A

The video is definitely worth the four minutes it takes to watch. You could get some good ideas, learn about some good sites and get a little enthusiastic about the teaching that’s happening in the state.

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Posted in Blandin Foundation, Broadband Applications, education, MN

Posted by: Ann Treacy | May 1, 2012

Blandin eNews Monthly Recap: May 2012

April News from the Blandin on Broadband Blog

Blandin Commits to Broadband Through 2014
At the Blandin Foundation’s March board meeting, trustees chose to continue the Foundation’s investment in high-speed broadband through 2014. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Es

New Broadband Maps
An early Spring seems to have given rise to new broadband maps. The NTIA recently released a map that tracks progress on all of their ARRA-funded projects, including Blandin Foundation’s Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) initiative. http://wp.me/p3if7-1G5 Connect Minnesota also unveiled updated maps with an improved interface. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FW

Conferences & Convening
Many broadband-related events were held in April:

  • The Minnesota Broadband Task Force met at Unisys in Eagan in April. It was an opportunity for Task Force members to hear about some of Dakota County’s forward-thinking planning in terms of streamlining technology policy and developing public-private partnerships to promote improved infrastructure. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Fz
  • The Minnesota High Tech Association Spring Conference highlighted business applications of broadband including social media and cloud computing. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Gb
  • The University of Minnesota and Department of Homeland Security lead discussions on cyber security from the personal, enterprise and national perspective. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FU
  • At the Humphrey Institute, the TISP Forum featured Eagan’s data center as an example of a successful public-private partnership. Presenters spoke about how policies, specifically State tax credits for data centers, have an impact on business and infrastructure in Minnesota. http://wp.me/p3if7-1F6

Local Broadband News 

Anoka County
Anoka County’s ARRA-funded fiber project progresses; they will soon be looking for Last Mile providers for partnership. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Gi

Brainerd
Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC) went to Washington DC for the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association’s Legislative & Policy Conference to speak with Rep. Chip Cravaack and Sen. Al Franken about their concerns with recent changes and proposed changes with the FCC. http://wp.me/p3if7-1ES

Brewster, Heron Lake, Lakefield, Okabena, Round Lake
Fiber construction is nearly complete in Brewster, Heron Lake, Lakefield, Okabena and Round Lake. http://wp.me/p3if7-1EM

Cloquet Valley
With support from the Blandin Foundation, Cloquet Valley is organizing an investigation into bringing better broadband to seven rural townships north of Duluth. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Gf

Duluth
Nextera Communications plans to expand its wireless services to the Duluth area. http://wp.me/p3if7-1EU

Faribault, Fairmont, Alexandria, Marshall and Crookston
PCs for People visited Faribault, Fairmont, Alexandria, Marshall and Crookston where they were able to accept local computer donations, process and repair the donations and leave working computers to be awarded to local, deserving recipients. (Check the article for towns planning a future visit from PCs for People.) http://wp.me/p3if7-1FK

Fergus Falls
Forward Fergus Falls sets a goal to become a telework leader. With the help of the local broadband provider, businesses, residents and a new Telework Center they are well on their way to meeting the goal. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Ez

International Falls
PCs for People and Rainy River Community College partner to get computers and broadband connection into the hands of households that wouldn’t otherwise have it for a MIRC-sponsored project. http://wp.me/p3if7-1F2

Marshall
Local businesses receive University of Minnesota Extension website development training. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FG

Minneapolis
The Minnesota Opera creates a stir with innovate use of Twitter during performance. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Fp

Morris
University of Minnesota Morris solves landlord-renter issues with a website that helps keep everyone informed of their rights, their responsibilities and the local rental market. They maintain a database of licensed and available rental properties. http://wp.me/p3if7-1EJ

Northeast Minnesota
The Northeast Service Coop (NESC) provides an update on their ARRA-funded middle mile network, which includes 415 miles constructed in 2011. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Ew

St Paul
Bridging the Digital Divide conference brought several community development practitioners together to discussion tactics for improving access and adoption to technology in unserved communities. Recommendations including training, application and a policy approach. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FI

Sibley County
Sibley County Commissioners vote to move ahead with fiber plan http://wp.me/p3if7-1G2, after originally postponing the vote. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FZ

Events

May 2 – Virtual Tour of Connect MN Maps – 10 am http://tinyurl.com/88gstzr

May 8 – Minnesota Broadband Task Force meeting – (Winona) http://tinyurl.com/7n2syt8

Looking for more events? Check out TechDotMN’s calendar http://tech.mn/events/. Many events are based in the Twin Cities but it is a comprehensive list. (If you have an upcoming event, consider submitting it.)

Looking for local MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) events? Check the MIRC Google calendar: http://tinyurl.com/3oz5uzh or University of Minnesota Extension MIRC calendar http://tinyurl.com/66vxghj

Stirring the Pot

PART ONE

NTCA, the industry organization for rural telecom coops, came out with a very nice white paper this week “The Smart Rural Community.” http://tinyurl.com/cgjjpay I chuckle to myself (the hazards of the home office) as I ponder whether one would rather live in a smart community or an intelligent community.  Or which makes the better acronym for communities here in Minnesota – MIRC or SMiRC!  No one likes a smirc!

More importantly, the report highlights great examples of active use of technology applications in rural communities, including some here in Minnesota, that are facilitated by quality networks, engaged providers and forward looking businesses, educators, health care administrators and farmers. I am excited to think that our MIRC demonstration communities have enough excellent examples in all these areas to fill an entire book.

The NTCA report highlighted the leadership of their member coops in these case studies and that is great to see.  In our MIRC project, there are a couple of the 11 communities where providers have been very actively engaged and sharing leadership of effort to drive adoption of broadband.  In just a few others, providers are regular partners and participate as called upon for specific activities.  I believe that the balance of the communities could benefit from stronger interaction and shared effort to achieve the common goal of more users with more uses of broadband.  With reluctant providers or where there are multiple providers, these types of partnerships can be difficult. Yet the goal of expanding the pie and driving sophistication and bandwidth use should be one that provides a platform for collaboration.  As we move forward and continue our broadband and Intelligent Community activities, I am very interested to hear about how we can enable better collaboration between providers and communities.

A surprise treat near the end of this document – a statement by the NTCA establishing 20 Mb to the home as the minimum required for a smart community.  This is a clear rejection of the FCC’s woefully inadequate 4 Mb standard for rural communities.

PART TWO

The new Connect MN maps are out and the areas unserved by broadband continue to shrink.  By the end of 2012 construction season, additional areas will be served.  My favorite map is the one that shows the density of unserved areas below.  As we know, there are places in Minnesota where few people live; the BWCA and some of the large peat bogs in north central and northwest Minnesota are examples, but there are still quite a number of areas (gold and brown) where good numbers of people live and are unserved.  I have been working with some of these people in Redwood County, Kanabec County and the Cloquet Valley area north of Duluth between the iron range and the North Shore.  I have received calls from rural Isanti County and the Wadena School District.  They live in areas with no broadband and providers with no plans to provide broadband.  These areas have a long way to go and not many tools designed to help them.

The second map shows (dark green and blue colors) the places that generally meet the NTCA standard of 20 Mb, which also matches the top end of the State of MN broadband goal.  Many community networks actually meet this standard as do some rural areas that are served by cooperatives.  So the state broadband task force has two significant tasks – encouraging broadband deployment to those without access and encouraging upgrades to those with broadband that currently do not meet the state or NTCA standard for a smart community.

Bill Coleman helps communities make the connection between telecommunications and economic development.  As principal in Community Technology Advisors http://tinyurl.com/3f4dx7g for ten years, he assists community, foundation and corporate clients develop and implement programs of broadband infrastructure investment and technology promotion and training. Bill is working with the Blandin Foundation on the MIRC Initiative http://tinyurl.com/2c6mhh4, Community Broadband Resource Program http://tinyurl.com/cseu7e and other broadband projects.

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Posted in Blandin Foundation, MN

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 30, 2012

Cloquet Valley looks at Better Broadband

I am delighted to share a guest blogger post today from Janet Keough town board supervisor for North Star Township and Chair of the Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative Steering Committee. Jan is part of a crew in Cloquet Valley that is working towards better broadband…

The Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative (CVII) is an effort by seven rural townships north of Duluth to bring broadband internet to our region. These townships (plus 2 unorganized townships) are located between two big fiber optic projects (Lake Connections and North East Service Coop) but so far are not being included in their development or in development by any of the private internet providers.

Internet to our citizens is, at this time, provided by dial-up, satellite, and a patchwork of low-speed DSL and wireless. This is a grass-roots effort by rural township government and interested citizens. With advice from many experts, including Bill Coleman and the Blandin Foundation, the CVII team developed educational materials and distributed them to citizens in the area.

The team developed a questionnaire to gauge the level of satisfaction with current internet access and interest in paying for improvements. The Blandin Foundation team (thanks Ann and Bill!) turned the questionnaire into an on-line survey. The CVII team used the on-line survey, plus door to door distribution, mailings, and newsletters for distribution. The results showed strong dissatisfaction with current internet access and also showed a very good market for improved broadband. We took this on the road to various providers, but generally got the message that our population density is too low.

The next step was to conduct a broadband feasibility study to understand the details of what it would take to expand broadband and what it would cost. Grants were obtained from AgStar Financial Services and from the Blandin Foundation, and St Louis County and Lake County facilitated the matching funds. At the same time, the ad hoc team developed a joint powers agreement among the townships to create a single organization to promote and leverage broadband internet. We all realize that individual rural townships simply don’t have enough people to attract the infrastructure for broadband, and we have to work together.

We are embarking on two feasibility studies. The first study will provide an objective analysis of the capacity, capability, monthly cost and pros and cons of all the potential broadband provider types. The second study will provide an engineering analysis for fiber to the premise and fiber to the node with DSL to the premise. These two options are likely the most expensive to deploy, yet would yield the greatest capacity and capability for broadband levels at or above the Minnesota state standard. Both studies will give us valuable information for our town supervisors and for our citizens to understand the costs and benefits of various types of broadband internet. And we can use the results to further convince providers that it is feasible and profitable to build in our region.

A real challenge for rural townships such as ours is the limited capacity and capability of rural townships to initiate broadband projects on our own. Our townships do not have an “anchor” city, county, hospital or school within our borders. We are a tiny part of St Louis County, that already has areas of broadband deployment – our situation is, rightly, not viewed as county-wide, although our county has a lot of rural under-served areas and other townships in a similar situation.

Our government offices have very limited administrative capability; town supervisors, clerks and treasurers all work on part-time schedules – most less than 10 hours per month. There are no full-time administrative staff. Rural townships are typically in the business of fighting fires (by volunteers), grading and plowing roads, and some have cemeteries. We have no larger organizations with deep capabilities and deep pockets to seek the large sums required to deploy broadband infrastructure. However, within our townships, our citizens are small business owners, doctors, lawyers, professors, public and home school children, fire departments, and seniors, all needing high speed internet capability and capacity, the requirements of which are growing daily.

When we look across the broadband development landscape, we see mostly cities, counties, telephone companies, and electric coops in public-private partnerships to develop broadband infrastructure. We are likely not unique in Minnesota, since the state has many rural areas that are under served for broadband. One good thing that rural townships have is neighbor-to-neighbor relationships and trust among our citizens. These relationships will be valuable for communication, education and promotion, if and when we can find partners to work with us to leverage broadband. We have received a great deal of encouragement in our strategy, and we are hopeful that we can demonstrate a good market and an unfilled niche for broadband from one or more providers.

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Posted in Blandin Foundation, Community Networks, MN, Rural

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 27, 2012

Update on Anoka County – looking for last mile providers

Just a quick update on the ARRA-funded project in Anoka County. As you may recall, Anoka ia working on building fiber to anchor institutions – and they are hoping to find a last mile provider to serve local residents and businesses. In fact, part of my reason for mentioning their progress is to help them find a good last mile partner – so please feel free to share the news…

Their next Governance Group meeting is scheduled for June 21. The plan is to invite last mile providers to make presentations on their services. If you know of any last mile providers who might be interested, please have them contact David Minke.

The meeting will start at 9:00 AM in Room 705 at the Anoka County Government Center. Please pass the word along to all those who may be interested in learning more about last mile connectivity including council/board members, EDA members, economic developers, cable commissions, etc.

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Posted in Community Networks, FTTH, MN, Vendors

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 26, 2012

Minnesota High Tech Association Spring Conference: Notes

Yesterday I attended the Minnesota High Tech Association Spring Conference. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, current chair of the Minnesota Broadband Task Force hosted the event (as President of the MHTA) and former Task Force chair Rick King gave the keynote presentation. So it seemed as if there was a lot of broadband in the air.

The buzz about the conference was the announced relocation of the MHTA. They will be moving downtown to the Grain Exchange Building. In the sessions, folks were talking very specifically about how to use technology to improve business. Social Media, Cloud Computing and Security were hot topics.

Talking to attendees, it was good to hear that most folks feel business is good. From Involta to the Eagan Data Center, folks were talking about growth and building capacity – broadband, workforce and knowledge. Folks were telling stories of how technology has worked for them and what they are doing to make sure that it continues to work.

I took notes from the sessions I attended. They aren’t full notes – but I offer them for folks who weren’t able to attend….

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Recent jobs report indicates that the computer sectors is reaching levels we haven’t seen in 10 years. The question is – are we producing enough quality people to meet that need? We will be looking into that with listening sessions with MNSCU today.

MHTA is moving this summer to downtown Mpls – the Grain Exchange Building

Gov Dayton

Rick King – what sets you apart matters

Will talk about how to work with and create a community & culture in a global company. Branding comes down to image – and those who control the image control the brand.

Do you want to define your brand or do you want someone else to define your brand personally and professionally? You don’t want to leave yourself with nothing.

If you don’t know anything about something – you will define it yourself and generally less complementary terms than a product would want.

Thompson Reuters focuses on: Authentic – Transparent – Courageous

My job is to make the company and the brand better than you found it. You need to be able to walk the talk. The Brand Becomes the Verb

Read More…

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Posted in Conferences, economic development, MN

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 25, 2012

New Map is report card on broadband deployment & adoption in MN due to BTOP funding

NTIA has developed a new, interactive map that displays how BTOP investments across the US are connecting people, communities, and institutions. The Map allows users to locate BTOP-funded infrastructure investments and community institutions connected in their region, find new and improved public computer centers and identify locations where broadband training and adoption programs are available.

I think the main purpose of the map is to connect the user to information about their community. You can do a search by zip and find out what’s happening in your area. You can also track information by state, which provides a sort of nice report card on the impact of CTIP in MN. The quick take on info for MN:

  • Broadband adoption percentage in MN: 70.6 percent (National average 68%)
  • Communities connected via BTOP funding: 3
  • Communities planning to be connected via BTOP funding: 12
  • Institutions connected via BTOP funding: 1
  • Institutions planning to be connected via BTOP funding: 148

Adoption progress in MN due to BTOP funding:

  • 14 new public computer centers
  • 143 new or improved workstations
  • 121 total broadband adoption programs
  • 31.2K total new household subscribers
  • 22.9K total training hours delivered

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Posted in Funding, MIRC, MN, Research

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 25, 2012

Sibley County Commissioners vote for Fiber

A quick update on the Sibley County Commissioners’ vote from earlier today thanks to KEYC in Mankato…

Sibley County Commissioners voted to move forward with a multimillion–dollar fiber optic broadband project that would bring faster Internet to Renville and Sibley Counties and even individual farms in the area….

The proposed fiber–optic system would be publicly owned, but privately run and connect every home, farm and business in the area to high speed Internet.

Sibley County EDA Tim Dolan says, “Each person has the choice to either opt in or out.”

The involved communities would sell around $70 million in revenue bonds to build the network, which will be paid off with user fees.

Dolan says, “We’ve gone over the 55% mark that are interested in the project which when we do our cash flows and projections gives us profitability for all 30 years.”

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Posted in Community Networks, FTTH, MN, Policy

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 24, 2012

ConnectMN new maps unveiled

Last week, Connect Minnesota unveiled an updated version of the Minnesota Broadband maps…

The mapping tool, called My ConnectView™, is a valuable tool for consumers, policy makers, Internet providers, and planning teams working to increase broadband access, adoption, and use in communities across the state and nation. …

 My ConnectView, developed by Connected Nation, Connect Minnesota’s parent organization, replaces the previous mapping tool and is faster and easier to use; features more interactive data layers and additional tools to explore data; and allows users to e-mail, print, and send feedback on custom maps.

From what I’ve seen it is faster to use and seem smoother. I still wish I could get info by county – but I wasn’t able to find a way to do it on the map. There will be a webinar demonstration of the new tool on Wednesday – unfortunately I’ll be at the Minnesota High Tech Association conference…

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/451387954

This webinar will provide a demonstration of the new interactive broadband mapping application published by Connect Minnesota called “My ConnectView.” The interactive map offers unique tools to view the state’s technology landscape and analyze broadband penetration down to the street level. Attendees will be shown some of the tool’s basic features and can ask questions during the presentation about the underlying data and the map’s functions.

 Title: Connect Minnesota Demo – My ConnectView
Date: Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Time: 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM CDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

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Posted in Conferences, MN

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 24, 2012

Big Vote in Sibley County Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for folks in Sibley County – especially for folks who live in the outskirts of town, between towns or the back and beyond. Tomorrow the Sibley County Commissioners vote on whether or not to be part of the RS Fiber Network, which will bring fiber to the area. The vote was slated for a couple of weeks ago but was postponed.

Many of the area cities have voted to be part of the network; Renville County has also voted in. Arlington has voted not to participate.

Minnesota Public Radio highlighted the potential impact on rural residents – some of which are still using dialup connections…

Linda Kramer and her family grow corn, soy beans, even a little wheat. The family’s farm is on 1,100 acres in rural Sibley County, about 85 miles southwest of the Twin Cities.

Kramer pays about $60 per month for Internet access that by today’s standards is archaic.

“My husband on the farm needs to send files… He’ll throw them in an email, send it out, let it run overnight, come back in the morning and two-thirds of them haven’t gone through,” Kramer said.

They talk about the community support – as demonstrated by local residents signing up for service…

So far, over 50 percent of the residents said they would take some combination of phone, Internet or cable TV service from the broadband project. In parts of rural Sibley County it’s closer to 80 percent of residents.

The meeting begins at 10 am tomorrow; the vote is expected to happen soon after the meeting begins.

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Posted in Community Networks, FTTH, MN, Policy, Rural

Posted by: Ann Treacy | April 23, 2012

National Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign: Stop Think Connect

Last Friday I attended a cybersecurity event at University of Minnesota co-hosted by the Department of Homeland Security. It was a combination Public Service Announcement, FBI/Secret Services/Homeland Security job fair and cybersecurity discussion. (You can get more info on the event and the PSA aspects on the Stop Think Connect website.)

I’m going to start with the finish of the day when the moderator (Massoud Amin) asked a panel of distinguished panelists (Angie Curry, Brian Isle, Mark Ruchie, Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Kasprisin and Steve Kelley) what they thought attendees should do as a result of attending the session in terms of improving their security and/or promoting community-wide security.

There were a couple of themes….

  1. The US is not on the leading edge of security – although some countries still seem to think that we might be. It would be nice to have  a more concerted security effort – but one issue is that security – even just cybersecurity crosses so many departments.
  2. While it seems as if we’re pretty far behind and I wasn’t getting the feeling that our situation was on the mend – there is a push to educate users and administrators. The conference itself was a demonstration – but the attendees also seemed focused on this mission. Other attendees, including corporate IT directors, were interested in programs that would help train staff on security measures at work but seemed equally interested in making sure folks used the skills at home as well.
  3. Folks seemed to feel as if we’re in this security game together. That we’re only as strong as the weakest link and that breeches spread like wildfire.
  4. Security often comes down to human error – or maybe human weakness. People open links they shouldn’t, download software they shouldn’t, transmit info via insecure wires networks. Sometimes that’s because people can be gullible; sometimes that’s because hackers can be good and persistent. Administrators don’t keep up on updates or take the time to shut all security doors and windows.
  5. Smartgrid might be a place to start really doing things right. If we can do Smartgrid security well, we could become leaders again.

There were also some interesting tidbits…

  • Minneapolis ranks 7th in the top 10 riskiest online cities.
  • Cybercrime has surpassed drugs trafficking as money-maker.
  • In 2010, 24 Hours: Unplugged – a study where they asked students to unplug for one full day – studnets presented like addicts.
  • Social Media is a tool for over-sharing. Giving out too much info lets criminals in the real world know when you are most vulnerable.
  • Library of Congress is cataloging all Tweets right now.
  • Be careful of cyber predators – if you divide the number of your Facebook friends by 11, the resulting number is the real number of friends you have in life.
  • In 2010 the Secret Service arrested more than 1,200 suspects for cybercrime violations – involving more than $500 million in actual fraud and loss. Average cost of a breach is $5.7 million.
  • 92% of successful attacks are not difficult to implement – or thwart.
  • Most business do not know that their files have been stolen – they are told by government agencies
  • Cloud Computing – it’s a huge issue. There are multiple aspects. Hackers can hide in the cloud. The bigger concern is what happens when businesses move everything into the cloud. And what happens when the business outsources support – we don’t know where that info resides, especially if it’s in another country. We don’t see much activity there now.

Finally there were some suggestions and tips..

Things you need to do create your online identity

  • Set-up privacy restrictions
  • Think about your future
  • Never use the same password twice

Anatomy of Nation State Attack

  • Establish an attack infrastructure (tools, methods, techniques)
  • Conduct recon on target
  • Draft a spear-phishing email
  • Compromise the end-pint
  • Obtain valid credentials
  • Map of victim’s network
  • Set up hidden director for data capture
  • Compress/encrypt data for transfer

What may your cell-phone reveal?

  • Weekday GPS track for 3 months
    • Patterns of life
    •  Usual places and visits
    • Rare place and rare visits (find anomalies)
  • Don’t want to be followed? Turn off your GPS.

Infragard – http://www.infragard.net/ InfraGard is an information sharing and analysis effort serving the interests and combining the knowledge base of a wide range of members. At its most basic level, InfraGard is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the private sector.

Countermeasures – What can you do to protect yourself and your network

  • Firewall & Antivirus
  • Lock Browser (browse smart)
  • Stay current (Software/security)
  • Separate Powers (admin vs user)
  • Encryption (PGP, GPG, TrueCrypt)
  • Virtualization
  • Process Controller
  •  TCP View – Sysinternals
  • Detection/Prevention

Follow-up Sites

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