Telehealth helps with access to mental healthcare for rural Minnesota’s communities of color – when they have broadband

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A recent publication from the Center for Rural Policy reports…

Rural Minnesota is changing. Across its small towns and open landscapes, people of color are becoming a larger part of the community—some newly arrived from other countries, others whose families have called this region home for generations.

As our previous research has shown (here and here), finding help for mental health concerns can be a struggle for anyone living in rural areas, but it can be even harder for BIPOC residents (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). Whether they are recent immigrants trying to navigate an unfamiliar system or long-time Minnesotans seeking care that understands their experiences, the challenges of finding accessible mental health services that meet their needs remain significant.

This makes access difficult…

While statewide outpatient statistics are not readily available, national evidence shows that rural residents face longer drives to outpatient clinics. The greater distance between communities and the sparse population of smaller towns create adverse economies of scale that increase the cost of providing services. This in turn has led to clinic closures and healthcare consolidation, further squeezing the supply of services over the years as healthcare companies try to keep revenue ahead of expenses. The closures also result in even longer drives to receive services. …

A lack of transportation or public transportation also limits people in rural areas,[3] who are more likely to not have their own vehicles or are unable to drive due to age, income, or disability even as the distances patients need to travel to get services continue to increase. According to a 2024 Minnesota Department of Health report on the state of rural healthcare, rural patients seeking inpatient mental health and chemical dependency treatment must travel three times farther than their urban counterparts.[4]

But while these challenges are tough for all rural families looking for help, they are even greater for people of color.

The report offers several recommendations for improvement, including telehealth for those with adequate broadband…

Telehealth can especially help rural people of color access appropriate, effective mental healthcare, says Terica Toliver, Senior Director of Clinical Therapy at Louisiana-based Iris Telehealth, which provides therapy via telehealth through her contract with ElevaCare in Southwest Minnesota. Telehealth gives people of color a broader range of providers to choose from, including providers who share the same racial and cultural backgrounds.

It’s not a perfect solution, however. Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans don’t have access to the broadband internet service required for telehealth to work reliably,[26] and telehealth isn’t for everyone. Some patients simply don’t feel comfortable talking to a stranger about their mental health on a digital screen.

In 2024 77 percent of E-Rate dollars went to the highest-need category

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Broadband Clusters reports on a powerful way that the federal government has had to help schools get broadband to those who are less likely to have access at home…

Every year, the federal government helps schools and libraries pay their internet bills through a program called E-Rate, part of the Universal Service Fund. In 2024, it approved $2.76 billion in discounts for 21,102 institutions across the country: 18,507 schools and school districts, and 2,595 libraries. This study matches every funded institution to Census data for the communities around it, to examine who the program serves and what those neighborhoods look like.

The discount each institution receives is set by the federal government based on how many students qualify for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) — free or reduced-price meals, a standard federal measure of household income. Schools where 75 percent or more of students qualify receive the deepest discounts: 80 to 90 percent off their bill. Schools where fewer than 35 percent qualify receive 20 to 49 percent off.

In 2024, 77.0 percent of E-Rate dollars went to the highest-need category. In the ZIP codes where those institutions operate, Census data shows 14.2 million households have no home internet subscription and 9.0 million have no large-screen device such as a laptop, desktop, or tablet.

New AI Data Center Moratorium Act bill introduced in US House

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Broadband Breakfast reports…

House Democrats have formally joined a Senate effort to halt the growth of artificial intelligence data centers.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced the House companion to Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ (I-Vt.) AI Data Center Moratorium Act on Tuesday, expanding a bicameral effort to halt new development pending federal safeguards.

Work progresses with ImOn Communications’ FTTH deployment across the Twin Ports

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I wrote about this deployment last week, but here’s a slight update from WDIO…

Crews are busy installing fiber cables across Duluth, to make sure people can have high speed Internet services through ImOn.

Dave Ball, Sales and Operations Manager for ImOn Communications, added, “Every single customer is going to have their own fiber line going directly into their house. They’re not going to have to share bandwidth with their neighbors and other businesses. And, you know, we’re going up to speeds up to five gig and five gig symmetrical. And nobody in this area is up to those speeds.”

ImOn is investing $120 million dollars into the Northland. WDIO caught up with them in the Kenwood neighborhood on Wednesday. …

Connection to the customers will begin in August, according to Ball. They are doing about half of Duluth this year, and Superior. And then the other half of Duluth next year.

Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the company has also pledged $100,000 to community organizations and non-profits.

How is AI changing network patterns? And what does that mean?

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Fierce Network points out that networks patterns are changing…

For 30 years, network traffic followed a rhythm you could set a clock by. A lull in the morning, a peak through the business day, demand falling off in the evening. And it flowed overwhelmingly in one direction: down, toward users pulling web pages, video and files. Networks were engineered around both assumptions. AI is breaking them. …

AI is driving the change, because AI doesn’t take lunch breaks. Human users generate requests intermittently and wait for responses, producing the peaks and valleys networks were built to anticipate. AI operates continuously, at machine speed, around the clock. As more traffic originates from machines rather than people, the daily curve loses its shape and demand approaches a constant load.

Not only are peak times changing – the direction of traffic is changing too…

Upstream bandwidth is now growing disproportionately faster than downstream. At MetTel, total bandwidth grew 30-40% annually, and last year 75-80% of that growth was upstream. For an industry that spent decades optimizing for heavy downstream and light upstream — asymmetry baked into everything from broadband tiers to consumer plans — that’s a striking reversal.

The source of the upstream surge is the edge. AI video processing at retail locations, camera-equipped wearables, and operational technology at oil and gas companies using cloud-based video analysis for asset management — all of it generates data that flows up and out of those environments, not down into them. As industry pushes AI inference closer to where data is generated — in factories, in the field, in the store — the return traffic is upstream by nature.

There’s more and the article looks at the implications for network engineers but I’m also wondering about implications for policymakers and local planners. Right now, the speed goals in Minnesota in 100 Mbps down and 20 up by 2026. Earlier this week, Bree Maki mentioned at the Tribal Telecommunications conference that we won’t make it and that it may be time to rethink that goal.

EVENT July 15: Litigation Update: Minnesota Telecom Alliance v. FCC

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An event hosted by the Federalist Society. on July 15 (2pm in MN)…

Topics:
Civil Rights • Communications & Technology
Communications & Technology Practice Group
  •  Webinar

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently vacated the Federal Communications Commission’s 2023 Digital Discrimination Order, finding the commission exceeded its statutory authority.
The dispute centered on the FCC’s implementation of Section 60506 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which directs the commission to prevent “digital discrimination of access” in broadband deployment and service. In carrying out this statutory mandate, the FCC adopted a disparate-impact framework, under which broadband providers and other entities that impact broadband could face liability for policies or practices that disproportionately affect certain communities without regard to discriminatory intent. The Eighth Circuit concluded that Section 60506 does not authorize the FCC’s disparate-impact regime or regulation of entities other than broadband providers.
Join us for a litigation update on the decision and its implications for broadband deployment, digital equity initiatives, FCC authority, and future efforts to address alleged discrimination in access to broadband service.
Featuring:

  • Dr. Christopher Ali, Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications, Penn State University
  • Jennifer B. Dickey, Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce 
  • Daniel H. Kahn, Partner, Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer, LLP
  • [Moderator] Matthew Furlow, Counsel, U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce

 

Notes and select videos from the 2026 Tribal Broadband Midwest Summit Day 2: AI for Tribal Communities

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The National Tribal Telecommunications Association hosted the 2026 Tribal Broadband Midwest Summit in Minnesota. I wrote about the first full day yesterday; today the conversation is all about AI. We got a practical introduction to AI and tribal leaders spoke about using AI to help preserve native languages. The presenters spoke about the difference between AI is a public for private environment.

Welcome from Godrey Enjady

  • Trying to get broadband to everyone
  • Learn to read contract and rules carefully
  • Teaching people how to use new resources and preserving culture

Understanding AI

  • AI is a shortcut for images
  • Using AI for language preservation
  • You need to verify AI results – good memory but not always right

Understanding AI in Tribal Broadband (language preservation)

Q: Is one AI tool (ChatGPT vs GROK…) and is paid worth it?
Each tool has a different benefit. Some folks have subscriptions to all; some none.
You get faster results and more use available if you pay. Creating code? You might want to pay. Simple question? Free is probably OK.
Try out a few tools and see what you like.
You do get different results if you use different tools.
Be cautious of uploading/sharing intellectual data with AI tools – even to have them help you figure something out. (Upload it becomes internalized with AI)

Q: Wat guard rails to you institute to keep data good?
It is a concern. Can’t let AI run amok.

EVENT June 24: AI without the hype: What rural broadband operators need to know

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From Benton Institute for Broadband & Society…

Telecompetitor

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 – 3:00pm
Time Zone
EST
Virtual Event

Rural broadband operators are navigating a moment of real change. AI is reshaping how networks are used, how they’re managed, and how providers can stay competitive. But sorting useful strategies from empty buzzwords isn’t easy.

A panel of industry leaders will share proven approaches to using AI and automation to improve network efficiency, deliver better customer experiences, and open new revenue streams.

Notes and select videos from the 2026 Tribal Broadband Midwest Summit

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The National Tribal Telecommunications Association hosted the 2026 Tribal Broadband Midwest Summit in Minnesota. It was fun to hear the stories from Minnesota and learn from what’s happening in other areas, such as Arizona. It’s clear to see that data center (emphasis on micro-data centers!) and AI are hot topics. Funding, and what’s happening with BEAD and other federal funding, is also a hot topic, although there are federal funds that are available exclusively to tribal areas. Shared barriers included questions about what may happen with federal funding, inflation and balancing POTS (landlines) with LEO (satellites).

Also very interesting to hear about the tribal perspective on sovereignty, which includes:

  • Local control
  • Ownership equals opportunity
  • Cost of dependency
  • Vision for the future

Welcome by Bill Rudnicki, Tribal Administrator, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
Welcome – Godfrey Enjady

$500M for tribal broadband – how do we do it?

  • Meet your tribal networks
  • 575 recognized tribes in the US
  • Difficult become tribal lands are remote
  • “We used to follow the buffalo to stay alive; now we follow the Internet.”
  • Permitting on tribal lands can be a complex thing.
  • Working on AI for language preservation. Fewer than 200 on tribe can speak conversational Apache back home.
  • Built a new data center – micro to meet the needs of our tribe.
  • Looking at Spectrum. You can do 5G with 3 channels government just gave tribal communities some spectrum.
  • We need to understand more about the tools that are being created to work with them.

Panel – Connecting Minnesota: Partnerships, Policy, and the Path to Border-to-Border Broadband
MTA (Brent Christensen) and OBD (Bree Maki tell a Minnesota Broadband Story

  • 2008 – MN Leg mapped broadband
  • 2013 – Leg creates OBD – housed in Dep of Employment and Economic Development (NOT Commerce)
  • 2013 – created rules for grants
  • OBD has had 3 Executive Directors
  • Work to get stakeholders together
  • OBD does mapping twice a year with Connected Nation. ISPs do provide information
  • Working through BEAD and local legislation
  • Part of MN grant process has included a challenge process that allows the challenging provider to be specific about target area and let grant applicant rework the proposal.
  • No waste, fraud or abuse in broadband funding in MN.

Q: Where’s the tribal engagement?
11 tribal national in MN. Some tribes serve themselves and some are served by MTA members. MTA is working on building better roads to work together.
OBD also reaches out to tribal areas and attend meetings. The MN Broadband Task Force includes a tribal member.
Tribal areas can maintain sovereignty and work with consultants

New Mexico is also doing a good job.
Want to know more about what Paul Bunyan Communications is doing.
State workforce development is important.

MTA has been able to work with almost everyone in the last 16 years. Except RS Fiber.

Q: Has MN provided communities with AI policies that can work? Such as Open AI or ChatGTP.
Last Leg Sessions, we realized we could not have onerous AI laws and get BEAD funding. But still waiting for definition of “onerous.”
We had 9 AI bills introduced last session and they were ready-aim-fire bills. We need meaningful policy but we need to be mindful and purposeful. We need a Task Force with stakeholders.
There are lots of experts in the room.

Last words:

  • Keep tribal communities engaged.
  • Advocacy is important

Just Released: NTIA Funding Opportunities/Regulatory Update with Chris

Q: It can be difficult, especially going straight through FCC instead of a State Office buffer.

Q: What about reporting?
Main thing is reporting to FCC broadband data collection, which involves a lot of things.
ETC designation for tribes is important – making small steps
Sustainability funding

Broadband: A Look at the Minnesota Model

Q: How is EHP (Environmental and Historic Preservation) complex in tribal areas?
The challenge comes where you wait and aren’t sure what you might be disturbing with environmental concerns – for example prehistoric grounds that have not been previously disturbed.

Q: Is there a state support for a middle mile to step in and help with rights-of-way?
OBD can help convene potential partners.

Q: Are you looking to change the state speed goals?
It was aggressive when it was set. The goal is 100/20 by 2026 and we won’t make it. There is an appetite to raise the speed goals and it’s up to associations to encourage the legislature.

Nuts and Bolts of Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP)

Panel: Advanced Business Models for Sustainable Tribal Networks

Panel: Third Parties Can Ruin a Day

Tribal Broadband Partnership Success Story: Shakopee Mdewakaton Sioux Community and Nuvera

Q: Large providers can be difficult. Glad to hear a story of a good partnership? How long are your contracts?
3 year auto-renewal

Q: Have you worked with 2.5 spectrum?
We do have spectrum – and we’ll use it while we can’t get fiber to a location

Q: Have you thought about working with other tribes? (Branching out from Shakopee)
Currently we are not planning that – bt maybe in next 20 years.

EVENT July 1: The Blueprint for Equitable Digital Participation Webinar

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From the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society…

Join the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society on July 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET for a webinar about how affordable, reliable high-speed internet is a foundational prerequisite for participation in modern-day life.

A new paper entitled The Blueprint for Equitable Digital Participation by Public Knowledge, UnidosUS, and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA)—the culmination of a multi-year research effort to ensure that the voices of community members are prominently elevated in critical broadband policy debates—centers the lived experiences of those directly impacted by digital inequities.

This webinar, featuring the authors of The Blueprint for Equitable Digital Participation and leading experts in the digital equity field, will offer ideas for how policymakers can ensure low- to middle-income households across America can gain and sustain access to high-speed, reliable internet, connected devices, and digital skills.

E-Rate Advocates Want FCC to Reconsider Bidding Portal

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Broadband Breakfast reports…

Groups representing participants in the E-Rate program are asking federal regulators to reconsider their decision to enforce a mandatory electronic bidding portal.

The Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition and CW Consulting, which represent and work with schools and libraries that participate in the program, said they and others weren’t given enough time to comment on the new rule before it was adopted.

Nextlink expands Aviat Networks deal for rural broadband buildout

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Street Insider reports…

Nextlink Internet has expanded its agreement with Aviat Networks (NASDAQ: AVNW) to deploy microwave, E-Band, and multi-band wireless transport systems across Nextlink’s 12-state service area, according to a press release from Aviat Networks.

The deployment is tied to Nextlink’s participation in the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, for which the company has secured more than $180 million in funding. Nextlink has also previously received $429.2 million through the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The company recently activated what it described as the first wireless tower funded under the BEAD program.

Nextlink serves more than 100,000 subscribers across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wyoming, Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. The company operates over 2,600 active towers and states it has invested more than $1 billion in its network to date.

US Senate passes Bill requiring FCC and GAO reviews of federal tool used to track broadband deployment spending

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Broadband Breakfast reports…

The Senate unanimously approved a bill Thursday aimed at strengthening oversight of the government’s broadband funding map.

The MAP for Broadband Funding Act, passed by voice vote, would require the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a formal inquiry into the accuracy, functionality, and usability of the Broadband Funding Map, a tool created to track federally funded broadband deployment projects. 

RadioLink closure in Southern MN leaves customers without options

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I’ve reported on this story earlier, but I thought AOL did a nice job with perspective. In the Cities, we have more options than some rural areas, and this is a great example of why choices are important…

If you live in an urban or well-populated area, you likely get your internet from one of the major internet service providers (ISPs) such as Verizon or T-Mobile. Those in rural areas, however, likely have to rely on smaller ISPs, with fewer options than urban areas because major companies can’t justify expanding their services to cover sparsely populated regions.

So, while urban residents will likely have at least a backup option if they aren’t happy with a provider’s services, that’s not a luxury that more rural folk can rely on. Spare a thought, then, for residents in rural Minnesota who have lost access to the internet after RadioLink Internet (RLI) abruptly ceased service without any warning on June 1, 2026. Some customers initially thought the outage was temporary, but it turned out that the company had also shut down its website and phone lines. RLI states that it sent out an email to affected customers, but some residents say they never received any notification of the abrupt closure.

RLI serviced about 5,000 square miles in southern Minnesota. In an email, the company’s owner, Daniel Petsinger, told local news station KTTC that the sudden closure was due to a dwindling customer base and changes in the political climate. The company has filed for bankruptcy, leaving customers in the lurch.

EVENT Aug 6: Innovate with AI in Red Wing

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This is billed at a Hackathon 2.0, happening in Red Wing so I can’t resist sharing it…

Hosted by: IgniteMNRed Wing, MN

From problem to prototype in 120 minutes

Join us for a fast-paced, hands-on innovation sprint where you’ll learn how to combine AI, design thinking, visual communication, and rapid prototyping to transform ideas into actionable solutions—in just two hours.

Whether you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, nonprofit leader, educator, professional, or simply someone who loves solving problems, this workshop will help you move from inspiration to implementation faster than you thought possible.

During this interactive session, you’ll:

✅ Identify meaningful problems worth solving
✅ Use AI to accelerate brainstorming and idea generation
✅ Apply design thinking techniques to refine solutions
✅ Create visual concepts and prototypes without coding
✅ Test and improve your ideas through rapid feedback
✅ Leave with a tangible concept you can continue developing

This isn’t a lecture. It’s a workshop designed to get you building.

No technical background is required. No coding experience is needed. Just bring your curiosity, creativity, and willingness to experiment.

By the end of the session, you’ll have a better understanding of how AI can serve as a creative partner in innovation—and you’ll walk away with a prototype, action plan, or concept ready for the next step.

Who Should Attend?

  • Entrepreneurs and startup founders
  • Small business owners
  • Nonprofit leaders and staff
  • Community builders
  • Educators and students
  • Innovators and problem-solvers
  • Anyone curious about practical uses of AI

What to Bring

  • A challenge, problem, or idea you’d like to explore
  • A laptop (recommended)
  • An open mind

The future belongs to people who can identify problems, leverage technology, and turn ideas into action. Come build something!