Imagine if you could access high speed broadband in Ely, you could be working while you sit on the beach or in the ice fishing hut. (OK I wouldn’t ever really ice fish, but with broadband access to my laptop I could.)

The Timberay Newspaper covers Ely, Tower, and Cook Minnesota. They recently ran two articles about the area’s plans for a fiber optic network. Last week (Consultant: Fiber optic network offers countless uses) they noted the many opportunities that high speed broadband would bring. Yes, voice, video, and data would be easier – but broadband also brings the opportunity for new applications.

Matt Wenger, of PacketFront (previously mentioned on this blog) was in the area and shared stories of a case study from Vasteras, Sweden, which has used a similar network to transform the delivery of health care, help small businesses, and improve communications throughout the community of 80,000 households.

More recently (Politics, price tag challenge Range-wide high-speed Internet project) the newspaper got into the nitty gritty (financing) of installing and supporting a regional fiber optic network. (A total of 11 communities have signed up at this point but signing up doesn’t require a financial commitment.)

Local officials seem to like the idea but state legislators have not yet jumped onto the broadband wagon. First, there is the funding issue. The estimated cost is $49.1 million. The project is seeking $9.5 million from IRRR but will also want to approach the State legislature for $16 million. State legislators seem unconvinced at this point that there will be a return on investment.

Second, established telecommunications companies, like Qwest and Frontier, and cable television providers, oppose the idea. They do not believe that public dollars should support competition to private businesses. Like the legislators they are unsure that the investment will pay off. (You can get more details from the article.)

The article mentions that “it’s a pretty well known fact that the United States lags far behind in connectivity.” I have to say I agree and I think often the established providers can be a big part of the problem. Doing things the way we’ve been doing them isn’t working. It might be time to re-think how we do things and make some changes – with or without the established guys.