Monthly Archives: February 2008

The Candidates on Broadband

Posted on by
Reply

flagToday’s post is looong – but I tried to look into the broadband views and records of the final four candidates…

I was disheartened last week to read a report saying the not even a tech-leaning crowd seemed to think that broadband was a notable issue. But I am picked up a bit this week after hearing that FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein and FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz both emphatically told a crowd of Lawyers this week that the US is falling behind and if “this country wants to retain its technological pre-eminence in the world, it needs to get behind a national policy that emphasizes ubiquitous, low-cost broadband connectivity.”

As the scope of candidates narrows I’ve decided it’s time again to look at the candidates left standing and their views on broadband. (Not to make anyone jealous but living in Ireland I have not seen one campaign ad!) Continue reading →

Happy Start of Session

Posted on by
Reply

I got an email today from Representative Aaron Peterson. (Not a personal email – I’m sure I’m on a list of some sort.) Anyways, he said that the primary focus of this shorter session will be to create badly needed jobs for Minnesotans.

Here are two other quotes from the email:

In the early weeks of the session, the Legislature will pass a bonding bill, funding work projects across the state that will create as many as 10 thousand jobs. The top three priorities for this bill are local roads and bridges, higher education and clean water – which includes wastewater treatment, according to Rep. Peterson. Special emphasis will be given to jobs that are ready to go immediately.

Another priority for this session will be to pass another transportation bill; last year’s was vetoed by the Governor.

“The roads and bridges in our state are in deplorable condition,” said Peterson. “We need to make them safer for people to travel on, and also make sure goods and services can get around the state easily. In addition, a transportation bill will create more jobs.”

I’m not picking on Rep Peterson; I think the session priorities were a joint decision, but… Hello?! What about broadband? Wouldn’t building a statewide fiber network create a lot of jobs? Wouldn’t providing funding to help people learn to use broadband create a whole lot of different types of jobs? And once we had broadband – wouldn’t that help people create home-based jobs, encourage relocating business to come to Minnesota, and generally help lots of people work more easily from home – which might mean getting a job based in a different state or country but letting them remain in Minnesota?

And on the road issue – well clearly our bridges are in embarrassingly (and tragically) sad shape – but wouldn’t creating a superhighway (to use a 1994 analogy) reduce the number of daily commuters? If folks could work more effectively from home I think businesses would entertain the idea more readily – after all it saves them a lot of overhead and opens up the market from which to hire when location is no longer an issue.

OK I know I’m preaching to the choir and I know I’ve brought up these topics before – but to celebrate the start of the legislature I thought I’d bring ‘em up again.

Engineering Contract Awarded for FiberNet Monticello

Posted on by
Reply

 Thanks to Lynne Dahl-Fleming for passing on the latest press release from Monticello…

 PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE USE – FEBRUARY 11, 2008

At the February 11 City Council meeting the City Council approved an engineering contract for the design of the city-owned fiber optics system. The contract was awarded to Spectrum Engineering Corporation of Auburn, Indiana. The firm was chosen using a Request for Proposal (RFP) and the City received bids from eight different firms.

Spectrum Engineering is in its 28th year of providing professional engineering services for municipal electric companies, universities, large industrials and Telcos. They are an engineering firm that has historically worked primarily with municipalities and has been very successful. The Spectrum staff includes a number of professional engineers with specific experience in municipal network design of optical fiber infrastructure.

The contract specifically covers the design of the city-owned fiber-to-the-premise project which will run up every street and past every home and business in the City limits of Monticello. The contract also provides for Spectrum to assist the City in choosing a construction company and then for Spectrum to inspect the fiber network as it is built.

This is an important step forward for the city-wide fiber project. This network will be operated as a separate business entity under the name of FiberNet Monticello and will be bringing high speed Internet access along with cable TV including HDTV and telephone services to the City.

This city-owned fiber project was approved by referendum last fall and continues to move forward. In mid-November, the City Council authorized a contract with Michels Communications for the installation of a fiber connection between Monticello City Hall and the outside world. Next steps include securing revenue bonds and awarding construction contracts for the project. It is estimated the fiber network will take approximately 18 months to complete. First customers could take service in spring or early summer 2009.

For more information visit the website: www.MonticelloFiber.com

Eudcation Applications

Posted on by
Reply

TIESI just got the following list of collaboration opportunities for classrooms from TIES. I don’t know that there are a lot of teachers reading this list – but even for us non-teachers I think the list is fun to see. Imaine how much fun these classes would be. It’s great use of broadband for kids.

Imperialism http://www.cilc.org/search/collaboration.aspx?id=489
We want to connect with a class in India or any country in Africa. What have been the effects of imperialism on your country?
Our connection time is 2-3pm Eastern Time.
Status: Seeking Partners
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 10

Apartheid http://www.cilc.org/search/collaboration.aspx?id=490
We want to connect with a class in South Africa. What have been the effects of Apartheid on your country?
Our connection time is 2-3pm Eastern Time.
Status: Seeking Partners
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 10

Special Delivery From Kansas http://www.cilc.org/search/collaboration.aspx?id=493
A 2nd grade class would love to share information about their community and state with another second grade class or two. We have developed a short, introductory lesson we would share. End those Feb. blues with a great videoconference and learn about another…
Status: Seeking Partners
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 2

Latin America’s relationship with the U.S. http://www.cilc.org/search/collaboration.aspx?id=491
We want to connect with a class in Latin America. What do you see as Latin America’s relationship with the U.S.?
Our connection time is 2-3pm Eastern Time.
Status: Seeking Partners
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 10

Historical Wax Museum http://www.cilc.org/search/collaboration.aspx?id=492
My sixth grade students have prepared a “Wax Museum” presentation with students portraying historical figures. Students will be in costume and will give a 2 minute first person speech telling about the life of the historical person. We are looking for two sc…
Status: Seeking Partners
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 4, 5, 6

Success with Beginning Spanish http://www.cilc.org/search/collaboration.aspx?id=488
I have a High School (lower level) Spanish teacher that would like his class to videoconference with another (lower level) Spanish class. There are 14 students, most of whom are 9th graders, and they all struggle with Spanish. The purpose of this collaborati…
Status: Seeking Partners
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 9

ECFiber in Vermont

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to Ann Higgins for sending me the first issue in a new series of twice monthly updates from the ECFiber Community. It is a newsletter from the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network (I blogged abotu them earlier).

I’m not planning to move to Vermont soon – though I hear it’s lovely – but I think the ongoing look at what’s happening with their effort towards fiber is super useful for any community considering fiber.

Their latest newsletter mentions reports they have compiled to inform voters, their work with the bank to get a financial advisor, and lobbying with the legislators. They also track the number of pre-registrations they have had sign up for fiber in each community participating in the fiber network.

Their web site is helpful too – for the same reasons.

RBOG Funding from USDA

Posted on by
1

USDA Rural Development Rural Opportunity Grants announced last week money for training and technical assistance for business development, entrepreneurs, and economic development officials and to assist with economic development planning.

There is $50,000 for projects serving a single state, the project must be rural and funds may be provided for development of export markets; feasibility studies; development of long term trade strategies; community economic development planning; business training and business based technical assistance for rural entrepreneurs and business managers; establishment of rural business incubators; and assistance with technology based economic development. The types of projects that may be funded might include identification/analysis of business opportunities that will utilize local material and human resources; provision of leadership development training to existing or prospective rural entrepreneurs and managers; business support centers; centers for training, technology and export trade; and, economic development planning.

Applications are due March 31, 2008.

Google Apps Team Edition

Posted on by
Reply

The folks at Google may have come up with a new broadband drain for us. (And I mean that in a good way.) According to their press release, Google Apps Team Edition is “the simplest and fastest way for groups of employees and students to collaborate within an organization using Google Apps(tm). Once users verify their business or school email address, they can instantly share documents and calendars securely without burdening IT for support. Team Edition can easily be switched to Google Apps Standard, Premier or Education Edition for communications and collaboration across the entire company.”

I have to admit that the difference between Google Apps and Google Apps Team Edition is a little fuzzy to me since I have used Google Apps to collaborate with colleagues in the past but I’ll leave that nuance to the administrators. Since the difference doesn’t matter much to me or to Google’s Apps’ possibility of becoming the new killer app.

I was at an event last night where a guy from Google was talking about innovation. He was also pretty quick to mention Google Apps – so either hearing him and getting the Google press release in the same day is quite a coincidence, or they’re pushing this.

What I think is cool about Google Apps as a killer app is that it lets users do something online that we couldn’t do without broadband, in the same way video lets us do something new.

Last year I spoke with Jack Geller about the broadband use in Minnesota reports and I remember him noting that one thing that was interesting in the latest reports on broadband users was that people with broadband were not just doing the regular things faster – they were doing things that couldn’t be done on dialup.

So here’s my vote for killer app of the day. (That’s not a review of the product so much as a vote for the idea. I’ve used Google Apps but don’t feel qualified to review them.)

NTIA Reports All’s Well with Broadband

Posted on by
6

About a week ago, U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a new broadband report, Networked Nation: Broadband in America, 2007. According to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, “Today’s report shows the nation’s broadband success story. The President’s policies have made a significant impact on the availability and affordability of broadband in the United State.”

Woo hoo! I didn’t know it could be so easy. Continue reading →

Get Broadband Community Succeeds with Help from MTI

Posted on by
Reply

Michael Haynes, economic developer in Stevens County in western Minnesota, and I were talking about the success of their Get Broadband program in and around Morris. Michael noted the positive impact of the program on the business community. Of special note is the work of Minnesota Technology Inc. and their training and advice for some of the larger area businesses.

MTI was able to help these companies improve their strategies for being found by search engines so that they are receiving many more hits than previously. That gives them an opportunity to win business that they would not have even known about previously.

Smaller businesses, like the local florist and one of the area restaurants, took advantage of the grants offered through the Get Broadband program so that they now have web sites that offer looks at their offerings, including flower arrangements and lunch menus. The Stevens County effort also assisted government and non-profits improve their technology. The Morris HRA now has housing information online, the fitness center displays their class schedule so that community members can plan their exercise routine (another excuse to go exercise disappears!) and the chamber of commerce can easily update their own web site and keep it current.

Comparing before and after benchmarking surveys, residential broadband use went from 29% to 50%! Among dial-up users, the percentage that had not tried broadband went down from 44% to 18%. These are great results that demonstrate the value of community-driven broadband market development activities.

Verizon Spent $96 million in MN in 2007

Posted on by
3

A quick note from today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, N.J., invested nearly $96.5 million in 2007 to enhance its network in Minnesota. The improvements included building new and upgrading existing cell sites, expanding the high-speed wireless broadband network to new markets and improving existing wireless broadband network speeds.

Broadband Opportunities for Rural America

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to Becky LaPlant for sending me a heads up on a new broadband resource for rural areas created by the FCC and the USDA.

It appears to largely be a portal of information from the FCC web site. I think the most valuable section will be the funding section, where they track funding from the FCC and USDA.

FCC/USDA Workshops
The portal also promotes 4 workshops that they are having throughout the year. Here’s a description from the site:

The topics to be covered at the workshops include: the different technology platforms used to provide broadband services, USDA funding for broadband deployment, the FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot program, and wireless spectrum access. The workshops will also provide communities and organizations with an opportunity to share their experiences about broadband deployment in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Intro to Broadband Technologies
They also provide information on a variety of broadband technologies – but I have to say that the information is a little uneven. The wireless section is extensive, which makes sense from the FCC perspective but maybe overkill for most of the communities. Fiber, on the other hand, is pretty light.

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down
I can’t say that this is the first resource I would send to someone who just started a broadband project for their community. (I would suggest the recent ISRL report.) But it is a good way to access the FCC and policy info a community leader might need. Also I might keep an eye on their funding section if I thought I might qualify for upcoming funding.

Broadband News Around Minnesota

Posted on by
Reply

Earlier today we published the Blandin Broadband eNews. Many of the stories are quick summaries of blog posts from the last month. We also compile new regarding broadband and community use of the Internet from Get Broadband communities and local newspapers around Minnesota.

I thought I’d post the news from MN in the blog too:

Bemidji
In May, Governor Pawlenty signed a law that requires all school districts to address intimidation and bullying in all forms, including electronic forms and forms involving the Internet; the Bemidji School Board is considering changes now. (http://tinyurl.com/2u7u5y)

Faribault & Marin Counties
Suspected vandals were arrested in Faribault for causing more than $100,000 in damage to telecommunications sites and equipment owned by five local companies. (http://tinyurl.com/yueveh)

Iron Range
The Iron Range’s FiberNet project has halved their estimated startup costs for developing a fiber network. Meetings will be happening throughout the month to promote communities’ support of the project. (http://tinyurl.com/2742uu)

Kandiyohi
Kandiyohi is offering a series of classes to teach basic skills ranging from email and Internet browsing for individuals to online marketing for small-business. For those who participate, grants will be available to help underwrite 50 percent of the cost of creating or upgrading business web sites. (http://tinyurl.com/23orvk)

Monticello
Monticello is moving forward with a city-wide fiber optic network. The fiber network will be financed with revenue bonds, not a tax levy. The cost for the entire project is estimated at $20 to $25 million and completion of the fiber network will take approximately 18 months. (http://tinyurl.com/yuo2b7)

Owatonna
David Warlick of the Landmark Project (http://landmark-project.com) visited with Owatonna educators to talk about teaching information literacy to students to prepare them for their information-rich future. (http://tinyurl.com/39hm2m)

Rochester
The Mayo Clinic and IBM are building a Medical Imaging Informatics Innovation Center (MI3C) in Rochester Minnesota. (http://tinyurl.com/229h67)

Rushford
Since the flood in August, Rushford has been scrambling with other projects but Yaggy, Colby Associates are helping them move forward with broadband. Rushford will use a blog to inform the public about the planning process. They continue to work on website development for area businesses and organizations and will be marketing the opportunity through the internet and other media outlets.

Thief River Falls
Thief River Falls Times reminds readers that, “Congress has mandated that Feb. 17, 2009, will be the last day for full-power TV stations to broadcast in both analog and digital. After that date, those TV stations will only broadcast in digital. The switchover affects TVs that receive free over-the-air programming (those that are used with rooftop antennas or with “rabbit ears” connected to the TV sets). Analog TVs hooked up to cable or satellite services won’t be affected by the switchover.” (http://tinyurl.com/2x8vke)

Winona
Home and Community Options, which provides support and residential services to people with developmental disabilities, was featured the Winona Daily News. (http://tinyurl.com/229h67) Blandin is pleased to have a representative from HCO posting updates on the Blandin on Broadband blog. (http://tinyurl.com/235n28)  

Meet the Blandin Broadband Strategy Board – Eric Lampland

Posted on by
1

Eric LamplandEric Lampland has been President of Lookout Point Communications, an independent consultancy, for more than ten years. A network architect for over 30 years, he was involved with the Internet in its early stages, helped develop ATM technologies in the 1990s, worked on network and application convergence for over 20 years and is now a leader in developing Municipal Commons; consulting with communities to take advantage of these technologies including deploying fiber to the Home (FTTH).

Over time, he has found that the excuses for not investing in newer technologies have remained the same: nobody needs it; it’s too expensive; what would people do with it, and, of course, the existing private market should or will do it. If any of that were true, we wouldn’t have the Internet today. Cooperation between all involved, public-private, individuals and organizations, is critical for success. People invested in the present are least likely to change. People who aren’t have given us the life we have today: the Internet, interactive Web technology, free telephone service, social networks and a whole lot more. Once technology is in place, people have always come up with creative uses for it.

Eric enjoys working with communities but finds that developing and deploying broadband requires faith and mutual respect, which can be difficult but rewarding. He has been involved in local efforts with Eagan, Lakeville, Lake Minnetonka Cable Commission, Northfield, Red Wing, St. Paul and more.

A 2008 prediction: “We will pass the tipping point in the development, with actual installations, of Municipal Communications Commons in 2008. Municipal Commons is now a fully legitimate public/private infrastructure alternative to lagging legacy providers as governments seek to enhance the public good.”

Broadband Access not a Hot Topic with Voters

Posted on by
3

EETimes is the “global news for the creators of technology”. They have been running a survey on their top issues for the election. While the pool of pollsters was small (560 respondents), the outlook for broadband was not high:

  1. 56 percent said the economy was the most important of nine business and tech issues
  2. 18 percent chose immigration
  3. 14 percent said energy
  4. 1 percent said broadband policy

Unfortunately this is a crowd that I thought would be predisposed to lean towards technology – but apparently not. I can understand people worrying about the economy but I don’t understand where EETimes readers would not make the connection between broadband access and the economy.

Advice on Feasibility Studies

Posted on by
Reply

Sometimes you think you ask a simple question and you’re wrong. In January, as part of the Blandin Broadband Initiative, Bill Coleman and Eric Lampland  gave a presentation on RFPs and Feasibility Studies. (Their presentation is online.) It was very well received so I thought it might be interesting to get together a “top 10 tips for feasibility studies” type thing for the blog.

There are a number of very smart people on the Blandin Broadband Strategy Board – so I asked some of them for help.

Mike O’Connor emphasized the need to define a project and offers a Questionnaire that will help to do that. Answering the questions will take time but will save time and money in the long run. One question on the questionnaire is – “what’s your preferred problem-solving approach”, which is another way of saying that it’s very important to have a methodology in mind when starting a project.

Mike also offers an article by PacketFront (Planning Is the Key to Success for Community Fiber Projects by PacketFront) that offers a great example of a high-level overview of a methodology.

A controversy arose regarding the definition of a feasibility study. The temptation is to call everything a feasibility study. As Eric Lampland put it – if you’ve got support, know what you’re trying to do and want to know if it’s doable, that’s feasibility. However, if what you’re doing is exploration, education, codifying data, establishing objectives and initially lining up support — that’s not a feasibility study.

Eric offers the feasibility elements from RUS Bulletin 1738 , which is their application guide. These elements are required for a RUS loan and would be required for most bonding authorities, at a minimum and would be a good start.

So there you go – not a top ten but some good tools and a little perspective on feasibility.