Monthly Archives: March 2009

New leaders for FCC, RUS & NTIA

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Thanks to Richard Dechert for the heads up on the changes at the federal level. Julius Genchowski has been nominated for FCC Chair. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein has been named Rural Utilities Service division of the Agriculture Department. Larry Strickling has been nominated as new head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration.

Here’s a little info on each:

Julius Genochowski – had been part of Obama’s transition team. He went to Harvard with Obama, has previously worked with the FCC and was the managing director of venture capital firm Rock Creek Ventures.

Jonathan Adelstein – “A life-long public servant, Adelstein has dedicated his career to fighting for the public interest. As a Commissioner, his approach is guided by the key principle that the public interest means securing access to communications for everyone, including those the market may leave behind.” (Taken from the FCC site.)

Larry Strickling – was the policy coordinator for the Obama for America, has worked for the FCC, and was Chief Regulatory and Chief Compliance Officer at Broadwing Communications.

Notes from MN Broadband Coalition Meeting

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Last week a handful of Minnesota Broadband Coalition members met in St Paul. The meeting was informal and kind of spontaneous and mostly we talked about the stimulus funding and the Minnesota Broadband Task Force. (You can access the complete notes on the MBC site.)

The meeting went well. Amalia Deloney had just returned from DC so she knew what the feeling out there was/is. Mike Wassenaar talked about his Community Technology Empowerment Project, which has been successful in the Twin Cities in helping bridge the digital divide. A few of us had been to lots of the Task Force meetings – so we knew they were looking for content from folks with good ideas. It was a good lesson on how we’re smarter together.

It sounds hokey but it was like making stone soup – except the soup started with billions of dollars of stimulus funding. I think now is a good time to start thinking about and talking to the folks you could partner with to get funding.

Broadband not a big part of Eveleth’s Plan

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Eveleth recently posted their plans for the future. The plan includes the following:

In the future, Eveleth will be a quaint, vibrant city of historical and cultural assets with quality businesses and recreational opportunities. Residents will enjoy a diverse housing stock, efficient transportation connections, and quality community facilities.

But as one sharp reader from the Minnesota Voices Online list points out, it seems to downplay the role of broadband:

Broadband Internet
Eveleth currently has broadband internet service in several areas throughout town, however some areas do not have access to broadband infrastructure. Broadband is a valuable asset that can encourage residential and commercial development.

Recommendation U5: Encourage the upgrade and expansion of broadband infrastructure in Eveleth.

What’s promising is that a group of citizens is getting together to talk about how they can improve upon the plan. You can learn more on the MVO list.

Minnesota Task Force Meeting Place Change

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Here’s the latest on the Task Force meetings. I will plan to attend and take notes. I belive they will still be tkaing notes from the Public if you want to add your two cents.

The next two Broadband Task Force meetings will be held on Friday, April 24th and Friday, May 15th at the Thomson Reuters office in Eagan. The structure for these two meetings will primarily be report writing working sessions. We will break out into small groups to review and edit the work that has been submitted so far.

Chaska police use blogs to catch criminals

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I’m not 100 percent sure how I feel about this story. The Chaska Police have started to post surveillance video of suspects on their blog. I caught the story last night on the Channel Five News.

The blog appears to be very new – and it appears as if one case has been has already been solved, presumably with help from a blog reader. I guess if it were my store that had been robbed, I’d like it; or if were my child that was abducted, I’d love it.

It kind of hammers on home the idea that Big Brother is always watching. I just feel like it might be opening the door to vigilantes or camera hungry criminals.

Blandin Broadband Strategy Board working on stimulus funding

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Blandin FoundationYesterday’s Blandin Broadband Strategy Board meeting focused on the federal stimulus dollars for broadband. We all had lots more questions than answers as the federal agencies seem to be more focused on gathering information than dispersing it at this point. The consensus around the table is that announcements of Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) will be probably happen in May, possibly sooner, maybe later. It is expected that there will be three funding rounds at both NTIA and USDA.

The other consensus thought is that states and communities all around the country are getting prepared to apply for these funds, even in advance of the announcement of program rules. Partnerships between private sector providers and governments and between health, education and government are all being explored and developed.

Some of our board members explained how their organizations are preparing to compete for these funds. Our health care representative, Jon Linnell in Warren, talked about working with his 24 member hospitals. DEED Commissioner McElroy noted state government efforts and how Governor Pawlenty has tasked DEED and Commerce with the broadband areas of funding.

Eric Lampland of Lookout Point Communications talked about the evolving services that his firm is offering to help communities get ready to apply for stimulus funds for FTTP networks. The emphasis is on a quick process that positions communities with information on needs, competitive environment, preliminary engineering and finance.

Wait and see or move forward somewhat blindly. That is the question. Our board advises getting moving so that if your first applications are rejected, you will have additional opportunities to apply. Stand by for more information.

Domestic on-shoring possible with broadband

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In my quest for good Minnesota broadband stories, I ran into Sylvia Wulf and CrossUSA. Sylvia works as a Systems Analyst for CrossUSA in Sebeka. Sylvia grew up just north of that area but ended up in Sebeka because her parents moved there.

Sylvia lived and worked as a programmer in California. When she got divorced, she moved with her two sons back to Minnesota. Her parents had left them a house in Sebeka. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get a job as a programmer in the area. So she got different jobs, working in retail or at a local hotel. Actually she often worked two jobs as she raised her sons.

In 1998 that changed, she was one of the first employees hired at CrossUSA and she has been there ever since. As Sylvia said, “It has been a Godsend and that is not stretching the truth.”

CrossUSA provides IT consulting staff to companies through-out the United States; generally the staff works offsite at a CrossUSA office, although some work onsite and a couple telecommute. CrossUSA is an alternative to off-shore resourcing. They are head quartered in Burnsville, MN and besides Sebeka also have a Rural Development Center in Eveleth, they employ about 15 people in Burnsville, 25 in Sebeka, and 30 in Eveleth.

Sylvia currently is a Team Lead at CrossUSA, she and her group support a legacy IBM mainframe system for UnitedHealth Group’s Corporate Systems, which is part UHG’s Accounts Receivable Department.

CrossUSA gets broadband from West Central Telephone Association. WCTA seems to be another local provider that’s doing a good job serving the needs of their customers. Here’s the info they sent me on Cross USA’s connection:

Cross USA-Currently have 5 Meg/5 Meg Internet Service, we are serving that Internet connection with a VLAN. Over that Internet connection they are using VoiP to connect to their other locations. They are planning an upgrade to their phone system this fall to an all IP based phone system which will also support TDM.

For Sylvia, having a job that meets her qualifications has made a huge difference in the quality of her life. She is down to one job and is working a job that meets her skills.

As Sylvia says, “We [CrossUSA] have had a very positive effect on the economy of Sebeka and the surrounding community. Most of us own our own homes, all of us near lakes and resorts and other recreation areas, away from the city and all it means.”

Broadband helps in the Red River Valley

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In 1997 when there was bad flooding in the Red River Valley, I worked at MRNet and we started an email list where people in the area could post a wish list. Then those of us on high ground were able to send what they needed.

The Internet couldn’t stop the flooding but it could at least help bring in some solutions and small comforts. On the MN Voices Online list we have been talking about how and where to get info this time around. Here’s a list of how people have been using technology to coordinate help this time around:

  • Fargo – Moorhead Flood is a Facebook group used to keep people updated. (Here’s a story from MRP on other Facebook groups: Floods on facebook.)
    • I didn’t realize this – but a MVO member in Duluth mentioned that Facebook is the place to go for info on an emergency or disaster.
  • Giveback with Impact – a web site for donations set up by Dakota Medical Foundation called DMF Red River Valley Flood Fund, and they will match up to $25,000. (Funds will be distributed to Red Cross, Firstlink, and The
    Salvation Army.)

There are a couple of blogs:

 

  • A wiki
  • Some suggested standards for Twitter: Let’s start one trend, use the #flood09 hashtag on Twitter which seems to have momentum –  – and #fargoflood … #citynameflood for area specific

Hopefully the technology will again help to facilitate solutions and small comforts. We’ll be thinking of our friends and families in the areas – especially Thursday afternoon when the crest is expected.

Connected Nation is Bad Policy?

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cn-reportPublic Knowledge, Common Cause, The Media and Democracy Coalition, Reclaim the Media and Main Street Project released a report today that outlines the reasons that Connected Nation is a bad choice for public funding to do mapping.

There is $350 million available in the federal stimulus funding for mapping. Connected Nation is currently working with several states, including Minnesota.

The report states that, “In order to be effective, a national broadband data-collection and mapping exercise should be conducted by a government agency, on behalf of the public, with as granular a degree of information as possible and be totally transparent so that underlying information can be evaluated.”

And as the report points out, Connected Nation is none of those things.

I have to say, it would be nice to have maps where the raw data was available to everyone – especially if we’ve paid for it. It would also be nice to have data other than vendor-provided info as a check and balance. I know Connected Nation uses the speed tests but that puts the onus on the general population to take the tests.

The report includes tons of useful info on CN, such as their board of directors and a non-disclosure contract that they use with providers when they are gathering info for their maps. It’s an interesting report.

Extending broadband the extra mile in Chisago County

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Blandin Foundation gets some interesting inquiries through the Blandin on Broadband blog and through our Toolkit web sites. A recent submission gave us reasons to celebrate and to ponder.

A family in rural Chisago County told us that they have not been able to get broadband services due to their rural location. DSL was not available at their remote location according to Frontier Communication’s customer service center. A similar situation exists for a significant numbers of Minnesota households as documented by the Center for Rural Policy, Connect Minnesota and as observed by my regular rural Minnesota travels.

Broadband is especially important to this particular family. One household member is seeking additional education and employment. Another is recovering from serious injuries suffered in an accident. Education, employment and health care-the trifecta of broadband killer applications!

When we received this email, I took a look at my telephone exchange map, confirming that Frontier was the provider. I also took a look at the Genesis Wireless coverage maps as they provide fixed wireless services in east central Minnesota, but they do not provide service in the area. Then I sent an email and made a call to JoAnne Johnson at Frontier. JoAnne is a friend, former colleague at Onvoy and briefly at Community Technology Advisors, and a member of the MN Ultra High Speed Internet Task Force.

JoAnne made some calls, Frontier’s staff did some investigation, and some new technologies were deployed to extend DSL the extra distance to our emailer’s home. At Blandin, we got some great satisfaction from helping this one family. Frontier got a new customer. And our emailer and family have enhanced Internet access. If we checked back in six months or a year, we might find a household that has been able to address some or all of its critical issues through the use of broadband.

While our little intervention was successful, this is no way to ensure broadband access to all Minnesotans. Blandin Broadband Principles call for ubiquitous, affordable broadband that enable our citizens to do what needs to be done over the Internet. We will continue our work to promote this concept across the state as the state broadband task force considers policies and federal and state officials invest broadband stimulus monies.

Make your own and your community voices heard directly to elected and appointed officials and through the MN Broadband Coalition! Now is the time.

Stimulus Hopefuls in SE Minnesota

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The Rochester Post-Bulletin wrote yesterday about three entities in Southeastern Minnesota that have expressed an interest in pursuing funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC), Goodhue County and the Southeast Minnesota Network, a consortium of nine area school districts are pursuing funding.

The funding entities (NTIA and RUS) are still working out the details and criteria for funding projects. In the article HBC CEO Gary Evans points out that one of the big issues with the criteria will be the definition of broadband. “Evans predicts there will be a “tremendous battle” waged around the question of what is broadband. Incumbent Internet providers, hoping to protect their turf, are likely to push for a loose definition, arguing that whatever it is they are providing is sufficient.”

BroadbandCensus tackled the same topic at the end of last week while recapping some of the NTIA/RUS roundtable discussions they have been having about the stimulus funding and creating opportunities for funding projects.

No definitions have been set yet – but the suggestion has been made by some that hard fast numbers are required. Without finite numbers, the claim is that we won’t be able to measure of manage success of projects. This is an interesting perspective. I’ve seen the Minnesota Task Force begin to discuss this topic – should they use a number to define broadband? Should they come up with a tiered definition? Should they tie the definition to broadband applications? Should they wait to see what the Feds come up with?

Some folks say nothing short of fiber will do. Some folks say only wireless will be affordable. Some folks feel like any improvement in some areas will be good; while others say let those unserved (and underserved) use the stimulus money to leapfrog into the future.

The devil is in the detail – but has Gary points out, the details are going to start with the definitions of broadband, unserved and underserved.

Libraries and broadband are closing the gap

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libraryIn the last week I have seen several great articles about computer and/or broadband use in the library – mostly in the public library – making the case that for an increasing number of people, the library is THE place to get online and to learn how to use online tools.

Most recently, The Institute of Museum and Library Services released a report (Libraries Use Broadband Internet Service to Serve High Need Communities) that details the need for broadband in libraries. Here are the two points I found most compelling:

  • In 2007, 88% of public libraries in high poverty areas provided access to broadband Internet and 73% of public libraries reported their facilities as being the only source of free Internet access in their community.
  • Availability of Internet terminals in public libraries increased by more than 600% in from 1998 to 2006. I’d add that if you’ve been in a public library, especially once school gets out you know – there still aren’t enough computers.

A more passionate, less statistical article I read last week from Palo Alto (The ‘library of the future’ begins to emerge) paints of picture of what libraries are becoming, “Gone are the days of dusty shelves, cellophane-protected book covers and librarians who say “shush.” Experts predict libraries in the future will be more akin to community and cultural centers and gathering places for services, education and collaboration.”

The article talks about resources available for job seekers, such as the Cupertino Library’s JobView kiosk, where job seekers can create videos to apply for jobs. It talks about how libraries often are the connection not only the tools, but the librarians have become teachers. It’s been a long time since I sat a reference desk – but even 12 years ago, and even working at a college library, most of what I was doing was teaching information literacy skills – how to find and recognize good info. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I have a Master’s degree in Library and information Science. So I love libraries.)

More locally, the Winona Daily News just published an article on their local library as a place to get online, get job skills, hang out and save money by borrowing books and videos rather than buying. They are dealing with a shrinking budget for the library and the article promotes a few local measures to raise funds – such as a book sale and concert.

The feds are also coming up with ways to get money to the libraries and we’ve seen in the economic stimulus package. The question is whether it will be enough – and who will get it. The America Library Association maintains a web site to help librarians stay on top of the opportunities.

I don’t want to give away any trade secrets but it seems like other industries or sectors should be getting as organized; the ALA has done a great job.

March 20 Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Task Force Meeting Minutes

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Today’s meeting felt collegial. The healthcare folks did a great job. I think the afternoon speaker (who presented variations on the Connect Minnesota maps) spurred a lot of good conversation relating to the maps. From the outside it seem like people were really in synch and that compromises were being made in an effort to really start working together. Or maybe it’s not right to say that there were compromises – but that everyone was able to rise above their individual concerns to start building a plan together.

Here are the regular notes from the Broadband Task Force meeting… Continue reading →

Cook County ready for the Jackpot

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cook-county-bbEarlier this week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an article about Minnesota communities and the potential for the stimulus funding jackpot. As the article said, there’s a lot of money to be had – and so far not a lot of details about how funding decisions will be made. The Daily Yonder ran a similar article, mentioning that the communities that are already prepared for projects should be in the best position to receive money.

One Minnesota community that has been preparing for broadband and was featured in the Star Tribune article is Grand Marais – up on the North Shore. (Grand Marais received matching grant funds from Blandin Foundation to perform a market analysis and preliminary sustainable network, governance and financial models for this broadband network.) Danna MacKenzie, the Cook County information systems director in Grand Marais was good enough to follow up with me on the comments she made in the Star Tribune article.

As mentioned in the STrib article, we do truly believe that broadband is the next household utility. We also believe the network does not achieve its full value until everyone is connected. Broadband is necessary to maintain public safety systems and deliver next gen government and health services.

We also believe it is the most fiscally and environmentally responsible approach for diversifying and strengthening our economy. Economic improvements will initially be realized through longer tourism stays, families moving in with telecommuting jobs (we get calls all the time!) and the expansion of existing local business opportunities through improved online access. This is just a fraction of what we see as benefits of building this network. More can be found at http://cookcountybroadband.com

We know that it is not feasible for the current market to come in and build a next generation network in this area. However, it doesn’t benefit anyone, resident or visitor, to let our community fall off the map when it comes to modern services. Just as it took public involvement to get roads, telephone and electricity out to places like ours; the same can be said for broadband capabilities.

The ability for small local entities to raise the capital for a project like this is very close to impossible in this economy. The stimulus money would allow us to build a long-term solution, not just a band-aid. From my understanding, our location and our goals align well with the original intent and purpose of the rural broadband stimulus funds.

The ROI for our local taxpayers is obvious with access to choices for television, telephone and internet services at prices they can afford. It will also provide tools for the schools, public safety, healthcare and government systems to move with the rest of the state and country to continually more network dependent delivery mechanisms. The ROI for state and federal taxpayers gets back to Metcalf’s law: the value of the network increases proportionally to the number of users that are using it. Not until everyone has access can the federal and state governments start eliminating many of their redundant, paper-based, now inefficient systems of providing services and move to all-electronic delivery modes.

Computer too old for broadband? Huh?

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Christopher Mitchell just posted a great article on Peter Fleck’s PF Hyper blog. Sounds like the start of a soap opera. Here are the details…

Peter has been following closely the wireless situation in Minneapolis. He blogs about other things too – but to me, he’s the place to go on the latest for Minneapolis wireless info. Christopher works for the Institute for Local Self Reliance. I think it was at the Task Force meeting last month where someone seemed to imply that a household with an older computer wouldn’t be able to make use of a broadband connection. That was news to me and Chris. So he wrote a good article that details why that isn’t true and why looking at only the computer in a household is pretty short-sighted.