Here’s the news from our latest newsletter. It’s mostly a compilation of Minnesota-related stories from the blog in the last month – but sometimes it’s nice to have it compiled.
Minnesota News from the Blandin on Broadband Blog
Minnesota Broadband Coalition
The Minnesota Broadband Coalition is a new ad hoc group of citizens, businesses and organizations that believe that more, bigger, better broadband is needed to ensure Minnesota’s future. Interested parties are welcome to join. http://mnbroadbandcoalition.com
Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force
The Broadband Task Force met twice in February – the first was a special meeting to see preliminary broadband maps of Minnesota created by Connect Minnesota http://tinyurl.com/c9kf64 and their regular monthly meeting, where they heard from city and county representatives about their local broadband needs and some innovative ways they have addressed broadband demand locally. The Task Force also discussed shovel-ready projects for federal stimulus funding; that discussion remains open. http://tinyurl.com/bv97yy
Minnesota Broadband Scenarios
The Minnesota broadband maps unveiled in February have led to discussion on the level of detail provided and the reputation and of those doing the mapping, Connected Nation. To offer an alternative to mapping, Bill Coleman has created a matrix that categorized Minnesota broadband availability into a handful of likely scenarios based on location and incumbent providers. http://tinyurl.com/bv4wvl
Broadband and Stimulus Money
Congress finally approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with $7.2 billion going to broadband. Funding is pegged for un-served and under-served as well as advanced services. http://tinyurl.com/aoskyf
Free Press vs Tech Policy Institute on Broadband in Minnesota
Last fall, Scott Wallsten spoke to the Minnesota Broadband Task Force indicating that there was no real broadband crisis in the US. Recently S. Derek Turner from Free Press refuted Wallsten’s remarks with a point-counterpoint document. http://tinyurl.com/c26dgh
Dakota County
Dakota Future plans to be one of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities as judged by the Intelligent Community Forum within the next three years. http://tinyurl.com/aqvv9n
Monticello
While legal battles wage on, Monticello is moving forward with both FTTH construction and plans to begin marketing FTTH services. http://tinyurl.com/aj842n
Moose Lake
Moose Lake, a Blandin Get Broadband community, has expanded their wireless network to neighboring communities of Barnum, Kettle River, Sturgeon Lake and Willow river areas. The service is provided by Moose Lake Water and Light Commission. http://tinyurl.com/bgbh65
North St Paul
North St Paul held a referendum to authorize the City to construct a telephone exchange as part of a municipal fiber optic network. The referendum did not pass. http://tinyurl.com/dk8maj
Pine City
Senator Amy Klobuchar visited Pine Technical College to discuss broadband accessibility and how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will jumpstart our economy in the near term while also building the foundation for longer-term prosperity. http://tinyurl.com/b8lswu
Coleman’s Corner
With $7.2 billion in approved funding for broadband, the next step to getting that money to the people who need it is a plan for distribution. Jim Baller has a great summary (noted in the Blandin on Broadband blog http://tinyurl.com/atk5jf).
Funding will come through the USDA and NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration). It sounds as if USDA will distribute the funds as it usually does, through loans and grants to telecom providers. The NTIA funds are more of a mystery. Prior to 2000, NTIA had a set of robust programs to spread broadband infrastructure and applications. It went into hibernation through the Bush years, but now has $4 billion to distribute.
Hallmarks of NTIA include innovation and collaboration, so if I were seeking funds for my community or region, going it alone would be the wrong approach. Get your area’s technology wish lists from providers, educators and health providers and see where the mutual interests intersect.
Blandin has special funding available for Minnesota’s southwest region (regions 8, 9, 6E and parts of 6W). We would be particularly interested in participating in discussions in that region. Keep us informed about your initiatives; we may be able to highlight some partners or strategies that could strengthen your efforts. Don’t delay as others around the country are working aggressively at project development!