Monthly Archives: July 2009

Two views on Cook County

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There’s a great point-counter-point on Cook County and the NTIA/RUS funding in Politics in Minnesota. Cook County is working on an application for ARRA funding. They are asking for $30 million. Politics in Minnesota’s Sarah Janecek ran an editorial that pointed out that while $30 million isn’t a big chunk of the money available; it comes to roughly $5,000 per resident. Jim Boyd, Cook County resident and former Star Tribune reporter, posted a comment laying out the reasons that Cook County deserves the money – the most pressing argument to me being potential for diversifying economic development. It’s a great read!

The one point I’d add is that I think the stimulus funding is supposed to go to areas where it didn’t make economic sense for businesses to provide service. (Or at least to areas where the market hasn’t proven desirable yet.) I think by definition those areas are going to be expensive to reach and sparely populated. Business is happy to serve Minneapolis.

Rural Businesses and the Internet

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Thanks to John Shepard for the heads up on a recent report by Jack Geller and the EDA Center at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (Rural Businesses and the Internet: The Integration Continues). The research report looks at adoption and utilization of Internet technologies among businesses throughout rural Minnesota. They surveyed 689 rural businesses across the state and across all industry sectors.

Here are some of the highlights. Most business in Minnesota (69 percent) have fewer than 10 employees and report gross sales of less than $1 million (65 percent). Almost 90 percent now operate online. Most use broadband; only 4.3 percent report using dialup. But of those who didn’t have broadband half reported that it wasn’t available. Most businesses (70 percent) are happy with their broadband speed and cost. The median cost was $50 per month; an impressively low was $20 per month, while some larger businesses reported paying well over $1000 per month.

The chart below outlines what rural businesses are doing online:

rural_bus_bb_chart

I think these reports are extremely valuable. We can guess all we want about what rural businesses need. We can find case studies to fit whatever point we want to prove – but a nice broad survey is helpful.

NTIA’s hit on the public interest

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Thanks to Christopher Mitchell for sending me his recent article on his take on NTIA’s interpretation of the Legislature’s mandate for doling out ARRA broadband funding. Here it is:

Minneapolis, MN—(July 28, 2009). The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is now accepting applications for its broadband stimulus program, has crafted rules that benefit private companies at the expense of the public interest, undermining the clear intent of Congress.

“The main reason a broadband stimulus program was needed in the first place was because the existing telecommunications providers massively underinvested in broadband networks,” according to Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). Mitchell adds, “Now NTIA has written the rules to reward those same companies while at the same time declining to assist communities that would be better off with a publicly owned network.”

When Congress passed the stimulus bill, it chose language that put public sector and non-profit organizations at the head of the line for funds. The NTIA, part of the Obama Administration’s Department of Commerce, was directed to accept applications from private, for-profit companies only if it found that company to be in the public interest. Prioritizing groups that are directly accountable to their communities was seen as a way of ensuring public money was used to directly benefit communities.

NTIA, which released its final regulations on July 2, 2009, decided to give private companies equal standing with public and non-profit entities. It justified the decision by arguing that the U.S. House’s intention was to open applications to as many entities as possible.

This reasoning did not satisfy Mitchell: “Congress emphatically rejected the approach that NTIA took. Congress considered it and pulled it out, only to have NTIA put it back in.”

Mitchell is an expert on community-owned networks and has previously argued that the Lafayette, Louisiana, community-owned network offers the fastest speeds at the most affordable prices in America. He points to hundreds of cities already building their own broadband networks and notes that thousands of cities and towns in the past had to build their own electrical networks or risk being left behind.

A full discussion of how NTIA disregarded Congress’ intent and privileges existing, private companies is available here:
http://www.muninetworks.org/content/how-ntia-dismantled-public-interest-provisions-broadband-stimulus-package

Jackson spends more on fiber

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Thanks to John Shepard for the heads up on an article in a recent Jackson County Post (Council spends more on fiber). As you may recall the Jackson City Council allocated $1 per person in the city to pursue a fiber network this spring. Well the Council just authorized another $2.50 per resident to the effort, bringing the grand total to about $13,500.

They need the extra money to write their application for the ARRA broadband funds. The extra money is required because the application is more rigorous than predicted. The extra money passed with a 4-to-1 vote and the community is still hopeful and confident in their chances for federal funding for the network. They are working with the cities of Lakefield, Heron Lake, Okabena and Windom.

Broadband Policy Seminar in Mankato

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I want to thank Ronda Allis from Region 9 Development Commission for her notes on the Blandin Broadband Policy Seminar in Mankato in July. (I pointed to John Shepard’s notes from the same session a week or so ago – but it’s great to get a couple of perspectives.)

Here are the slides:

Here are the notes:

July 16, 2009 – Blandin Broadband meeting held at Region Nine Development Commission office, Nichols Office building

Approximately 20 people were in attendance to discuss various broadband issues that they would like to bring forward to the State Broadband Task Force.

Bill Coleman began the session by presenting a brief power point presentation that detailed where we are currently in Minnesota in the area of broadband development. He then led the group in a discussion about where we would like to be in the future. He presented 5 questions for discussion:
1. What goal for bandwidth?
2. What applications are important to you now and into the future?
3. Should the goal have tiers, depending on location, user types and applications?
4. Should mobile broadband be part of this discussion?
5. Broadband – essential utility or market service?

The group spent the majority of their time discussing questions 2 and 5.

Below is a summary of their responses.

1. Goal for broadband width?

Task force needs to address this; the current federal requirements are inadequate.

2. Applications that are important now? Future?

• On-line learning
• Homebound students
• Home-schooled students
• Netbooks are way of the future
• On-line testing
• Interactive science projects
• On-line job applications
• E-book capabilities

Need to make sure we build out to accommodate future growth; how much bandwidth is enough right now? Will it be adequate in five year? Ten years?

Discussed symmetrical vs. asymmetrical bandwidth. Consensus was that upload speed and download speed should be the same.

5. Essential Utility or Market Service?

Most viewed as an essential utility, similar to electric, water, and sewer. The role of government should be to assist in serving those areas that are currently unserved or underserved. Private providers do not want to spend the dollars needed to provide service in these areas. Cities currently manage utilities, this would not be any different.

Connect Minnesota map tools help with ARRA applications

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune noted the other day that Minnesota cities are having trouble accessing the information they need to complete applications for broadband stimulus funding. (I noted it last week too.) Well I think there’s some good news for Minnesota.

There’s a recent FAQ on BroadbandUSA.gov on the ARRA requirements. Here’s what they say about mapping (on page 7 of the PDF):

2. How can an applicant determine which areas are unserved or underserved?
The exact methodology is up to the applicant, but the result should be to demonstrate that the proposed funded service area is eligible based on the appropriate definition. Applicants should aim to utilize state broadband mapping data if such data exists. Otherwise, a customer or market survey, statistical sampling, or other valid methodology will be necessary. Census block maps can be found at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/descriptwindows/census_blockmaps.htm.

So what I see is that the Connect Minnesota maps should suffice. More good news on Friday from Connect Minnesota

Connect Minnesota will release a new suite of publicly available data tools to enhance Minnesota’s statewide broadband inventory map and provide GIS assistance for broadband stimulus applicants. Using ArcGIS technology in partnership with ESRI, Connect Minnesota has developed an interactive mapping feature for applicants to determine the number of households without broadband availability by Census Block. Additionally, a new map depicts rural and remote areas in relation to non-rural areas. These geographic data are required criteria for broadband infrastructure funds now available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The new interactive tool will allow the general public to click on any Census Block within those states to obtain the number of households served and unserved by a broadband provider within that Census Block. In addition, Connect Minnesota has posted online the downloadable datasets of broadband availability information by Census Block.

The map of rural and remote areas illustrates which geographic areas in Minnesota are considered rural, remote, and non-rural, according to definitions in the federal broadband stimulus rules released on July 1.

Such granular broadband availability and associated geographic information is required to complete the applications for broadband infrastructure grants and loans through the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS.) The data tools will provide state leaders, community advocates, and providers in Minnesota with public access to this information, offering applicants a comprehensive, Census Block-level dataset of broadband availability and a better understanding of areas eligible for broadband stimulus funding.

Currently, approximately $7 billion in stimulus funds have been designated to help expand broadband access to unserved and underserved communities across the United States. These funds are available through the NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP).

Blandin Broadband Conference – needs a name

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Blandin FoundationThis is a subtle save-the-data announcement and a not so subtle request for assistance. The Fall Blandin Broadband Conference will be held November 18-19, 2009 in Duluth. We’re excited about it.

The Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force will have just submitted their recommendations. The first round of the ARRA proposals will have been submitted – but probably not decided. We may be looking at a new round of ARRA applications. Such a whirl of activity sets up a bit of an Alice in the Looking Glass feel, but we’re hoping to promote, support and urge the continued movement forward.

So that’s a sneak preview. We have more to tell – but we can’t go too far until we have a name – that’s where we’re looking for your help. We’d appreciate a minute of your time to take our “name our conference survey”. It’s exactly one question. You can vote on one of our options or if you’re so inspired send us one of your own.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=okOLX2gi_2fBjjPwkCpbKeaw_3d_3d

Got any other conference ideas we should consider, post ’em as a comment here. Thanks!

Park Rapids wants Broadband

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Last week Senator Franken’s staff were on a tour of Minnesota to see what’s important to their constituency. In Park Rapids they heard about the need for better broadband and cell coverage. I’m going to paste info from the Park Rapids Enterprise related to the broadband discussion because I think they summed up the discussion so well:

State Rep. Brita Sailer, DFL-Park Rapids attended the meeting and said broadband coverage is a huge issue in this area.

“There are too many areas that are the last mile and if it doesn’t meet their economic plan, they won’t go there,” Sailer said.

It’s an economic issue because some people won’t buy property if they can’t have broadband service like they can get elsewhere, she said.

“This is a big, big deal. It’s public safety; it’s economic development; it’s making sure we’re not left behind,” she said.

Hubbard County Sheriff Frank Homer said that beyond broadband coverage, cell phone and radio coverage is a concern for law enforcement. The state is talking about going to a new system, he said.

“A lot of us in law enforcement are having problems with communication via the cell phone,” Homer said.

At some point, the department would like to streamline communication so everyone has cell phones rather than squad radios and pagers. The problem is coverage.

Capitol Report on the Broadband Task Force

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Just a quick note to point out a recent article in the Capitol Report on the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force. There isn’t a ton of news for folks who regularly read this blog – but I think it’s interesting to see what’s important to the Capitol Report. Here are the things that caught my eye:

  1. Ubiquity is important – there are currently holes of unserved areas
  2. The idea of the Task Force started after Rep Masin proposed legislation that required 1 gigabit per second of high-speed Internet statewide.
  3. Likely minimum download speeds in the report will be between 10 to 20 megabits per second and upload speeds of 5 to 10 megabits per second.
  4. Role of government is a hot topic
  5. They will recommend some kind of council or commission in state government to continue the work of planning to improve broadband service in the state.

Video Conferencing conference for educators

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Video Guidance and TANDBERG are sponsoring 3 education-specific tailgate parties here in MN . All 3 will be taking place at the end of July. It looks like a good opportunity for educators to learn more. Here are the quick details:

The TANDBERG Technology Tailgate Party is Coming to You!
We have loaded up gear, refreshments and some of our education, video conferencing and grant funding experts to bring you a tailgate experience like you have never seen….and it’s coming to your area….

Below is a brief agenda for each tailgate party site –start at 9:30am and wrap-up after lunch:
• Coffee & pastries
• Leveraging 21st Century Tools to Engage “Flat World” Learners – Join a discussion of all the hot
topics in technology in the classroom – Moodle, podcasting, student collaboration and more!
• Finding money to fund your technology projects – Join the TANDBERG Grant Services Team as they discuss grant programs and stimulus funding opportunities you should be aware of – including RUSDLT, ILSL, E-Rate, CBJTG, E2T2 and more! Also, you won’t want to miss the discussion around “matching funds” and how to leverage federal, state and foundation funds to maximize their benefit.
• TAILGATE TIME! Cookout and Technology Tailgate Party with food, fun, prizes – and the latest in video
conferencing technology!

Dates & Locations Near You:
• July 29: Brooklyn Park, MN
North Hennepin Community
College – Room CLA 144
7411 85th Ave. No.
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
• July 30: Braham, MN
Braham Area High School
531 Elmhurst Avenue S.
Braham, MN 55006
• July 31: Mankato, MN
South Central Service Cooperative
2075 Lookout Drive
North Mankato, MN 56003

Less aspiration, more actionable

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According to Broadcasting & Cable, Blair Levin is not thrilled with the FCC’s submissions from the public and industry on the national broadband plan. Apparently there are lots of great ideas but not many are efficient or doable.

I’ve read a lot of the recommendations and I have to say my 5 year-old daughter’s birthday wish list was more reasonable than some. There’s an old tech axiom about choosing good, fast or cheap when designing a project. I think people are forgetting that here – or for some reason thinking it doesn’t apply. It does. I wish it didn’t but it does and in today’s economy I think the safe money is on cheap being non-negotiable.

It reminds me of a research report I posted on in June where 78 percent were against taxing the Internet (or Internet transactions) and 63 percent thought the government should shut down terrorist-themed sites. Well again that’s great but how are you going to pay for the government to scan and shut down sites if not through taxes.

I see the struggle with the Minnesota Task Force too. Members know the report will be compared to other state plans and they want it to be a masterpiece – but each member has a different view on what’s important – good, fast or cheap. (I think you can replace good with ubiquitous and it is a super simplified view of the discussions.)

Maybe we need three plan outlines – one for each good-fast-cheap-pick-2 options. It might help all of us be more realistic about what is efficient and doable.

Towards that end I noted that the Task Force did mention both actionable items and the need to have measurable goals last week – both are a step in the right direction.

NTIA/RUS Broadband Workshop Notes

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Bill ColemanIt was a long day of powerpoints at the St. Paul ARRA Broadband Workshop this week. Overall, very little new or definitive information was provided. We did receive a folder with a flood of powerpoints (all online). Attendees who have spent significant time examining the NOFAs learned even less than I did.

The following are some of the items that I wrote in my notes…

During the opening general session, attendees were told to stop fussing over the policy and to worry about incorporating plenty of partnering and long-term sustainability into quality applications.

The RUS funds will not be gone after the first round – their ability to make loans allows them to actually triple the amount that RUS has to fund projects.

Applications made to both RUS and NTIA will be considered simultaneously in the first round.

The “remote” definition is in flux. Watch the web site for updates.

A COMPLETE APPLICATION IS REQUIRED! Incomplete applications will suffer immediate rejection. Applications rejected in round 1 can be resubmitted in later rounds. Applications making it through Step 1 will proceed to Step 2 where information will need to be verified.

Use the self-help scoring sheets as a strategic tool for designing competitive applications.

Make sure that all elements are consistent – budgets, timelines, executive summary. Ask others to read for clarity and consistency.

Community anchor institutions are key targets for involvement. Public safety agencies too.

Project must be substantially complete within 2 years. That is now defined around 70%.

Pay attention to the “but, for” requirements.

Many attendees had negative comments about the amount of data, unavailable from any secondary source that is required to document unserved and underserved. These concerns were met with a shrug and a “do the best you can and document your process”.

Sustainable Use workshop
Increased subscription rates are a significant desired outcome. Pay attention to target demographic groups – elderly, poor, children. An audience member asked about people with disabilities and that would also be included.

Link to other stimulus projects – both broadband and other agencies – HUD was strongly noted. You can check this out at recovery.gov. Section 8a businesses used to deliver services would also be seen as a plus.

Public Computer Center workshop
Must be open to the public or a subset of the public.
Broadband must be available. Equally important is outreach and training. Address risk factors of target demographics – language, disabilities, transportation, poverty. Have a strategy to address these factors.

Sustainability is important. They defined this as using leverage and continuing effort.

Applications by independent groups can be linked to document collaboration. No need for one organization to be the sole applicant.

Closing note – After attempting to answer all the questions at one afternoon session, the NTIA staff person opened the floor for comments for the last several minutes. She talked about their staff betting pool on dollars requested, number of applications and so on. One audience member responded that there are going to be fewer than expected due to the NOFA rules. Somewhat taken aback by this opinion, she asked why. Audience members made it clear that they believe that the rules significantly deter community overbuilds and set too low a standard for broadband speeds.

Overall, the complexity of the application process and the difficulty in developing projects was made very clear throughout the day. Many questions from the audience were answered with “we will have to get back to you” or watch the web site. They are developing a FAQ which will go online after the last workshop next week.

On a bit of a grumbling close, the “reception” held Tuesday night featured a cash bar (to be expected), no food (a bit of a disappointment) and no national staff to informally answer questions (lame). State program staff were present but had as many questions as the attendees. It was fund to get together with folks from around MN and the rest of the country to discuss projects and approaches.

Broadband Task Force meeting July 17 in Mankato

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First, Blandin Foundation held another pre-Task Force meeting on broadband policy. I’m still in Ireland so I was unable to make it in person but I heard good things about it. I want to thank John Shepard for posting his reaction to the meeting and sending me the link. He’s done a really good job with the post. I feel like I was there!

Second I want to thank Mike O’Connor for recording the Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force meeting for me last Friday. The quality of the recording is great!

Third, here’s a happy addition to the post added a few hours after initial publication Rick King just sent me the latest draft of the Task Force recommendations. It’s a great opportunity for folks to see what’s on the plate and what’s not – so I encourage you to take a look!

The meeting was held in Mankato, Minnesota. (It got some local news coverage too!)

Here are the notes I was able to gleam from Mike’s audio (and some video from Bill Coleman)

Opening comments; review meeting agenda Approve meeting minutes from June 19th meeting

In September we might look at actionable items for report. The hard part is finding actions that are realistic and affordable. Bu there are resources out there that we could use and highlight in the report (such as computer reuse programs to get computers to those without.)

Connected Nation will be speaking in September rather than July at Rick King’s request.

Minutes from June approved – with one quick change.

Public comment

There have been a lot of comments from the public on Utopia – on both sides of the issue.

Video from Bill Coleman:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3nYHOy_cGQIBQ6SNV6asmQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCLXAhJjKo5H4wAE&feat=directlink

Topic: How to approach aspirational speed goal
* A number stated as ”the equivalent in 2015 of XX in 2010”
* A statement about where we want to be on the rankings in the US and Globally
[Subgroup included: Craig Taylor, Brent Christenson, Dan McElroy, Peg Werner, Shirley Walz] Continue reading →

Good news from Qwest

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Here’s the latest from Qwest:

Qwest Unveils 40 Mbps Downstream, 20 Mbps Upstream High-Speed Internet Service
5 Mbps Upstream for $5 Available to Qualifying Customers with 7 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 20 Mbps Service

Faster downstream and upstream connection speeds enhance quality of two-way, video-based applications, like online video chat.

DENVER, July 20, 2009 – Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) has introduced the next evolution of its high-speed Internet services, delivering downstream connection speeds of 40 Mbps and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps*.

KEY FACTS
• Using next-generation VDSL2 broadband technology, Qwest doubles its fastest downstream connection speeds and increases upstream speeds – among the fastest available in the country – for qualifying residential and small-business customers.
• These new speed enhancements deliver faster video and picture sharing, better online video chat experiences and fewer delays in the popular Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). See the speed demonstration here.
• The faster speeds also complement current Qwest offerings, such as automatic online backup service and Video on Demand services through its DIRECTV partnership.
• Qwest has started to roll out these services on a limited basis in certain locations within its fiber-optic-fast Internet footprint, including Denver, Tucson, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis/St. Paul. In the coming months, Qwest plans to introduce these services to select areas within 23 markets in New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
• This new product is being offered to qualifying customers at the following prices:
o Connection speeds of 40 Mbps downstream with 5 Mbps upstream, starting at $99.99 a month for the first 12 months when combined with a qualifying home phone package.
o Connection speeds of 40 Mbps downstream with 20 Mbps upstream, starting at $109.99 a month for the first 12 months when combined with a qualifying home phone package.
o An introductory rate of $5 more a month for qualified customers with 7 Mbps, 12 Mbps or 20 Mbps speed tiers who upgrade to 5 Mbps upstream speeds.
• Customers can go to http://www.qwest.com/morespeed to check availability and sign up to receive notification of faster speeds deployed to their neighborhood.
• This technology expands on Qwest’s fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) deployment, which has reached more than 2 million potential customers in its local service region.

Midwest Assembly in Aug mentions broadband

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The Midwest Rural Assembly is August 10-11 in South Dakota. There were two aspects of the meeting that caught my eye:

Hear from and talk with local to national policymakers about your rural policy priorities;

And the following session:
Broadband and Rural Communities: Creating a Healthy Digital Ecology and a Community Vision for Federal Funding
Rural America is vast and diverse. Sixty million Americans, about 20 percent of the population, live in the
countryside on 80 percent of the nation’s land. Of the 250 poorest American counties, 244 are rural. Digital
communications technology could be part of the solution for addressing rural economic and social concerns.
Broadband access would allow rural America to reap the benefits of telehealth, telecommuting, higher
education distance learning, improved emergency communications systems, and greater connection to the
global economy. The federal government is spending billions on media education and Internet expansion as
part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. This session will help us formulate our vision for a
healthy digital ecology that makes sure Internet and digital access increases opportunities for work, education,
and well-being. Potential panelists include Edyael Casaperalta, Center for Rural Strategies; amalia deloney,
Main Street Project; Joshua Breitbart, Peoples Production House; Loris Taylor, Native Public Media.
Organized by the Main Street Project with participation by you.