Monthly Archives: December 2009

Good news, bad news for Clearwire

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A couple of weeks ago, with the help of Tim Finnerty’s help we predicted that Clearwire might deploy WiMAX in the Twin Cities sometime soon. Well according to Fierce Broadband Wireless, Clearwire will roll out mobile WiMAX service in all 39 states where Comcast operates now that are Clearwire. So that’s the good news.

On the less good news side, Clearwire’s wireless broadband service went offline Tuesday night for about five hours in Texas, Oregon, Las Vegas and Boise, Idaho, Chicago and Seattle.

Web world mashing with real world: trends for 2010

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I love prediction lists, so I was delighted when Tom Garrison sent me the 10 Trends for 2010 by the CEO of Mashable. So what’s going to be hot? And how is broadband going to support or be a barrier to trends reaching all corners of Minnesota?

First, the here and now are hot and getting hotter. Applications such as Twitter and Facebook paired with the prevalence of handheld devices have driven the real time aspect of online life. This trend will continue as devices become more ubiquitous and provide more services – such as better quality video. Along with the real time, apps such as Foursquare and growing use of GPS in other apps have increased the focus on location. The article painted a fun picture…

Enabled by GPS, mapping data from the likes of Google and the accelerometer technology in modern phones, AR [augmented reality] involves overlaying data on your environment; imagine walking around a city and seeing it come to life with reviews of the restaurants you walk past and Wikipedia entries about the sights you see.

When using Layar, for instance, the picture from your phone’s video camera is overlaid with bubbles of information from Yelp, Wikipedia, Google Search and Twitter. The challenge for such services is to prove their utility: They have the “cool factor,” but can they be truly useful?

You know when that can be useful? When you’re visiting a new city, especially where you don’t speak the language! But it also makes the case that if you’re town isn’t on the wireless/cell/mobile broadband grid, you are out of luck. Not only will your citizens be handicapped but tourism to town will become more difficult.

What else is hot? Mobile payments. It seems like I’ve heard this before – but I think we’re getting closer. I take that back – Europe is getting closer. In Irish restaurants, you don’t give you credit card to wait staff to take to a back room – all transactions happen at the table. It’s faster, it feels safer and it’s less confusing.

Increased mobile payments will drive a more stringent look at network security. Tucked into the Minnesota Ultra High Speed Task Force report on broadband is a great section on security, vulnerability and reliability. I’m not sure which will come first – but I suspect that increased security and increased mobile payments will feed of each other.

Games, video and cloud computing round out the suspected trends for next year. Ironically, I just saw an article saying that Americans still watch 99 percent of the video they watch on TV – but speaking for my house, I know that’s a trend that shifting. As it shifts, we’re all going to need more, better broadband – and not just for 1 video per home. Chris Mitchell wrote a good article on the potential need for broadband (computers and other Internet devices) per household last spring. That’s a glimpse at a growing trend too:

To illustrate: Mom may be checking into the office remotely via VPN, Dad may be uploading video from yesterday’s little league baseball game, Suzy is watching a lecture from Stanford for college credit, Tom is on a vidchat with friends, and grandma is checking in with her doctor.

It’s exciting but it’s daunting – are we prepared as citizens, as communities, as a nation that will drive us to be leaders or even contenders?

Municipal Telecommunications Referendum

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Last month Cook County voters had a chance to vote on two issues related to community-sponsored broadband in their areas.

  1. Shall Cook County impose a sales and use tax of one percent (1%) on all taxable transactions within Cook County to pay for all or a portion of the following projects and associated financing costs: (i) construction and improvement of a countywide high-speed communications infrastructure network; [and two other projections for parking and the Grand Marias Public Library]?
  2. Shall Cook County construct and equip a new telephone exchange as a part of the construction and improvement of a countywide high-speed communications information network?

The first issue passed with 64.3%; the second didn’t with 55.9%. The second issue didn’t pass because it required a super-majority of 65%. What that means is that the voters supported the construction of a broadband network but that County will not be able to provide telephone service. It’s a blow to community interested in providing broadband because one big seller of a broadband package from a consumer’s perspective is the one-stop-shop triple play offering of voice, video and data. I’m sure it won’t stop the project – but it’s a barrier.

So folks have been asking me why the municipal telecommunications referendum requires a supermajority. Apparently it has required a supermajority since 1915, when the statute was enacted. But the discussion has come up since then; it was the subject of a TISP meeting last February – maybe it need to be addressed or reconsidered by policymakers.

Pro Supermajority

Folks who support the supermajority support it as a safety mechanism for tax payers. Randy Young from the Minnesota Telecom Alliance was kind enough to talk to me about this last week. Starting a company to provide telecommunications service is a risky business and requiring the supermajority requires a community to seriously consider the issue. I remember hearing from one town that having to reach that supermajority percentage was a good way for them to gain momentum and promote their upcoming service. (I’m sorry I don’t remember more details.) As I recall their first referendum didn’t pass – but they rallied and it did pass eventually. Now I suspect that after the first vote they were not supportive of the supermajority – but as I said it helped them focus and create a stronger plan.

Anti Supermajority

Folks who don’t support the supermajority point out that a referendum is not required for publicly owned Internet or television services. It is holding back local government from getting services to their citizens. So in Cook County the voters sent a mixed message, which leaves the County able to move forward – but with one important tool left out of their toolbox. Without permission to provide phone service they will only be able to offer 2/3 of the triple play offering most people seek; that is a handicap in the market. According to the Connected Nations maps and the Broadband Task Force (pg 29), Cook County is one of the most un/underserved counties in Minnesota. Without government intervention, they are unlikely to get service anytime soon.

I can understand the frustration of both sides. With funding being an overwhelming concern, I suspect citizens do not want to see government money spent on projects they don’t support. With broadband coming closer to being a utility, local governments do not want to be held captive to local providers who aren’t providing the services they need. The Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband report alludes to but does not address the referendum (page 68). But maybe it’s time to take a look at it again.

Anchors tenants key in a National broadband strategy

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We have been delighted to hear about our friends in Minnesota getting calls from the NTIA/RUS about their applications. Yet, we’re feeling anxious because we haven’t had a call yet – however I read an article last week that made me feel as if Blandin is on the right track.

Craig Settles  wrote a piece on the Gates Foundation assumption that installing fiber networks in 80 percent of the anchor institutions (hospitals, medical facilities, schools) in the US would cost $5 billion-$10 billion. Craig’s astute question was – would it help to connect the anchor institutions and his assertion is that it would. He says,

“In fact, the premise of the foundation’s report — wire these institutions and great things will happen — is in my view a great strategic approach to reaping broadband’s promised benefits. It should be the core for our national strategy, as well as a central strategic objective for those applying for stimulus grants. In one fell swoop you resolve three critical issues: financially sustaining the network, fostering economic development and generating widespread broadband adoption.”

Well, we like to think that the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities Initiative fits that description and meets that goal. Blandin applied for ARRA funding for the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities Initiative, which is a plan to promote broadband adoption in rural Minnesota by focusing on a framework introduced by the Intelligent Community Forum. That framework includes:

  1. Broadband
  2. Knowledge workers
  3. Innovation
  4. Digital Inclusion
  5. Marketing/Advocacy

Blandin has partnered with a wide range of organizations in Minnesota to provide and promote services that will encourage use of technology. Services include technology training for small businesses, computer rehab services to
get computers in more homes, access to remote healthcare services and more.
(You can learn more here.)

Bill to Rein in Early Cell Phone Termination Fees

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Last Friday, Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN), Senator Russ Feingold (WI), Senator Jim Webb (VA), and Senator Mark Begich (AK) introduced the Cell Phone Early Termination Fee, Transparency and Fairness Act. I remember hearing Senator Klobuchar talk about this early on and mentioning that when it comes to technology this is one issue where she gets a lot of calls from people all over the state.

According to Klobuchar’s web site, the new bill would:

  1. Prevent wireless carriers from charging an ETF that is higher than the discount on the cell phone that the wireless company offers consumers for entering into a multi-year contract. For example, if a wireless consumer enters into a 2-year contract and receives a $150 discount with the contract, the ETF cannot exceed $150.
  2. Require wireless carriers to pro-rate their ETFs for consumers who leave their contracts early so that the ETF for a two-year contract would be reduced by half after one year and pro-rated down to zero by the end of a contract term.
  3. Require wireless carriers to provide “clear and conspicuous disclosure” of the ETF at the time of purchase.
  4. Require monthly billing statements to clearly state the pro-rated fee customers would be charged if they terminate their contracts before the end of the next billing cycle.

General Update on ARRA Funding

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Excitement is starting to bubble up again for the ARRA funding as organizations are receiving word that they have made the first cut.

CED Magazine reports that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has awarded grants to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana and Missouri. The total spent looks to be about $12 million.

CED also reports that WiMAX technology accounts for more than 25 percent of last-mile broadband deployment grant applications filed with the NTIA/RUS.

The Telecommunications Industry Association gave the NTIA/RUS some advice on the second round of funding such as lose the 50 mile rule where rural is defined as being 50 miles of an urban area.

MAPTechworks: Video lessons for nonprofits

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Last Thursday I attended the official launch of MAPTechworks – a cool web site where nonprofits can share (via video) their tech stories with those in the same boat. It’s a great idea and a great resource for nonprofits and small businesses. Topics include GIS basics, how to design a web site and everything on backing up.

The idea is to get just-in-time answers to tech questions but also to be able to hear stories from organizations like yours as they increase use of technology. Maybe get a cyber mentor to help guide you through long and short terms decisions. You can learn a little more on the video of the intro below.

At the launch we brainstormed in small groups about future topics, which is always fun. One the one hand, the room is full of IT staff; on the other hand, they all work at nonprofits. It’s a reminder of the wide range technology deployment at an organizational level.

Funny enough I got another reminder of that wide gap in use from Future Tense this week when Jon Gordon talked about the basics of computer literacy. Many people, it seems, still have trouble searching and other tools that I think of as very basic. It was a good reminder that while fiber (or wireless or DOCSIS3 might answer some broadband problems – training is required to answer others.

Update on Minnesota-based ARRA grant applications

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I heard some good news from the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group…

Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group Proceeds to Phase Two of the American Recovery and Investment Act

Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group, Windomnet and U-reka Broadband Ventures is pleased that the RUS has determined the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group application is qualified to proceed to phase two of funding evaluation. We believe the project is strong for many reasons including the partnership of the member communities, the participation of a strong provider in Windomnet and local champions who believe that broadband is the future lifeblood of their communities. We want to especially thank the city officials, U-reka Broadband and city staff who contributed to the success of this effort, there are truly too many champions to name from all nine communities that came together to make this possible.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact Dan Olsen 507.832.8007 or Dano@windoment.com  

U-reka Broadband Ventures provided business plan analysis, engineering and operational planning and prepared the application for the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group. U-reka Broadband provides consulting services to Service Providers, Local Units of Government, Tribal Governments and Private Businesses to solve their fiber connectivity and bandwidth needs. More information on U-reka Broadband Ventures can be found at www.u-rekabroadband.com  or contact John Schultz at 651 967-7196.

Congrats!! I have heard of at least one other applicant that had gotten the call up to the big game. So apparently the NTIA/RUS are in town with their talent scouts. For those of us with applications in the hopper, I had to ask how they heard and about the next step.

John Schultz told me that they received a fax last night and for phase 2, they have 30 days to provide the following:
• Technology Description
• Buildout Schedule
• Licenses, Approvals and Agreements
• Environmental Materials
• Commitment of Capital Funding
• Service Level Objectives
• Legal Documents

Ramsey County/City of Saint Paul Community Broadband Summit

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Some great notes from Bill Coleman who attended the Broadband Summit in St Paul yesterday…

I attended a very interesting event yesterday at the James J. Hill Library in St. Paul. The setting was very appropriate for a community discussion on commerce and information. James J. Hill is one of Minnesota’s greatest financial giants – railroad man, banker, agricultural innovator – whose fortune is still benefitting Minnesotans today through the Northwest Area Foundation. The library closed its doors yesterday for the Summit, but was still serving customers through its incredible online collection of business information.

Yesterday’s broadband summit was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; its funds came from the founders of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Knight is extremely supportive of broadband initiatives as it links to information and democracy. Knight focuses on the communities on the 20 plus communities where the Knights owned newspapers.

It was very interesting to hear the Knight staff’s linkage between broadband, information, journalism and democracy. They have a new report “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age.” The focus is on local information needs for a democratic society. You can find the report here: http://knightcomm.org

St. Paul and Ramsey County are exploring ways to connect public sector entities with a high capacity broadband network. In fact, they are in the final stages of selecting a vendor to move forward on this network that would also include a private sector service provider offering open access network services. They are also inviting other public sector entities into the discussion. But the Summit was not limited to the infrastructure side of the broadband topic. Digital inclusion was an important topic as well.

What are the community challenges? Examples include: county workers stifled by lack of bandwidth and an inability to do their jobs as a result; job applicants who cannot complete online job applications in the time limit set for library computer users; children racing to the library so as to be able to complete their homework. (As someone who works all over the state, this confirms the notion that broadband access is a statewide issue, not limited to the rural corners of the state.

A highlight of the event was to hear about what is happening in Miami/Dade County. Kim Marcelle, executive director of the Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition, talked about their efforts. They have seemingly created a unified initiative that includes strategies on connectivity, education, training, and computers and services for low-income residents. Their I-Net services are priced such that public sector entities receive robust services at affordable prices while still generating profits that fund their digital inclusion initiatives. Some of these include: “Rites of Passage” – a programs that provides computers and free Internet for low-income kids; “Beyond the Bell” – a program that provides customized online learning opportunities for kids that targets their specific needs. Google “elevate Miami” for an overview to a philosophy that links assistance to commitment. I also liked their strategy of sector roundtable discussions to discuss technology trends, connectivity and human resource needs. The most striking statement that came out of their education roundtable was “Kids with access to technology are different than kids without.”

Mayor Chris Coleman talked about St. Paul’s historic role as a transportation hub – for river traffic, for railroads, air and auto – and our need to ensure that we have what we need for Internet infrastructure and services. He stated that broadband is a critical infrastructure tied to the need to have the workforce that can exploit this asset for economic development. He stated that we cannot wait until the economic downturn is over or we will be too far behind those that are acting now.

Rick King, chair of the state broadband task force spoke about their report. I have heard him talk several times about the efforts of the task force and the report. Yesterday, he came up with a new analogy I think emerged as he was thinking about beaches in Miami! In essence, the task force has set the destination of ubiquitous 10 Mb broadband for our sailing ship of Minnesota. In a sail boat, one rarely sails in a straight line to the destination. Winds and currents affect navigation so while the specific route is unknown, the destination is. In light of this, I hope that Rick stays on as captain!

I think that the Summit was an excellent launch for the Ramsey County/City of St. Paul community. The next steps will be critical for keeping the momentum going. The group should heed Miami’s Marcelle challenge to keep all key stakeholders engaged on all broadband elements. Reaching out aggressively, moving forward continuously. Strong leadership will be required. Good luck!!

Student Video Network

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The Student Video Network is a section of eSchool News where students can post their videos – a place where students might get national recognition for their video. How cool is that? Think back to when you were in school – how much more fun would it be to create a video than always write a paper – and I liked writing papers. And better yet, how great would it have been to have had the potential for national recognition for your video?

Now fast forward and think of some of the junk that’s on television and YouTube and imagine how great it would be to have an alternative for kids to check out. A series of videos created by other kids for school would fit that bill. Well, that’s what the Student Video Network is. Tell your kids, tell their teachers.

And check out a Minnesota-based video created by students at Eagan High School talk about their experience working with the Student Video Network (SVN) of http://www.eSchoolNews.TV, a project-based educational program provided to selected schools free of charge by the national news organization eSchool Media.

It’s a great use of broadband in the schools.

Broadband is mental food

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I just ran into a great personal account on how bad broadband is in Northwestern Minnesota. The post comes from a recent graduate (or maybe current college student) from Northern Minnesota now living in Minneapolis. Sounds like he went home from Thanksgiving and his broadband-lacking childhood came rushing back to him.

The post sounded a lot like the students we heard from at the Blandin Broadband conference – and all of it demonstrates that there is a growing expectation of access to broadband. Here’s an excerpt:

Nearly every day, I check one of my various email accounts using my phone, play World of Warcraft, listen to internet radio or podcasts, watch television shows or movies on Hulu and Netflix, or download media legally via some digital distribution service. Sometimes I engage in any number of the aforementioned simultaneously. This is just what I do with the internet. It comes as natural to me as riding a bike and feels as vital as food. Call it mental food if you want.

Notes from TISP Forum: Legislative Roundtable on Telecommunications Policy

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This afternoon I attended the TISP session on broadband-related policy. I thought I’d share my notes asis. I did my best to capture comments and names where possible. I’m happy to get and post any corrections from other folks who were there.

TISP Forum: Legislative Roundtable on Telecommunications Policy
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
HHH Institute of Public Affairs
Description:

As we look toward the next legislative session, Rep. Sheldon Johnson, Chair, Telecommunications and Infrastructure Division, MN House of Representatives, and legislative colleagues will lead a discussion on important issues in broadband policy and economic development in Minnesota. Items up for discussion include the recent MN Broadband Report, the prospects for statewide franchising and the impact of the telephone referendum requirement on broadband entry.

Hosted by Milda Hedblom

Notes from Representatives

Rep Sheldon Johnson (67B) – Continue reading →

Blandin eNews December 2009

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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.

Blandin Broadband Conference
The Blandin Foundation broadband conference was a big hit in November. It started with Jim Baller http://tinyurl.com/yh76c3e promoting faster goal broadband speeds for Minnesota. The next day the Broadband Task Force spoke about their recommendations. http://tinyurl.com/ylj33pk They highlighted the goal of ubiquitous broadband in the state and the need for public-private partnerships. Students spoke about their vision for future http://tinyurl.com/yjgb5jl and ARRA grant applicants voiced some frustration with the slow process of federal funding http://tinyurl.com/yf5ajqg. Get reflections from the conference as well as videos and notes from conference sessions online. http://tinyurl.com/yjajyrf

Broadband Task Force Recommendations
In November, after more than a year of work and research, the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force unveiled their recommendations for broadband in Minnesota. Highlights include ubiquitous coverage to all parts of Minnesota, a goal to be top five for broadband speed and penetration in the US and the suggested formation of an ongoing entity to support and promote broadband in Minnesota through 2015. http://tinyurl.com/ybyl297 The report made a splash with local press http://tinyurl.com/yzakroo and that splash keeps rippling. http://tinyurl.com/yfzospd

ARRA Funding
The NTIA/RUS report that they plan to announce successful ARRA grants starting in December; the announcements may happen through February 2010 as decisions are made.http://tinyurl.com/yhs39ld

Broadband and Telehealth
At the Blandin Broadband conference the leaders of Eindhoven talked about broadband as a necessary tool to get services to all citizens and that one such application was telehealth. http://tinyurl.com/yc9cfbw New forms of telehealth are emerging each day, such as the Bluetooth wireless protocol that can provide faster and more reliable patient assessment data transfers between mobile devices, improvements to remote doctor visits for seniors http://tinyurl.com/ye4aut4 and a Minnesota-based medical lab portal where healthcare providers can use guides, worksheets and calculators as well as get remote support interpreting lab results. http://tinyurl.com/ye4aut4

Local Broadband News

Anoka County
Anoka County is pursing a public-private partnership to obtain funding for broadband services. http://tinyurl.com/yj6s9vu

Dakota County
Dakota County creates a video to promote broadband in the area. http://tinyurl.com/yb6p99v

Duluth
Duluth hosts a walking tour and conversation on local technology jobs at the Blandin broadband conference. http://tinyurl.com/yfvlzzk

Itasca County
Itasca County plans to leverage its 800 Mhz public safety network investment to improve local broadband services. http://tinyurl.com/ykxvb6n

Lake County
Lake County News-Chronicle champions Minnesota as a possible national leader in rural broadband. http://tinyurl.com/yjxtae3

Savage
Clear Wireless is expanding its wireless network to Savage. http://tinyurl.com/yhagtlu

St Louis & Lake County
Saint Louis County Board approved financial support for the Lake County Fiber Network to expand into the northeastern portions of Saint Louis County. http://tinyurl.com/ylxcqs4

Coleman’s Corner

Success comes easier with good partners. In my mind, good partners are committed to achieving shared goals and are willing to invest time and energy today for long term benefits. The state broadband task force emphasizes community-provider partnerships in market development strategies; this is an approach that the Blandin Foundation’s Get Broadband Program spurred in more than 25 rural communities with documented success.

Provider engagement in these initiatives was uneven. In some communities, providers were actively engaged as partners – serving on steering teams, sponsoring training programs and lending their technology expertise to teams of community leaders. Both community and provider benefitted from the partnership. In other places, despite active invitations from the community, providers were no-shows and the initiatives suffered as a result due to less knowledge of services, missed sales opportunities and fewer resources.

Use the state task force report as leverage to get your providers engaged in your community broadband initiatives. For best results, be specific in your requests to your providers. Ask them to attend a community meeting to discuss what current services are available and about future plans to upgrade services. Ask them to serve on a technology task force. Ask them to sponsor e-commerce training for small and medium size businesses, computer reuse programs for senior citizens or low-income families or an after school program for students interested in IT careers.

We would like to collect stories of the role that your providers play in your community. Which companies are active and helpful in your initiatives? Which companies are no-shows? Send your stories to broadband@blandinfoundation.org