Monthly Archives: August 2010

More MN Projects get ARRA funding

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Here’s the announcement…

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the funding of 126 new Recovery Act broadband infrastructure projects that will create jobs and provide rural residents in 38 states and Native American tribal areas access to improved service.

And here are the projects in Minnesota…

  1. Wikstrom Telephone Company, Incorporated
    $7,398,600
    This $7.4 million grant to Wikstrom Telephone Company, Inc. will deploy 414 miles of new cables and electronics for GPON fiber to the home in 6 communities of Kittson, Marshall and Roseau County for Broadband Services over 100 megabits. Electronic enhancements will be made to existing DSL customers to increase Broadband speeds up to 48mbs, along with 74 miles of additional fiber to the node, and a 150mb microwave upgrade for service to the NW Angle. Wikstrom Telephone’s project stands to benefit approximately 12,000 people, 1,500 businesses, and 83 other community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
  2. Woodstock Telephone Co Inc
    $15,184,424
    Woodstock Telephone Company will use this more than $15.1 million award to expand its fiber network into neighboring rural communities by providing Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) for over 3600 premises in 15 communities located within 3 counties in Southwest Minnesota. This expanded fiber network will provide bandwidth of over 20megabytes per second for advanced voice and data services. More than 8,000 people stand to benefit, as do approximately 180 businesses and nearly 50 community institutions. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
  3. Farmers Mutual Telephone Company
    $9,652,956
    This approximately $9.65 million award to Farmers Mutual Telephone Company will bring Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) technology to Minnesota’s Lac qui Parle County. This network will make Lac qui Parle, now an area with limited technology choices, one of the leading technology counties in the state. More than 3,700 people stand to benefit, as do roughly 165 businesses and 12 community institutions. Farmers Mutual estimates the construction will directly support 110 jobs upfront, and will also drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
  4. Arvig Telephone Company
    $5,048,168
    This over $5 million award to Arvig Telephone Company, matched by nearly $1.7 million in private contribution, will bring high-speed DSL broadband service to unserved establishments in its rural service territory. This network will be comparable to the DSL service provided in its more populated areas. The network will also be engineered so that it can be easily upgraded at a reasonable cost to meet future needs. More than 1,800 people stand to benefit, as do nearly 70 businesses. In addition to the jobs this project will create upfront, it will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
  5. Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association
    $19,632,404
    This $19.6 million grant will allow the Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association (WCTA) to provide FTTP for rural portions of about 21 communities in Iowa and Minnesota, and will provide bandwidth of over 5megabytes per second for advanced voice, video, and data services. WCTA’s project stands to benefit over 8,000 people. Not only will this project create jobs upfront, but it will also help drive economic development in the community that will help create jobs for years to come.
    Note: Mostly in Iowa but includes MN too.

You can see the full list of awards online.

I happened to be in Lac qui Parle yesterday meeting with the Pam Lehmann and Andrea Lewis at the LqP EDA. I thought they seemed awfully happy! We were talking about their new website (which shall be unveiled soon) but of course we were also talking about broadband and the impact it can have in a community such as Madison Minnesota – or the whole county.

Minnesota is a beautiful state, driving through it I was reminded of just how livable the communities are – so long as you can get a job. These broadband projects (in and out of Lac qui Parle) will open the door to residents finding jobs without the barrier of location/proximity. It will open the door to new residents who already work online and therefore can live anywhere they can get broadband. It will open the door to business relocation and/or developing in these areas where their main requirements are broadband and good people.

Congrats to all of the awarded projects!

Blandin August eNews

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Minnesota Broadband Bill

The FCC published their Sixth Annual Broadband Report, unveiling both a new definition of broadband (4 Mbps upstream/1 Mbps downstream) and their list of Minnesota’s least served counties. http://tinyurl.com/3xhlaup Their list bears little resemblance to the list compiled by the Minnesota Ultra High Speed Task Force last fall. The recommendations set out by the Task Force became laws last spring and took effect as the Minnesota Broadband Bill on August 1, 2010. http://tinyurl.com/24jevr9

Minnesota ISP Changes
Changes in the Minnesota ISP landscape mirror what’s happening in the rest of the US. Improved wireless is on the horizon with Best Buy partnering with Clearwire to provide 4G in 2011. http://tinyurl.com/23r2u73 Mergers are in the air with the public invited to comment on CenturyLink’s plan to acquire Qwest. http://tinyurl.com/26wmg3p Current providers are upping their game; Charter Business is introducing two new services: Extreme Power, with speeds up to 75 Mbps, and Mega Power, with up to 40 Mbps speeds. http://tinyurl.com/2vk7nda

Broadband and Minnesota Politics
At least two gubernatorial candidates have talked about the importance of broadband. Tom Horner talked about broadband as a tool for home-centered healthcare http://tinyurl.com/29jt285, while Tom Emmer visited Paul Bunyan Telephone in Bemidji to learn more about broadband in rural Minnesota. http://tinyurl.com/2ezuc3r A Star Tribune editorial emphasized Horner’s points asserting that broadband should be a key issue in the race. http://tinyurl.com/28r48cd In Washington, another Minnesota elected official is focusing on broadband too; Minnesota Senator Al Franken calls Net Neutrality the First Amendment issue of our time. http://tinyurl.com/2fkb4vn

(If your favorite candidate has also mentioned broadband, please let us know. We like to highlight any and all mentions of broadband.)

Blandin Fall Broadband Conference

This year’s Blandin Broadband Conference spotlights communities across Minnesota that are Cultivating a Culture of Use through ARRA broadband funding. Come hear from experts, researchers, students and folks in the field who are creating programs to help boost broadband use in their communities. There will be time and space for attendees to ask questions and tell their stories, and follow up on the work of the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Taskforce to answer the question, “Where are we now – one year later?” Geek Squad founder, Robert Stephens will be the keynote speaker. http://tinyurl.com/2dan72h

Local Broadband News

Anoka County
Connect Anoka County, a partnership of Anoka County and Zayo Bandwidth, announced it has been awarded $13,382,593 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), to expand fiber broadband connectivity across the county. http://tinyurl.com/28a4c8u

Austin
Austin Utilities seeks ISP to help run a wireless broadband network. http://tinyurl.com/2eh6rhn

Crosslake
Crosslake leaders meet with Representative Larry Howes to discuss the potential urban/rural discrepancy in the National Broadband Plan. http://tinyurl.com/2ds49ku

Eveleth and Sebeka
CNN writes a story on rural-sourcing, highlighting a CrossUSA, a Minnesota business with offices in Eveleth and Sebeka that provides offsite IT consulting. http://tinyurl.com/2eqsmdy

Grand Rapids
The Grand Rapids Chamber is working with the local Depot Commons Association to create a shared professional workspace (or co-working space) for business professionals. Co-workers will receive access to a reliable office space with a unique modern community of professionals. http://tinyurl.com/28d9ahf

Minneapolis
MedMinder provides a “computerized pillbox” to remind ailing parents to make medication in Minneapolis and so that adult children living around the world can keep tabs on their healthcare. http://tinyurl.com/262pzf6

In June, Minneapolis lit up 117 free Wi-Fi spots throughout the city. Twin Cities Daily Planet reporter finds that some spots are more accessible than others. http://tinyurl.com/2er9boj

Moorhead
Former Broadband Task Force members discuss perception of broadband speeds in Moorhead. http://tinyurl.com/2fsq5ge

Murray County
Economic Developer, John Shepard presents to the Farm Bureau about the importance of broadband and the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) project. http://tinyurl.com/29ge8st

Sibley and Renville Counties
Blandin Foundation awards $40,000 to help seven cities in Sibley County and one city in Renville County with a study to investigate the feasibility of a Fiber to The Home (FTTH) network. http://tinyurl.com/26n7bn2

(Many stories are gathered from local online newspaper. Unfortunately each newspaper has a different policy in regards to archive news and therefore we cannot guarantee access to all articles cited.)

Coleman’s Corner

Coming home from a week’s vacation can be comforting – welcomed by your own dog, sleeping in your own bed, and opening your own refrigerator are some of my indicators of being home. After this past week, I can add one more item to my list – logging on through my own Internet connection. It turns out that northern California is similar to Minnesota in many ways.

I experienced the full range of connectivity options over the past week – from cable modems and 3G cell coverage to no broadband and no cell service. The quality of connection availability was predictable – excellent in urban and suburban settings, worse in the mountains and countryside. I was a bit surprised at the lack of broadband availability at the house that I rented with friends in Tahoe City. Our landlord/host, producer of a PBS travel series, uses an air card for his broadband connection with no Wi-Fi at the house.

I also faced the usual tension between being on vacation and keeping up with work. It was difficult to not take a regular look at the Blackberry and to click away a few email responses. I was successful at holding the line at just reading email and not reading and creating documents. That seemed like a good idea last week…today, I am not so sure!

Future of the Internet Public Hearing in Minneapolis Aug 19

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Thanks to Steve Renderos, Media Justice Organizer for the Main Street Project for passing on the following invitation. It’s very exciting to have this happen in Minnesota.

Save the Date: Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010, 6 p.m.
Future of the Internet Public Hearing

On August 19, Free Press, Main Street Project and the Center for Media Justice are co-hosting a public hearing on the Future of the Internet. This important hearing is a valuable opportunity for those outside of Washington to share their ideas, experiences and concerns with the FCC.

The hearing will feature two public interest champions, FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn. Deliver your message directly to the commissioners and encourage them to bring it back to Washington.

The debate over the future of the Internet in America is at a critical juncture. On one side are the millions of people who have seen the Internet become a vital part of their daily routine. They’ve contacted elected officials and regulators demanding that Washington protect the open Internet and foster universal broadband access and adoption for all Americans.

On the other is a lobbying juggernaut that seeks to destroy this openness so that phone and cable companies can rebuild the Internet as a gated community that pads their bottom line.

The world is changing, and increasingly, having access to the Internet and knowing how to use it determine who stands to benefit from the new economy, and who is left behind.

They’ve had their say inside the Beltway, but the FCC needs to hear from the rest of us. Join us on Aug. 19, 2010, at a hearing to urge the FCC to protect Internet users, pass real Net Neutrality rules, and connect everyone to fast, affordable broadband service.

Details:

Location: South High School Auditorium, 3131 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN
Date/Time: Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010, 6 p.m.
Featured Speakers: FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie (All FCC commissioners are invited to speak, and other elected officials have also received invitations to speak. Additional speakers will be announced as they are confirmed.)
Contact: Misty Perez Truedson for more information, mperez@freepress.net

Why care about broadband in Murray County

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John Shepard is an economic developer who understand broadband. He is also one of the MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) partners at Southwest Regional Development Commission. He recently shared a presentation online that was originally given to the Farm Bureau in Murray County and I thought it was worth a mention here.

John starts with the broadband look at the broadband situation in rural Minnesota and how boosting broadband could help boost rural areas by providing access to a wider (or deeper) range of applications – but I think the most powerful part of the presentation comes at the end where he talks about why you should care about broadband and the MIRC project…

As agricultural producers, this project may not directly affect broadband access at your farm. However, it is intended to benefit you in two direct ways.

1. First, providing opportunities to create new jobs may help your kids, or even yourselves, stay in Rural Minnesota. More and more farm families have to have off-farm employment to survive, not to mention providing options for spouses.
2. Second, creating additional demand for broadband will help providers offer the latest and greatest telecommunications services that you do directly need—from video cattle auctions to simple social media.

When we help each other out in rural Minnesota, everybody wins.

Times are tough right now and I think we all get focused on what we need here and now. John’s presentation is a nice step back and reminder that “When we help each other out in rural Minnesota, everybody wins.”

MN Broadband Law effective today

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August 1, 2010 is the day that the Minnesota Broadband law takes effect…

Minnesota intends to provide every resident the ability to access high-speed broadband Internet service by 2015. A new law makes high-speed broadband Internet for every home and business an official state goal. In addition, it calls for a boost in broadband speeds: 10 to 20 megabits per second for downloads and five to 10 megabits per second for uploads.

Sponsored by Rep. Sheldon Johnson (DFL-St. Paul) and Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL-Duluth), the law also specifies three other goals for Minnesota’s broadband access. It states that Minnesota should be in:

  • “the top five states of the United States for broadband speed universally accessible to residents and businesses”;
  • “the top five states for broadband access”; and
  • “the top 15 when compared to countries globally for broadband penetration.”

The law stems from the work of the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force, which spent two years researching a strategy for deploying broadband Internet service throughout the state. Also included in the law is a provision requiring the Department of Commerce to report annually to the Legislature on progress made toward meeting the state’s broadband goals. HF2907*/SF2254/CH277