Monthly Archives: November 2012

Best Buy Website Issues

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Just in time to be the poster child for testing, testing and redundancy for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Best Buy runs into issues this week with their website and pre-Black Friday promotions. According to the Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal…

A technical problem at Best Buy Co. Inc.’s website made for checkout problems and frayed tempers for some of the retailer’s best customers Monday.
Some customers waited nearly an hour to make it through purchases, while BestBuy.com displayed the following message: “We were expecting snow but we got a blizzard. … Our site is incredibly busy! Please be patient while we shovel you a path.”

The problem wasn’t necessarily broadband related – but apparently an issue with the site’s sales-tax calculator. The customers who experienced problems will be compensated with expedited shipping, which is nice, but again it’s a reminder to online shops to be prepared!

Top Digital Cities for 2012 – Congrats to Eden Prairie

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The Center for Digital Government’s Digital Cities just released their 12th annual list of top digital cities. They look at four categories based on city populations:

  • 250,000 or more population
  • 125,000 – 249,999 population
  • 75,000 – 124,999 population
  • 30,000 – 74,999 population

The survey asks a number of questions related to local government use of technology. Here is one that caught my eye, although it’s not necessarily exclusively technology-based:

Trending Question – “What measures has the city taken to deal with the economic downturn?”
• 90% of cities are pursuing grants and fees to lessen dependence on the city general fund
• 75% are consolidating data centers, servers, applications and staff
• 73% are pursuing shared services/ joint service delivery
• 72% are planning reductions in staffing and operating hours
• 61% are planning agency consolidation, mergers and/or elimination
• 42% may have cuts in public service delivery
• 45 percent plan increased reliance on third parties (private, commercial and not-for-profit)

Eden Prairie made the list. They were number nine in the list for the smallest cities. While I’m glad for Eden Prairie, it’s not the best showing from Minnesota. Here is how Minnesota cities have fared in the past:

  • 2012: Eden Prairie #9 for cities with 30,000 – 74,999 population
  • 2011: Eden Prairie #1 for cities with 30,000 – 74,999 population
  • 2010: None
  • 2009: None
  • 2008: None
  • 2007: None
  • 2006: None
  • 2005: St Paul #6 for cities with 250,000 or more population
  • 2004: None
  • 2003: None
  • 2002: Minneapolis #11 for cities with a population of more than 250,000:
  • 2001: None

So where are we? One excuse might be that it looks like cities self-select into the mix. Maybe Minnesota cities aren’t participating in the survey. If that’s the case, I’d definitely encourage more Minnesota cities to join the mix. If that’s not the case, I think Minnesota cities may want to take a look at what other cities are doing – especially since, as I reported yesterday, Minnesota State services are getting a nice nod (A- rating!) from the same organization. It seems like the State’s ability to provide services would smooth the path for more cities to follow suit.

Minnesota Provides Good E-Services

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Minnesota 2020 recently ran a positive article on Minnesota State Government’s use of e-services…

Minnesota has recently been recognized as one of then nations leading states in providing E-services to residents.

They attribute some of the success to MN.IT…

Much of these gains can be attributed to consolidating the executive branch’s technology functions under one roof. Known as MN.IT Services, this new agency is now the primary provider of technology services to all of Minnesota’s state government agencies.

I thought I’d highlight some of the reports and projects they mention:

Center for Digital Government – Digital State Survey

The survey looks at quantifiable results in better serving citizens and streamlining operations. Eight states received A grades: Michigan and Utah receiving an A and California, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia received an A-. And here is how they define A- states:

These states are trending sharply up. They demonstrated results across all survey categories. Nimble leaders use modernization to implement strategic priorities and operational efficiencies. They show evidence of meaningful collaboration. Performance measures and metrics are widely adopted. Cuts tend to be made strategically.

Computerworld – Praises Minnesota Department of Education

MDE had too much data going to too many places in less-than-user-friendly formats. This year they began consolidating data and transitioning to more user-friendly format, such as dashboards whereusers can drill down into specific data types to get more information. The initial plan is to use the data to lower dropout rates.

Department of Labor and Industry’s new ETRAKiT

ETRAKiT is an online permitting system that allows trades professionals and homeowners to create and pay for electrical permits online…

The system has greatly improved the efficiency by dramatically reducing the turnaround time it take to process and issue electrical permits. Permits are now either issued immediately or within three days when previously contractors and other permit-seekers could wait as long as six weeks. Plans are in the works to expand the system to other construction codes in the near future.

Quick Update on Anoka Fiber Project

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This is a very quick update on the Anoka Project. The Reader’s Digest version of the Reader’s Digest version: 88% of construction is completed.

There are 237.07 miles in varied stages of construction including approximately 233 miles spliced and ready for service. Just over 239 miles of permits in hand for construction.

And a quick reminder on the project from the Connect Anoka County website…

Connect Anoka County is the county-led effort to increase the amount of fiber optic cable in the county. The Connect Anoka County project has resulted in a partnership between Zayo Bandwidth, LLC and Anoka County. Through the partnership, Zayo Bandwidth applied for and received a National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) grant paying 70 percent of the fiber construction cost and initial equipment. The grant project will construct an approximately 286 mile fiber network throughout Anoka County linking 145 governmental institutions.

The fiber optic cable that is installed as part of the grant will be owned by Zayo Bandwidth. Zayo will provide the capacity services for the governmental network and separately offer connectivity services to the private sector. The grant will also provide dark fiber strands for Anoka County use. The right to use these dark strands is conveyed to the county through a fiber Indefeasible Right to Use (IRU), which is similar to a long-term lease. Should the county decide to use the dark fiber, equipment will need to be purchased and a monthly maintenance fee paid to Zayo.

CenturyLink goes 100 Gbps

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Thanks to Ann Higgins on the heads up on a big announcement CenturyLink made this week…

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) has completed an upgrade of its network and is now delivering speeds of 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps) nationwide across its backbone and in more than 50 metropolitan locations across the United States. The company also recently deployed 100 Gbps in Singapore and London, with more international cities planned for early 2013.

I asked them specifically about access in Minnesota…

We announced on Wednesday that our entire network is now 100G capable. That 100G service running across our backbone can also be delivered to POPs in our large metro markets and to customers through our Optical Wavelength Service. We could offer 100G into the Minneapolis metro if a large enterprise, wholesale or government customer were interested in our OWS service.

The 100G service we offer in the metros is designed for big businesses and agencies. However, CenturyLink High-Speed Internet customers will benefit from our network upgrade to 100G as there will be greater capacity and less congestion on our network. This should result in a more efficient broadband experience for them.

So it clearly isn’t made for the man of the street yet – but as they say, it should mean better service for all customers and I think it helps create a market and competition that should bring faster speeds closer to everyone. I will stipulate that at least at this point I mean everyone in a metro area.

I was curious about Optical Wavelength Service. Here is how they defined it…

CenturyLink uses state-of-the-art DWDM technology that enables several streams of digital information to be put on different wavelengths of light, eliminating interference with one another. This allows transport of up to 96 channels in a single strand of fiber and translates into higher capacity and lower cost.

What others are saying about the Broadband Confernece

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I have been busy trying to post info from the broadband conference in Duluth. But I’m not the only one. I wanted to share notes from others…

DFL Legislature could make a difference for broadband – OK this is part about the conference and part about the latest Broadband Task Force, but I think Dave Peters from Minnesota Public Radio as done a nice job of putting the Task Force Panel in political perspective

A visiting expert’s view: Public-private collaboration can advance mobile future – Diane Smith spoke to the Broadband Task Force in Duluth. Her article in the Duluth News Tribune is reflective of the presentation she gave to the Task Force about rural entrepreneurs needing broadband.

Broadband adoption in Minnesota hits three-quarters but slows – more from Dave Peters on a new survey by the Center for Rural Policy and Development.

Building our Connected Future: Minnesota’s Better with Broadband!: Final Thoughts

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This year I have final thoughts from a couple of perspectives. First we have Mark Erickson (from Winthrop) and JoAnne Johnson (from U-reka Broadband) giving their reflections on the conference. Mark focused on 10 things he had learned; JoAnne kept her ears open and highlighted comments heard and themes emerging.

We also have Bernadine Joselyn, who always does a nice job of calling out the salient themes from the conference…

Trends in Business Applications: Conference Break Out

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We learned how cloud, mobile and e-commerce applications are changing the way business is conducted. Leaders from Minnesota’s technology industry provide an overview that can help you work with your existing businesses to increase their own tech vitality. Panelists: Neal Tovsen; Founder, TelemetryWeb; James Gagliardi, Vice President, Product, Digital River, Inc; Lonnie Bloomquist, Founder, Chief Technology Officer, Involta

Broadband Applications in Healthcare: Conference Break Out

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We learned how broadband and technology are affecting healthcare services in northeastern Minnesota. From diagnostics, virtual specialist’s telehealth services and electronic medical records over Gb networks to home healthcare monitoring and the use of mobile devices. Broadband technology is enabling improved healthcare access, collaboration and communication in this corner of the state. Panelists: Maureen Ideker, Essentia Health; Cheryl Stephens, Community Health Information Collaborative; Jeff Plunkett, SISU Medical Systems.

ARRA and RUS Projects – Where we Stand: Conference Break Out

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What is the state of ARRA and RUS broadband projects and how they will impact broadband adoption, use and availability in Minnesota? Panelists shared their knowledge and perspective on the projects, and their impacts in Minnesota; as well as share their views on what might be coming next. Panelists: Dennis Ahlers, Assistant Commissioner, Department of Commerce; Thomas Jensen, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service – Telecommunications Division. Moderator: JoAnne Johnson, U-reka Broadband.

Meet the New Blandin Broadband Communities

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The Blandin Foundation is very excited to announce the new Blandin Broadband Communities. (You can access the press release with full details on an earlier blog post.) I was excited to learn a little bit more about each community during the naming ceremony. You can meet the folks and hear a little bit about their communities and their plan in the video below…

You can also learn more about Blandin’s plan for the new broadband focus. While this cohort will have access to specific programming, there are other opportunities to interact with the Blandin Foundation if your community is looking at broadband. Bernadine Joselyn detailed some of the opportunities with the presentation below…

WhyBroadband.org a tool to find a broadband tool

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Shirley Walz, Minnesota Broadband Task Force member, gave a demonstration of the Task Force’s new toolkit that helps to connect new computer users with resources that help them learn how to get to the next step making the best use of broadband. The tool includes links to online training tools, links to classroom opportunities throughout Minnesota and information to help you get a computer and get connection.

Recognizing that building the toolkit is an iterative process, she invites people to take a look and offer feedback on the toolkit.

The New Digital Divide

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Today we find that while availability is still an issue in some locations, the new digital divide not only references the digital “haves and have nots,” but also recognizes that people of different ages, races, ethnicities and geographies access the Internet in different ways and utilize it for different purposes. This session referenced some of the most contemporary data to explore both the older and newer dimensions of the digital divide.

What we’ve seen through the conference is that the questions have shifted from “why would I need broadband” to “why don’t I have it.” The presentations we saw today helped to frame the reasons why.

Jack Geller started by observing that there is no clear line for the digital divide anymore – people are coming through different doors. Mobile access has been a game changer; suddenly you don’t need a computer to get online anymore.

Students Learn to Use Technology at MN Broadband Conference

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Inver Hills Community College instructors led high school students through two short courses on computer technology hardware and software.

Computers & Networking – This class focused on practical knowledge of computer hardware and operating systems. Students learned how to troubleshoot computer issues and use system tools and diagnostic software. They learned fundamental aspects of connecting computers to the internet and shared resources in a networked environment.

Social Media & Websites – In this class students explored how businesses might use social media to interact with customers and partners. Students also learned aspects of website development and how a business might optimize their web presence. Lastly, students discovered cloud based applications and how they are redefining the way people work and interact.

Here is a little bit more about what the students learned in their own words…

National Broadband Policy and Its Implications for Minnesota by Connected Nation

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Phillip Brown from Connected Nation outlined federal policies. You can check out the video

Or the presentation