Monthly Archives: February 2013

Connect Minnesota FirstNet Webinar: Feb 20

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Connect Minnesota is sponsoring a webinar on FirstNet. I know the Minnesota Broadband Task Force has shown great interest in FirstNet. It appears as if it might be an opportunity to get broadband to remote places – albeit, the FirstNet timeline is later than the 2015 Minnesota broadband goal. I will be on the road and may not make the webinar myself…

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/535647138

Connected Nation’s Federal Policy Team will provide an overview of FirstNet, including an update on the program status in light of recent developments including analysis of the release of the FirstNet Federal Funding Opportunity announcement and the recent meeting of the FirstNet Board.

Title: Connect Minnesota FirstNet Webinar
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM CST

Broadband Task Force Meeting Feb 19: Agenda & Details

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I am planning to attend the meeting and will take notes. The public are welcome – although you’ll note below we’ll need an ID to get into the location.

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Minnesota Department of Human Services
Room 5134, 444 Lafayette Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55155

  • 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
  • 10:00  – 10:15 Welcome by  Minnesota  Department  of  Human  Services  Assistant  Commissioner  Loren
    Colman/Introductions/Approve  meeting  minutes  from  November  27,  2012  and  January
    29,  2013
  • 10:15  K 10:30 Public  Comments
  • 10:30  K 11:30 Demonstration:  Vidyo  for  Human  Services
    Presentation:  “Innovation  in  client  services  via  internet  telepresence”  by  Roger Root,  Office  of  Telecommunity  Development,  MN  IT  @  Minnesota  Department  of  Human Services
  • 11:30  – 12:00 Lunch
  • 12:00  – 12:30 Bao Vang—Recap  of her  FCC  presentation
  • 12:30  – 1:30 Discuss  revised  subgroups  and  sign  ups/leads
  • 1:30  – 1:45 Meeting  locations  and  events
  • 1:45  – 1:55 Legislative  update
  • 1:55  – 2:00 Wrap  Up/Adjourn

*All  task  force  members  and  attendees,  please  bring  a  picture identification.  You  will  be  asked  to  check in  at  the  information  desk  in  the  lobby  to  receive  a  visitor  badge.  The meeting  room  is  in  a  publicly accessible  area.

Broadband is essential to healthcare in Dawson MN

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Last week I toured Lac qui Parle County in Western Minnesota. One of my jobs was to interview local businesses for the LqP Economic Development Authority. I was delighted when interviewing Kathy Johnson at Johnson Memorial Health Services when she started talking about the importance of e-services to her patients. I’m happy to share the interview below with permission for Kathy and the LqP EDA. The e-services discussion starts about halfway through the video.

She mentions e-service, such as e-emergency services, e-consults and e-pharmacy backup for 24 hours service. The reason for moving to e-services is to help patients avoid the all-day trip when they see a specialist. The commute is difficult for folks. It usually means time off work either for the patient and/or for a loved one who might escort the patient.

Off camera we talked about the difficulty with funding e-services through insurance companies. When a patients comes in for e-services they are assisted by professional staff but the cost of that time is barely covered in reimbursement. We also talked about the possibilities of combining home health visits with remote home health visits to keep people engaged with their community.

New MN PUC Commissioner

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Just got the word…

Today Governor Mark Dayton announced the appointment of Nancy Lange to the Public Utilities Commission. Nancy Lange will replace Phyllis Reha. Nancy Lange’s term will begin on March 4, 2013 and extend through January 7, 2019.

Nancy Lange
Ms. Lange has over two decades of experience advancing clean energy policies and practices in Minnesota. Currently, she is Manager of Policy and Engagement at the Center for Energy and Environment’s Innovation Exchange. At CEE, Ms. Lange works to advance energy efficiency research and programs and build connections with other professionals working on the next generation of energy solutions.

Prior to joining CEE, Ms. Lange, served as Energy Program Director at the Izaak Walton League of America, a national conservation organization dedicated to preserving America’s natural resources, including the advancement of a clean energy economy in the Upper Midwest.

Ms. Lange holds a B.S. from Iowa State University and a M.A. in Public Affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She lives in Minnetonka, MN with her husband and two daughters.

The Public Utilities Commission is responsible for regulating telephone, electricity, and natural gas services in Minnesota. The mission of the Public Utilities Commission is, “to create and maintain a regulatory environment that ensures safe, reliable, and efficient utility services at fair and reasonable rates.”

Explaining the Widening of America’s Digital Divide

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Sunday night Susan Crawford was on the Bill Moyers show. She makes the point that broadband should b e a utility. She says this is a crisis because we are falling far behind international standards. Americans won’t be part of the new economy emerging through broadband because generally America’s speed does not compare with global leaders. We are losing our edge. And within the US may people are being left behind – because in rural areas broadband is not available and in all areas it is often not affordable.

You can get a taste of the interview here:

She does a good job of making a complicated issue accessible to folks who may not have a background with the technology. One of the most important points I think (and have stated before) is that wireless relies on fiber infrastructure. Right now I think it’s easy for folks to think that wireless is an easy and cheap solution – but it is not a solution that is separate from wired access. It is built on fiber. Wireless will only address the last mile access.

 

Broadband limited on Fond du Lac Reservation and business owners are frustrated

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Over the weekend I had the pleasure of offering a class on web development through the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe. They are part of the Blandin Broadband Communities (BBCs) and this opportunity was part of the project. Unprompted by me, the speed of the network at the FdL Community Center spurred a discussion on the lack of speed the attendees experienced at home. I said I couldn’t help speed up their connections but I could help them voice their concern.

To start there were 10-12 attendees in the class – at least one used dialup, two used satellite and at least one used her smartphone to access the web. They were all technology users. They were that small, but frustrated statistic of folks who want to adopt but don’t have access.

You can hear the frustration with the lack of availability and lack of affordability in the videos. All four speakers have businesses but business isn’t their only concern. They are also worried and frustrated with equitable access to education. If you can’t access broadband, homework becomes a problem. They do have good access at the community centers – and the center I visited as a library full of public computers and a very nice computer lab for class but that’s not the same as access at home – especially when your parents are running a business.



Residents in LqP County getting FTTH Feb 11, 2013

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I was in Lac qui Parle County most of the week talking to some folks about their businesses and training other folks on how to develop websites and work on social media. While I was there I heard a fun radio ad on KLQP-FM: Farmers Mutual Radio Ad

They are signing up residents of Dawson for FTTH starting February 11, 2013.

Last time we checked in with LqP the construction was about 70 percent done (in November, 2012). As you may recall, LqP (through Farmers Mutual Telephone) received $9.65 million in ARRA funding to bring Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) technology to Minnesota’s Lac qui Parle County. That was in August, 2010.

Applications open for Blandin broadband grants

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Grand Rapids, Minn., — Blandin Foundation is accepting applications through Feb. 15 for matching grants that help to advance broadband in rural Minnesota communities.  Applications for community broadband project grants are available online at www.blandinfoundation.org.

Since making rural broadband use and access a focus in 2003, Blandin Foundation has partnered with leaders in more than 60 communities and 80 organizations across the state on various projects.  For 2013 and 2014, the Foundation is providing matching  grants of $10,000 – $50,000, up to $1.5 million, for rural Minnesota communities to:

  •          Conduct broadband feasibility studies
  •          Deploy advanced broadband applications
  •          Increase computer ownership and broadband adoption among low-income populations
  •          Implement projects that support a culture of broadband use

Eligible recipients for Blandin Foundation grants are located in Minnesota, serve Minnesota residents, and are 501(c)(3) organizations, units of government or tribal governments.   See each grant application for other requirements.

“Strong communities create and claim futures that are resilient, vibrant and connected,” said Dr. Kathleen Annette, Blandin Foundation CEO.  “Abundant and robust access to the Internet (broadband), and the digital literacy skills necessary to take full advantage of this access, now are essential as communities seek to compete and thrive in an ever more connected world.  We see exciting possibilities through these community grants.”

Community Broadband Project Grants will be accepted in four rounds through early 2014.  The first two application deadlines are Feb. 15 and April 26.  Full details and extensive community resources are available at www.blandinfoundation.org.

Post Bulletin makes the case for Technology Adoption

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I just read one of the most persuasive arguments for technology adoption and most pointed call to action for all “kids” to get their parents online from an unusual source – the Post Bulletin. So many newspapers seem to wrestle with the idea of communication moving online – but this opinion piece (and their generally good coverage of tech topics) in the Post Bulletin sends a different message – we need embrace technology…

… That’s why, as adult children see their parents entering their golden years, they should do everything within their power to help them keep up and remain at least somewhat conversant with the technologies that could help keep them safe and improve their quality of life — whether through televisits with their pharmacist or long-forgotten friendships that are rekindled via Facebook.

Yes, helping an aging loved one in this way might require an investment of money, time and patience. They might even be resistant to the whole idea — and then, once you’ve helped someone gain familiarity with new technology, you almost certainly will get phone calls that start with, “I don’t know what I did to it, but now it doesn’t work.”

Just remember that you’d much rather get that call than one from an ice-covered driveway or a highway ditch after Mom or Dad has an accident on the way to the doctor — especially if that visit could have taken place via webcam from the warmth and safety of their living room.

Just last week I heard Jack Geller talk about how we’ve pretty much hit saturation in terms of getting the folks online who want to be online. The elderly are also on the list of top non-adopters. Jack pints out that it’s a demographic that will change as folks who are adopters age into the “elderly” category and folks on the high end age out entirely. And I think from a community perspective he has a point – but I think no matter how old your kids are – you probably do for your kids what you wouldn’t do for yourself. Maybe the key to getting older folks online is through their kids – and grandkids.

The difference between online and offline spam

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I love this story – and not just because there a tenuous Minnesota connection.

Apparently Mini Cooper accidentally sent their customers bunch of spam (unsolicited emails) recently, which is never a good thing. So to make it up to them, they sent a care package including SPAM (spiced ham) from Austin-based Hormel. Business Insider reports…

The package included a chocolate rose, duct tape and Spam.

“Nothing says ‘I’m sorry’ quite like flowers and chocolate, so we’ve combined the two and enclosed a chocolate rose,” the enclosed letter read. “But if you’re allergic to flowers (or chocolate), we hope this duct tape will help fix things up. Or, if you’re ever feeling annoyed again, you can de stress using this particularly squeezable can of spam.”

And for me the timing is perfect, this morning I am visiting a class at Lac qui Parle Valley High School to talk about online brand management. LqPV is a Blandin Broadband Community (BBC) and this visit is part of that project. I’m in town doing other training on how to build websites and market online. Going to the High School is a bonus and I just figured as they enter college and the work world after high school, students should be working on their personal brand management – the Mini Cooper story is a good one to use.

Sometimes it’s not about being perfect – it’s about dealing with your mistakes online and off and this is a great example of how you can turn something that’s not so great online (spam) in something that is pretty good offline (SPAM)!

Lots of Speculation on CenturyLink

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Last week the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an article on CenturyLink, specifically about the business of CenturyLink (CenturyLink is in a race against time and technology). Reporter Steve Alexander talks about their shift away from residential customers towards business customers…

In the new century, the old wired phone seems to have less relevance than ever. More than a third of U.S. homes now have only cellphones.

CenturyLink, Minnesota’s largest telephone company, is acutely aware of this trend. In the third quarter of 2012 alone, CenturyLink’s operating revenue dropped $25 million, mainly because of the continuing loss of individual telephone lines, the company said in government filings.

Apparently, they are looking at providing bundled services, but those yield a smaller margin. As many people are looking to drop landlines, a high profit product for CenturyLink, they are looking to business…

“CenturyLink is doing as much as it can to get a really good position in cloud computing, and with the former Qwest fiber network they can offer business services outside of their local telephone territory,” said Milda Hedblom, a telecom consultant and a professor of politics and communications at Augsburg College. “But I don’t know if they can grow fast enough to keep the dividend.”

The Star Tribune outlines some of the challenges…

Jaegers agrees: “CenturyLink needs to do better … in going after business customers in their telephone territory. There has been a revolving door of people in charge of that business. One of the challenges … is to convince potential business customers to come to a phone company for cloud computing services. Phone companies do not always have the most cutting-edge brand image.”

A more recent article Broadcast Newsroom seems to echo the same sentiment…

Can CenturyLink update their thinking and improve their performance at this point, is the question. CEO  Glen Post has his hands full. They are a well run company and have been growing focused on the business side of the equation, and that is good, but what about the consumer side? Are they just saying goodbye to that segment as it shrinks or do they have a plan? asks Jeff Kagan.

CenturyLink remains profitable, but where is the growth going to come from in the future? They can continue to see growth, but they must take the growth path. And the growth path today looks much different than it did a few short years ago. Plus CenturyLink needs to refresh and modernize their brand. This is what AT&T did successfully a few short years ago. With CenturyLink, the brand is still strong, but is starting to get a little long in the tooth. Says Jeff Kagan.

The question I have is what will happen to communities in rural areas that are currently served by CenturyLink if the shift is towards business and away from the residential market? Will CenturyLink look to get out of these market entirely? Or will they slow investment in these areas? Just has rural areas have lower population density, they also have lower business density so while the need for cloud computing may be there – the volume required for a strong marketplace may not be.

Blandin Broadband eNews February 2013

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BBC MapNews from the Blandin on Broadband Blog

Governor Dayton Recommends a Broadband Development Office
In his proposed budget, Governor Dayton recommends funding for a Broadband Development Office to coordinate broadband deployment projects and work toward developing a Minnesota Fiber Collaboration Database and a statewide “dig once” program. The Broadband Development Office would supply logistical resources to the Governor’s Broadband Task Force and staff resources to provide technical analysis and advice. http://wp.me/p3if7-26q It is unclear how the office would work with the current broadband office. http://tinyurl.com/9wbes2b

Blandin Broadband Communities (BBCs) Launch

In February, the Blandin Foundation team met with nine BBC communities united in their goal to expand broadband in their areas. Each community has a different set of assets, challenges and goals – but there was a lot of overlap too. Like many Minnesota communities, they had uneven access to broadband; for most that meant decent to good access in town and slower speeds on the outskirts. Almost every community had one sector that was doing well with broadband – often the school, health care or local government. And everyone had residents on the far side of the digital divide. It will be interesting to see how these gaps narrow as their projects progress. http://wp.me/p3if7-26P

MN Broadband Task Force Shares Recommendations with Legislators

The Minnesota Broadband Task Force has been talking with legislators about the recommendations they made last month. They met with the Senate Committee on Jobs, Agriculture and Rural Developmenthttp://wp.me/p3if7-27i and the House Committee on Labor, Workplace and Regulated Industries.http://wp.me/p3if7-26I They presented recommendations to the business community at an MHTA event.http://wp.me/p3if7-25N

The Task Force also held a regular meeting to discuss how to move forward with the recommendations in 2013. Representative Sheldon Johnson and Senator Dan Sparks attended part of the session. Both were interested in moving forward with the recommendations, with the caveat that funding from the Legislature would be difficult this year. http://wp.me/p3if7-277

Policy Topics:

Before the session even began, House Commerce Chairman Joe Atkins predicted that broadband would be a hot topic at the Legislature. http://wp.me/p3if7-24RBelow are some topics that have come up in Minnesota and on the federal policy stage.

  • Asking State to Keep Resident Emails Private: Legislation has been introduced to keep resident emails private when they have been submitted to the State and local agencies – such as for snow removal updates. http://wp.me/p3if7-26M
  • Taxing Online Purchases: Governor Dayton supports taxing online purchases. http://wp.me/p3if7-26q This follows a national effort, the Marketplace Fairness Act, which strives to level the playing field for online and Main Street businesses as well as increase tax base for local governments.http://wp.me/p3if7-21b
  • Primer on Public Utilities Commission: The Minnesota PUC met with legislators to talk about what they do and the impact federal legislation has had on telecommunications regulations locally.http://wp.me/p3if7-26C
  • Federal Compliance: Baller Herbst Law Group shares information for providers of cable television, telecommunications, interconnected VoIP, Internet access, and other communications and information services on Federal Communications law compliance for 2013. http://wp.me/p3if7-25B
  • Copyright Policing to Start Soon: The copyright alert system partners ISPs and Intellectual property organizations in an effort to monitor file-sharing networks and seek out potential copyright violators. ISPs plan to implement the system soon along with penalties that include redirecting traffic away from copyrighted material and throttling service for the end user. This may be an issue for some public hotspots, such as coffee shops, because monitoring may shed a light on ISP customers who have ignored (or been unaware of) contractual agreements to not provide public access to their broadband connections. http://wp.me/p3if7-26F

Local Broadband News

Anoka County Connect Anoka County received ARRA funding to construct an approximately 286 mile fiber network throughout Anoka County linking 145 governmental institutions. Construction of that network is almost complete. http://wp.me/p3if7-26e

Brainerd Alane Ferguson, author of the Christopher Series, visits with students at Brainerd High School through technology of Skype. http://wp.me/p3if7-25Q

Farmington Farmington School Superintendent Jay Haugen comments on their classroom iPad program, “Technology can help students individualize their own learning.” http://wp.me/p3if7-25g

Jordan Policy changes make it easier for seniors in Jordan to use telehealth tools to maintain good health, while health care providers continue to get compensated for patient’s good health. http://wp.me/p3if7-27L

Kanabec County Kanabec County partners with Blandin Foundation to educate residents and business owners about the options and uses for broadband. http://wp.me/p3if7-27v Â

Lac qui Parle Valley School District Lac qui Parle Valley, one of the new Blandin Broadband Communities, talks about their goals for broadband expansion. http://wp.me/p3if7-24V

Mille Lacs County Mille Lacs, one of the new Blandin Broadband Communities, talks about their goals for broadband expansion. http://wp.me/p3if7-24Z

Northern Minnesota  What is broadband life like for folks on the Range? “We pay more than $1,000 a year for our satellite internet and routinely hit our “data cap,” after which our fast speeds are rendered slower than dial up.”http://wp.me/p3if7-26k

Red Wing Red Wing Port Authority Exec Director Randy Olson and Division Head of Information Services Laura Blair are featured on Gigabit Nation Radio talking about driving broadband adoption and network financial sustainability. http://wp.me/p3if7-27f

Rochester Mayo Clinic announces a $5 billion economic development initiative to increase livability in Rochester.http://wp.me/p3if7-27s

Southeastern Minnesota Connect Minnesota maps show broadband access throughout the state. The Post Bulletin notes that Southeastern Minnesota maps show room for improvement. In southeastern Minnesota, Goodhue and Wabasha counties have the best coverage at 40-50 percent; Olmsted and Winona counties have the worst at less than 20 percent. http://wp.me/p3if7-26n

Twin Cities Aereo, a startup that lets consumers stream broadcast-TV channels on computers and mobile devices, will enter the Twin Cities market this year. http://wp.me/p3if7-25y

Willmar PCs for People affiliate in Willmar is looking for donations of used computers to refurbish and distribute to families in need of home computers. http://wp.me/p3if7-26Z

Events

February 5: MHTA Session Preview: Tech, Innovation and Life Science Industries (St Paul)http://wp.me/p3if7-26T

February 6: Digital Learning Day (various) http://www.digitallearningday.org

February 7: Broadband Summit: Broadband Adoption and Usage – What Have We Learned? (online)http://wp.me/p3if7-25b

February 19: Minnesota Broadband Task Force (Twin Cities) http://tinyurl.com/7n2syt8

February 26: Women Leading in Technology (Minneapolis): MHTA Event http://tinyurl.com/b67fjlk

February 28: East Central Regional Broadband Summit (Hinckley) http://wp.me/p3if7-275

March 9-10: Nerdery Website Challenge (Twin Cities) nonprofits apply to get a free website (or website upgrade) http://wp.me/p3if7-268

March 20-21: Library Technology Conference 2013 (St Paul) http://libtechconf.org/

March 25-27: Minnesota Telecom Alliance Annual Conference (Minneapolis)http://tinyurl.com/4696vm6

April 10: Technology and Communications Conference (Minneapolis) http://tinyurl.com/7rawqvn

April 11-13: NTEN: Nonprofit Technology Conference (Minneapolis) http://www.nten.org/ntc

April 30: MHTA Spring Conference (Minneapolis) http://tinyurl.com/7t6oner

June 1-2: Civic Hack Day (various locations TBA) http://wp.me/p3if7-26t

Looking for more events? Check out TechDotMN’s calendar http://tech.mn/events/. Many events are based in the Twin Cities but it is a comprehensive list. (If you have an upcoming event, consider submitting it.)

Bill_ColemanStirring the Pot

After 12 years in business as a consultant, I have managed to fill two four-drawer filing cabinets with paper.  In anticipation of installation of a new floor in my home office, I am doing some office cleaning and paper management.   I am managing to recycle about three-quarters of the paper in the cabinets.  Luckily my garbage guys have mechanical devices on their trucks!  I am stunned to think that I could be storing all of this information on a couple of flash drives.

My initial community technology assessments found that dial-up was standard for homes and ISDN and frame relay were used by schools and hospitals.  DSL was an emerging technology.  Dedicated video conference networks were state of the art with 384k connections.  My reports focus on the emergence of the Internet as a critical tool for community development.   An advanced website had five or six pages and we encouraged page owners to update them once a quarter for freshness.

Today, Gig networks connect many school systems and many rural farms and lake cabins have FTTH connectivity. Wow, that is progress!  Today, many businesses and organizations have online strategies that combine web pages, blogs and social media tools like Facebook and Twitter.  Again, wow!!  Mobile devices are a common way to connect with texts, tweets, maps, apps and more.  Wow, wow and wow!!

While there has been great progress in connectivity, the flip side is that many still lack connectivity that meets state broadband standards.  For those with dial-up or slow DSL the gap is even more pronounced and its impact is greater.  For those who did not have home broadband Internet in 2000, it was considered an inconvenience.  Today, it means less access to critical information and a lack of ability to communicate fully with the world around.  The connectivity gap for residents using dial-up compared to early DSL was 200 Kbps; today the gap is from somewhere under 56 kbps to 10 Mb to 50 Mb to 1 Gb depending on where you live and your ability to pay.  The gap for schools and health care facilities has grown from a 56 k frame relay connection or a T1 (1.54 Mbps) to many 1 Gb school or health care networks.  And yes, in the past week I met with a clinic that cannot get more than one T1 from their incumbent telco.

On the applications side, we know that barely a majority of small businesses have a website, fewer have claimed their Google Places and that many have not jumped into the social media game.  We know that many small businesses are resistant to change and are slow to adapt.  From my perspective, they can choose to adopt and compete, or not.

I do have significant concerns for those who cannot connect due to lack of availability and affordability.  With changes in education and health care coming full speed down the applications track, the inability to connect will mean limited access to these critical services and an inability to fully participate in today’s society.  Their lack of access will translate into a lack of services for them and unrealized human potential.  It will also mean higher costs for society as duplicative and inefficient service delivery mechanisms will need to be maintained with tax dollars.

Lots of work yet to do in the broadband world.  And on my filing system!

Texting for Health

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According to iHealthBeat…

HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration is seeking input on how to disseminate text messages that promote wellness, nutrition and exercise to parents of children under age five, according to a notice published in the Federal Register, MobiHealthNews reports (Comstock, MobiHealthNews, 2/1).

I know texting isn’t really a broadband application – but I also know that sometimes communities need to build demand to encourage supply and tools such as texting can get folks one step closer to using technology in new ways. Text for Tots and Text for Baby sound like good feeder programs for broadband use.

Again according to iHealthBeat…

The Text4baby text messaging program has helped contribute to a change in certain beliefs and attitudes among pregnant women, according to a pilot study published in the journal BMC Public Health, FierceMobileHealthcare reports (Slabodkin, FierceMobileHealthcare, 11/30). …

For the study, researchers surveyed one group of pregnant women who enrolled in the Text4baby program and another group of pregnant women who received usual care. More than 80% of the study participants were of Hispanic origin, and the average age was 27.6 years. …The study found that the Text4baby program helped change participants’ beliefs and attitudes toward pregnancy and child care.

I assume Text for Tots will be a similar program. It sounds as if it will be available in both English and Spanish. It will be interesting to see what recommendations they get in terms of dissemination. I am most interested in seeing if folks make suggestions that encourage greater use of bandwidth.

Cyber-Pharmacy visits for seniors in Jordan MN

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Minnesota Public Radio just did a fun story on telehealth options in Jordan this week. As cold as it’s been this week I wish we could do all meetings via video!

The quick version is that 78-year-old Deloris Breeggemann is able to keep healthy (visiting heath care professionals) and safe (not trekking through ice and snow) via the computer in her kitchen. It was the nuts and bolts that I found interesting.

I like the idea of using technology to pay health care facilities to keep people healthy.

So about year ago, Fairview Partners made it possible to conduct virtual visits with the system’s health professionals. At this meeting by webcam, Breeggemann talks with Fairview Partners pharmacist Amy Busker who’s only about 20 miles away.

This visit not only gives Breeggemann access to a pharmacist via webcam, but also to a specialist — Busker is a certified Geriatric pharmacist. Over a full hour Busker reviews each medication, checking for adverse drug interactions, side effects and dose adjustments.

The economics behind this kind of program are comparable to the health law’s “Shared Savings” program under Medicare.

Fairview Partners gets a lump sum for Breeggemann’s care. If Fairview Partners keeps her healthy and reduces her medical costs, the system and her insurance plan share any savings or responsibility for excess spending.

Normally, providers are paid by the number of tests and procedures they perform. Many health experts believe that the “fee for service” system drives up costs unnecessarily.

Impact of BTOP on Rural Areas

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The Epoch Times recently ran a nice overview on the impact of the BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program) – one of the agencies responsible for doling out the ARRA funding 3 years ago. NTIA’s BTOP primary support broadband adoption and computer center projects; as opposed to the RUS BIP awards, which primarily supported infrastructure.

They highlighted a project in Georgia…

The NGN [North Georgia Network ] —a coalition of county economic development authorities, a state university, and two electric co-operatives—was one of 230 projects selected through the BTOP awards scheme. The group received $33.5 million, and with that rolled out a 1,100-mile fiber-optic network across 12 counties, transforming a 50-year-old dial-up service into an internationally competitive telecommunications platform, which offers speeds of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second.

Over 300 businesses and hundreds of anchor institutions now receive high-speed Internet in north Georgia, including schools, college campuses, libraries, and hospitals, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees the grants.

Larry Strickling NTIA administrator, talks about the challenge of getting people to adopt broadband…

“This has to be a troubling statistic in the 21st-century economy, when broadband access and digital literacy skills are needed to compete in the workforce,” said Strickling. “And it is even more troubling when we hear what Americans tell us about why they don’t adopt broadband. Nearly half of not-adopting households have cited a lack of interest or need as the primary reason.”

The NTIA is working on plans to share more lessons from BTOP projects…

There is much more work to do, according to Strickling, but the BTOP is a start. Additionally, the NTIA is in the process of collating lessons learned through the program, with an eye on developing an online toolkit to help other communities benefit from digital technology.