Over the years, Blandin Foundation has provided matching grant funds to enable communities to conduct broadband feasibility studies.  These studies provide a pathway for decision makers to spur investment in broadband networks, generally fiber to the home networks, in their communities.  Some of these studies are for a single community; others cover an entire county and one covered a multi-township area in sprawling St. Louis County.  The studies all cover market demand, technology alternatives, costs, prospective revenues, operating models and other considerations.  Several communities were blessed with excellent timing and their studies were completed prior to the available ARRA funding program.  Cook County, Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services and Lac qui Parle County each have brand new wide area fiber to the home networks now in place as a result.  The financial assistance that these entities received (an electric cooperative, a joint powers board and a telecom cooperative, respectively) made these projects possible.

Blandin Foundation arranged a conference call between the communities to check on the current status of the projects, the assets on which they continue to move these projects forward and the primary constraints that are holding them back. There are five communities that completed feasibility studies after the stimulus window closed.  Four of the five communities were able to participate in the conference call.  All of them continue to pursue their broadband projects with some believing that they are moving towards the groundbreaking and others still hoping that a clear pathway emerges.

It was a very interesting discussion.  It was heartening to hear of their continued, dedicated and creative efforts to move forward.  While all of the communities will rely on some form of public – private partnership, the form of those partnerships fall within a wide range of relationships, from operating to ownership.  Some hope to make a single giant leap forward; others see incremental improvements as their likely path to better broadband.  It was an interesting discussion around the desirability of incremental improvements and whether the incremental progress might actual hinder the goal of a FTTP network.

All of these communities are laying the groundwork for other communities to follow.  They deserve thanks for these leadership efforts!