Monthly Archives: December 2013

Save the Date! Border to Border Broadband: A Call to Action ~ February 4-5, Saint Paul

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FINAL Broadband!~ Save the Date ~

The time is ripe for Minnesota legislators and residents to have a “So What? Now What?” conversation about our shared aspirations for Border to Border Broadband:

  • The Governor’s Broadband Task Force is issuing its 2013 report and recommendations
  • Connect Minnesota is hosting a Broadband Summit on December 4 to hear from experts about where we’re at and what’s working
  • Minnesota state legislators are completing a “listening tour”  to hear directly from Minnesotans about their technology needs and dreams…

What does it all add up to?

Join us on February 4-5, 2014 at Saint Paul RiverCentre to co-create A Call to Action to harness the promise of the Internet to ensure a vibrant and prosperous future for all Minnesotans.

More information and registration coming soon!

Sponsored by: The Blandin Foundaiton, Arrowhead RDC, Association Minnesota Counties, Greater Minnesota Partnership, Headwaters RDC, Initiative Foundation, League of Minnesota Cities, Minnesota Rural Health Association, MN Association of Cable Television Administrators, MN Rural Education Association, Northland Foundation, Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Region Five Development Commission, Region Nine Development Commission, Resilient Region Virtual Highway Taskforce, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, Southwest Initiative Foundation, Southwest RDC, West Central Initiative

Connect Minnesota Broadband Hero Award to be announced at Broadband Summit

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It will be fun to see who the hero is…

Roseville, MN – This Wednesday, December 4, Connect Minnesota is hosting the 2013 Broadband Summit at the Radisson Hotel, 2540 Cleveland Ave., Roseville, MN beginning at 10 a.m.

The summit will provide a platform for Minnesota technology leaders to share and promote the benefits of broadband in our government, schools, healthcare facilities, libraries, communities, and homes. Additionally, this will be a forum for examining cross-collaborative best practices and solutions for broadband planning that can make Minnesota more competitive in attracting tourists, new residents, and business activity.

The event will include panels on topics such as:
• The Blandin Foundation: Community-led approaches to increasing broadband adoption
• Overview and update from the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
• How federal and state policy will impact Minnesota’s broadband landscape

To recognize an outstanding contribution made to increasing broadband service in the state,Connect Minnesota created the Minnesota Broadband Hero Award, which will be presented during the summit.

Broadband in Rural MN: Making a difference where it exists

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an article this weekend on broadband in rural Minnesota. The article features economic development opportunities in Lac qui Parle County…

From a farm country studio 3½ miles down a gravel road, Jean Menden ships handmade silver jewelry as far away as Norway to customers who discovered the pendants, rings and bracelets through her website.

What the retired teacher turned silversmith lacked until recently was a robust, reliable Internet connection critical to her budding business. Before newly installed fiber-optic cable delivered ultrafast broadband to her home, it was a challenge for Menden to maintain her electronic storefront and tap into Web-based tutorials that help hone her craft.

“If you had two hours, you could watch a 10-minute video,” Menden said as she described the fitful connection that used to be the best available around Boyd, a town of 172 people not far from the Minnesota-South Dakota border.

The high-speed capability that’s an afterthought in big cities and regional centers is spreading ever deeper into the nation’s countryside, nudged along by billions in federal stimulus dollars and state efforts to expand a key amenity for both quality of life and business competitiveness.

The article also outlines some of the discussion happening around broadband deployment. It might act as a primer or maybe impetus to attend the Minnesota Broadband Task Force meeting on Tuesday or the Connect Minnesota Broadband Summit on Wednesday.

The article mentions the ARRA stimulus funding Minnesota received, some of which paid for the broadband in Boyd (mentioned above). The need for intervention if Minnesota is going to meet the broadband goals of ubiquitous broadband access with speeds of 10-20 Mbps downstream and 5-10 Mbps upstream by 2015.