Monthly Archives: October 2015

Gathering info on low cost broadband options for low income households

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Earlier this month I wrote about PCs for People losing their low cost broadband option for new (refurbished) computer users. I just received an email from them confirming the news…

PCs for People is not offering any new internet services at this time

The company we work with, Clear, has been bought out by Sprint and they no longer make new modems. Existing customers can use their Clear modems until November 6th, 2015. We are still working with Sprint and will be able to offer internet again in early 2016. Unfortunately until then all of our clients will need to seek out a different company for internet.

They include in their email a list of Twin Cities low cost broadband providers. I wanted to share the list with an invitation to readers to send me providers in their area that offer similar deals. (I have written about some providers – but thought I’d make an effort to gather a more complete list for urban and rural users.) If you have an addition – please post in the comments space below or just send me an email at atreacy@treacyinfo.com. Thanks!!

Comcast Internet Essentials  

855-846-8376 www.internetessentials.com

  • $9.95 per month
  • Located in existing Comcast Service Areas
  • Have a child eligible for the National School
  • Lunch Program
  • Have not used Comcast within 90 days
  • No overdue Comcast bill or equipment

Century Link Internet Basics 866-706-8592 www.centurylink.com/internetbasics

  • $9.95+/month
  • Located where CenturyLink offers service
  • Qualify for the Lifeline/TAP phone service program (call 800-366-8201 to see if you qualify)
  • Have not used CenturyLink within 90 days
  • No overdue CenturyLink bill or equipment

EveryOneOn Low Cost Internet everyoneon.org

  • Price varies
  • Type in your zip code to see offers for low- cost internet, computers, and classes in your area.

​USI Wireless Minneapolis Internet 952-253-3262 www.usiwireless.com

  • $19.95/month (can pay more for faster speeds)
  • Any Minneapolis resident who lives in the coverage area
  • Can rent modem, buy modem, or use your own compatible one

Greater MN Partnership lists 8 must-have for rural MN: Broadband makes the list

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I’m glad to see broadband get added to lots of policy lists. Last week I mentioned that it was making the short list for Democrats and Republicans. Today I see that it’s making the short list of the Greater Minnesota Partnership. The Perham Focus notes that the GMNP has create a 8-point policy position for 2016 to support rural Minnesota…

-Business development public infrastructure grant program: The GMNP supports a $15 million appropriation in the 2016 legislative session.

-Broadband expansion: GMNP is working on programs that better target funds to Greater Minnesota with greatest economic benefit to the area.

-Statewide business property taxes exemption: Under the Greater Business Expansion program, offer seven year business property tax exemption.

-Transportation: The GMNP supports a $7 billion in road funding over 10 years with $200 million for Corridors of Commerce and $40 million for city streets

-Water quality regulation: The GMNP supports requiring independent scientific peer review and cost benefit analysis of new water quality rules before they are implemented.

-Bonding and infrastructure in Greater Minnesota: Bonding bills should focus more on transportation, infrastructure, wastewater and other infrastructure that grows local economies in Greater Minnesota.

-New employee job training program: The GMNP supports increased and permanent funding for the employer-drive job training legislation enacted in 2015

-Local Government Aid (LGA): The GMNP supports

Broadband is a hot topic for Republicans and Democrats

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Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and broadband. OK that might not be how the song went when I was kid but I hold out hope that it might be the list of common ground safe issues to support for all legislators next year.

I followed Representative Thissen around Minnesota last month as he spoke to different rural communities about broadband. I went to Senator Kiffmeyer’s broadband session in Sherburne County. And now I just read a letter to the Editor from Representative Kresha who declares his continued interest in broadband and hope for broadband as a common ground next year at the Legislature next year.

As I travel in my district and across the state, broadband access, middle-class tax relief and fixing our roads and bridges are among the top issues people want us to address in the upcoming 2016 session. …

Led by a strong coalition of Greater Minnesota GOP legislators, rural broadband access will continue to be a priority.

I remain hopeful! It would be nice to see broadband become an opportunity to bring people together – an added connection.

MN Broadband Task Force October Meeting Notes: Lessons from libraries and speed goals

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Yesterday at the Minnesota Broadband Task Force, the task force members heard about broadband in the libraries. I think there are some lessons to be learned from the libraries (in the spirit of full disclosure I was a librarian and have a Master’s degree in Library and Info Science). Libraries do a good job gathering stories and have data ready for legislators when it comes time for funding. Also they have worked a deal where federal and state funding work together to optimize opportunities for patrons.

The Task Members talked a bit about the report they will be writing in the next few months but the real discussion centered on updating the broadband speed goals.

Draft language for speed goals was introduced…

Minnesota defines broadband as an always-on internet connection with advertised speeds of at least 25 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. By 2020, all homes and business will have affordable access to service that meets this minimum speed. Also by 2020, at least 80% of MN households and businesses will have access to at least one provider of broadband with speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload.

Spirited conversation ensued. Below is a video of the discussion, the audio is the best I could do.

Read on for more complete notes from the meeting. I am hoping to get PowerPoints from more presenter to share and will add them when/if I do. Continue reading →

Got an app idea to help students get to College? Here’s the contest for you!

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I love this idea from the US Department of Education. I hope to see some Minnesota names among the winning app developers. As someone who is looking at college for kids in a few years, I hope someone creates an app to find the best financing for students!

In effort to inspire students to pursue an education beyond high school, First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) launched the Reach Higher Career App Challenge to promote the development of mobile apps that will help students navigate education and career pathways, including career and technical education (CTE). …

OCTAE is eager to see the innovative solutions that our nation of solvers will bring to the challenge. The submissions period was opened on October 7, 2015 and closes on December 7. The challenge enables developers, educators and data mavens to compete for a share of the $225,000 cash prize pool.

You can find all the information about the Reach Higher Career App Challenge on Challenge.gov and enter the challenge at ReachHigherChallenge.com.

Senator Franken voices concerns for Charter Communications’ attempt to buy Time Warner Cable

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According to Bring me the News…

After playing a major role in the (ultimately successful) opposition to Time Warner’s merger with Comcast, Franken has now turned his attention to Charter Communications’ attempt to buy Time Warner Cable.

His main point of concern: With Charter having a presence as a broadband provider in Minnesota, he worries the merger could cause the company to ignore rural customers in favor of the more lucrative urban markets.

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler this week, Franken writes: “In my home state of Minnesota, a large number of households do not have access to internet speeds of 25mbps or higher. And although Charter is present in many of Minnesota’s rural counties, its service is largely focused in the more concentrated population centers and does not extend to the harder-to-reach homes.”

Charter has actually promised to invest in broadband service for rural areas if it successfully acquires Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, in a deal worth an estimated $76 billion.

According to Deadline, Charter says it would “make comprehensive and significant investments in its broadband network,” adding more than a million line extensions in its current services areas, mostly to “rural and other undeserved areas,” bringing 60 megabits per second download speeds to areas it’s not currently available.

And while he praises this commitment, Franken is concerned the company hasn’t given an indication as to where and when these improvements would be made, and worries the money Charter is spending on the takeover might not leave much to improve its broadband offering.

Is lack of broadband hurting hockey in Northern Minnesota?

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Sometimes it’s the little things that hurt – like not being able to complete the online training necessary to become a hockey volunteer. That’s a big issue in parts of Northern Minnesota. I got the details form a friend in Grand Rapids.

Apparently basic registration as a coach, player or volunteer is pretty easy to complete. It’s just a quick form. But for player safety, volunteers (coaches, locker room monitors, board members, etc.) that have regular contact with the players must also complete USA Hockey SafeSport training. USA Hockey says the training is 90-minutes of online video and quizzes; however, many folks in and around Grand Rapids are reporting it takes much longer due to slower internet speeds in the area.

For each level a coach coaches, they have to complete an online training module. These online modules are designed to provide you more age-specific information on how to best develop your player’s athletic potential. This will foster a fun learning experience for both you and the youth players under your guidance. Like SafeSport training, these modules must be completed online and consist of videos and quizzes. These modules take 8 – 10 hours to complete!

The Minnesota USA Hockey folks are mostly based in the Twin Cities and/or Duluth. They are having difficulty believing that it’s a problem. I thought it might be helpful to post a map of connectivity for the folks in charge. The maps below shows (in pink) the areas of the state that do not have access to broadband – as defined by 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up. Some of these areas may have access to wireless options – but with data caps, using a personal hotspot (or MiFi) option could get ridiculously expensive. The problem in these areas isn’t that people are unwilling to pay for faster service – the option is simply not there for them.

It’s just another way that lack of broadband impacts daily life – and another example where the folks in the cities just don’t understand that it’s a real problem with real world implications.

hockey

Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act cut red tape for deployment

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Real Estate Rama reports that…

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Cory Gardner (R-CO) have introduced bipartisan legislation to expand broadband infrastructure. The Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act would increase broadband deployment by cutting red tape for companies, states, and local governments who want to install broadband infrastructure on federal land and promotes the simultaneous installation of underground broadband conduit during federal transportation projects.

Here’s a quick take on what the bill promises…

The Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act would ensure states simultaneously install broadband conduits as part of certain federal transportation projects that involve constructing a new highway or adding an additional lane or shoulder — known as “dig once.” The bill establishes a “standard fee” to streamline leasing agreements involving the installation, construction and maintenance of a communications facility by instructing agencies in possession of federal government property or infrastructure to grant a real property interest to applicants, which may include states, wireless carriers, or other organizations seeking to install communications facilities.

And here’s a little bit on the Minnesota expert she brought to the discussion…

Last week, Klobuchar invited a Minnesotan who is a leader in the effort to improve broadband adoption in the state to participate in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Senate Democratic and Outreach Committee on issues that affect rural America. Bernadine Joselyn, director of public policy for the Blandin Foundation, spoke about the importance of increasing broadband adoption in rural communities and discussed her work to strengthen residential and business connections to broadband across Minnesota.

(We posted Bernadine’s comments last week.)

PC4P Youth Project in Brainerd – at risk youth working to refurbish and distribute PCs

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I am pleased to post this story of a Blandin Foundation supported project, PC4P Youth Project. They are an affiliate of PCs for People. They are able to build upon the work of PCs for People yet have customized their project to suit their local needs. It’s fun to hear about their success and the lessons they have learned…

The PC4P Youth Project @ TheShop (PC4P) seeks to help bridge the digital divide within our rural communities, increase broadband use and safety protocols to low income families and individuals, and teach marketable skills to at risk youth in our communities. As one of four regional affiliates our focus is refurbishing donated computers using Microsoft protocols. Each PC is then “sold” to low-income families and individuals. In addition, purchase of a PC4P computer entitles recipients to reduced Internet access through our local Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) service provider for up to 6 months.

It is difficult for middle class households to understand not having a computer in their homes for personal and professional use. Yet the inability to own a personal home computer reminds us of the gaps in opportunities between those with and those without. 21st century skill development is necessary to navigate worlds in education, tele-health, employment, community connections, etc. The issue of poverty is one motivation for involvement by organizations and individuals.

Internet access remains an issue and will keep our most marginalized citizens attempting to use their prepaid cell phones as their personal computers. This broadband message by local, state and federal entities keeps the PC’s for People Youth Project viable and important. Computers can often be a social catalyst for both youth and the families who receive them.

Lessons Learned:

We believe that low-income families deserve the best equipment we can offer. And youth new to computer refurbishing do well with quality computers as teaching tools. We have learned that we can no longer take a pile of junk and spend time building new computers. This was the working model we took over from the first Brainerd PC’s for People Program. We now have computers on the shelves and can be more discerning between systems we refurbish those most suited to recycle. These systems do not need a long shelf life. They need a home.

One of the selling points for having a home computer remains accessibility to the Internet. We found this was more difficult than originally thought. Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) was our major collaborator for Internet access offered reduced prices to our PC4P customers. Yet many of our most economically disadvantaged areas are not serviced by CTC or many of our customers did not have the required credit history to be approved for service. This left our desktop systems obsolete for those who needed to visit the library, CLC, school and TheShop to get free WiFi. Because of these barriers we decreased our incentive for reduced Internet and began appealing to the community for usable laptops for those without Internet at home.

As an affiliate of the St Paul Based PC’s for People we follow their protocol and this has helped us to build a base and a starting point. St Paul has a great program and we are not re‐inventing too many wheels in our infancy.

When we agreed to take over the project the area at Central Lakes College in Staples needed to be cleared before we were fully ready to proceed. Having time to run through all steps before gathering youth into the process is a must. Poor people do not need poor quality electronics. I would recommend time be put into gathering an inventory of high quality donations to assist in quick turn around times for youth and for families needing computers.

This project is growing and will become a project that may be replicated by others who work with at risk youth. We have the support of a capacity building VISTA working directly to help us meet our goals of bringing a sustainable project into the community. As we grow we will help more families close the digital divide and teach more youth skills to carry with them. We might eventually even outgrow the space and need to relocate. For now we remain grateful for the goodness we have had with the foundation and the support we have within the community.

Positive mentoring for at risk youth takes many forms. We believe the PC’s for People Youth Project @ TheShop helps youth and our community grow as we begin working together and envision youth not only as assets but as out future as well.

Net Neutrality: Devil is in the details or the budget

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Senator Al Franken (with Senator Markey) is leading a pack of Democrats to make sure that changes in budget procedures don’t dampen Net Neutrality rules. According to Ars Techinca, Franken spoke about this issue in press conference earlier this week.

Here’s the issue…

The budget proposal from House Republicans says that “none of the funds made available” to the FCC may be used to implement net neutrality rules until “there has been a final disposition” on the court cases pitting ISPs vs the FCC.

The House and Senate proposals also prohibit the FCC from “directly or indirectly” regulating the prices and terms charged and imposed by broadband providers. This prohibition would remain in place even after the court cases are decided. The FCC hasn’t regulated the prices charged by ISPs, but Franken said a prohibition on “indirect” regulation could block the FCC’s ban on paid prioritization.

Budget negotiations are ongoing.

This puts Net Neutrality into a Neverland of sorts as both parties strive to get to that “final disposition”, Franken (and others) are promoting that Net Neutrality rules become the default in the meantime…

Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) today said they will try to preserve the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules in a budget standoff with Republicans.

A Republican budget proposal that came out in June would prevent the FCC from enforcing its net neutrality rules until Internet providers who are suing the commission have exhausted all their legal options.

“ISPs are certainly free to file their suits but until they prevail, and I don’t believe they will, there is no basis for Republicans blocking the FCC from doing its job,” Franken said in a press conference today.

Blandin Webinar Archive: DEED Office of Broadband 2014 Projects: A progress report

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I’m please to share video, PowerPoint and original description from yesterday’s Blandin sponsored webinar:



Blandin webinar Oct 8: DEED Office of Broadband 2014 Projects: A progress report | Blandin on Broadband//

https://s0.wp.com/_static/??-eJx9kN0OwiAMhV9Ihj/zwgvjs2ysWzqBIgXnfHprolHnNCFpSj/oOUcPQaE3NjfAupdzyhDHRyl6Xuh/gHLYxSpB4dA/YUM+gU/aZRVs7tCz5lyziRgSknQtWUvDFJevA3FywFx1MDN1VKMFlRmiAD6JqpZmuE8H6M8Ic8smRiGFyhxVBMbr1/Y3KxGs+G3UXeukm0uLwyuY3zG/Uz8lDsGQUyHSZRSZcsdJ3hzcflVudtvVcr0r+xvNQ63w

DEED Office of Broadband 2014 Projects: A progress report
Thursday, October 8, 2015 03:00
Register Here!

This webinar will highlight three DEED Border to Border Broadband Projects that are providing broadband to unserved areas.  Each project illustrates a different approach with technology, business model and priority.  These examples will help you to imagine and plan your partnership

Participants:

  •  Jane Leonard – DEED Office of Broadband
  • Dick Sjoberg of Sjoberg Cable/Roseau County – This project demonstrates the ability of existing broadband providers to edge out further from existing cable plant to serve outlying areas.
  • Laura Kangas of Palmer Wireless/Becker Industrial Park in Sherburne County – This project demonstrates how an existing small wireless ISP can use fiber technology to serve key business locations.
  • Jim Canaan of Interstate Telelcom Cooperative/Hendricks Township in Lincoln County – This project demonstrates how a new competitive provider can deploy fiber across a rural township to reach new customers.

Low Income households in danger of losing low cost Internet options

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According to the St Paul Pioneer Press…

About 14,000 low-income Twin Cities households are at risk of losing their low-cost Internet service, which they receive over an old Sprint data network that is expected to disappear Nov. 6.

The Internet service, provided by a St. Paul nonprofit called PCs for People, has permitted cash-strapped Twin Cities residents to ditch dial-up service for a much-faster broadband connection at a comparable cost.

But the service taps a wireless-data technology called WiMax that is not long for this world.

Mobile phone giant Sprint is abandoning its WiMax network as it shifts to the more-modern Long Term Evolution standard, which the other major carriers also use. That is good for typical consumers, but bad news for PCs for People’s disadvantaged customers.

PCs for People works with Mobile Citizen, which works with Sprint. It sounds like Mobile Citizen (and others) are working to find a contingency. It’s a new twist on redundancy. And it’s an urban version of what some rural communities work with all of the time. The people making the decision on infrastructure are far removed from the people who will have or will not have access to broadband based on their choice. It’s frustrating that a business has such control.

The article includes a few stories of the people who are in danger of losing their connectivity. One story provides a glimpse at the impact of broadband on someone with disabilities – another interesting twist…

As the big players in this dispute trade barbs, local users of the low-cost service grow increasingly nervous as the WiMax-shutdown looms.

Melanie Manson, a disabled Golden Valley woman, once made do with dial-up Internet access because that was all she could afford.

The pokey, unreliable online connection “was so frustrating,” said Manson, who copes with a crippling illness called systemic lupus.

That flaky service made her feel even more “like a second-class citizen,” she said. “I was not in tune with the speed of the world, or part of the world.”

In recent years, the woman’s horizons broadened as she tapped into the faster online service offered by PCs for People. She pays only $10 a month, about what she used to pay for AOL dial-up.

“Being disabled is isolating, and this helps me feel less isolated,” Manson said. “I really felt like I was part of society.”

Now she is terrified of losing this freedom. PCs for People has been pointing her and others to alternate lower-cost Internet service from the likes of Comcast and CenturyLink, but none of these offerings are as affordable for Manson.

Comcast and CenturyLink might be a good answer for some people. Both have low income packages – as do several other providers throughout Minnesota.

Crookston says $10 million for broadband in Minnesota isn’t enough

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Crookston Times recently ran an editorial that stressed that $10 million investment in rural broadband was a small slice of the $2 billion surplus and it’s an investment that might not be adequate…

To most people strolling down the sidewalk, getting handed $10.6 million would probably result in an immediate retirement and a permanent move to a tropical paradise. But with a big state dominated by widely varying geography and rural areas that seem to stretch forever – and let’s not forget that $2 billion surplus – $10.6 million barely qualifies as the proverbial drop in the bucket.

The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities figured the legislature could afford to invest at least $100 million in broadband, maybe more. It makes one wonder what the state might do if there was a budget deficit instead of all this surplus cash…maybe come into your home, unplug your modem and bolt out the door?

It’s not so bad here in Crookston. As local officials like to say, we have some competition for our broadband services, and the “fiber is in the ground.” But it’s that “last mile” of service, as it’s called – which refers to actually getting the high-quality broadband service to a home or business – that’s often the biggest challenge, and the greatest expense.

We hear these days about our mobile workforce and a global economy that makes it possible for people to conduct business and commerce from just about anywhere, even the most remote location. But that’s true only if you have access to good broadband service. The future prospects of all kinds of small towns in rural Minnesota would be greatly enhanced by improved broadband service, and our state legislators know this. With a multi-billion surplus, this $10.6 million available for broadband grants was their response.

Upcoming events that promote coding for kids – host one in your community!

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I wanted to share info on two upcoming international tech events. They are actually international efforts to encourage local events – by providing an excuse, a template and promotion. It might be too late to organize a local CodeDay – but it’s probably not too late to consider checking out the event in the Twin Cities to figure out if a local version makes sense next year.

CodeDay Nov 7-8

CodeDay is a series of student programming events held across the world. It’s the world’s largest series of educational programming marathons, in addition to being one of the most effective methods of education.

There are 22 cities participating, including St Paul. Sounds a lot like a hackfest (gather, collaboration, build an app or game) although the organizers differentiate it by saying there’s no competition.

Hour of Code Dec 7-13

The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in over 40 languages. No experience needed. Ages 4 to 104.

This is much easier to fit in. They have lots of curricular options on the website. Last year I downloaded a program for my 10 year old and she “coded” for days with it. The program used a game involving Elsa from Frozen to get my kids to create code to help her skate a figure 8. If you know a teacher, you might pass it on. Or if you know a kid you might take on the onus yourself. It’s easy! And it’ll help a kid learn if they like coding.

Data caps subsidies like free lunch subsidies? A sustainable model – hmmm!

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We’ve heard stories of iPads in schools in Minnesota. They’re great in a lot of ways, customized education, no more heavy books to carry every day BUT they are considerably more  helpful for folks who have internet access at home – interest access that doesn’t involve data caps. Wired recently posted an article that promotes data plans that support iPad use outside the school walls…

Lack of home Internet access for school children is an all-too common problem, one that the FCC has referred to as “the homework gap.” Today, American schools are investing billions of dollars in devices and educational technology for the classroom. Meanwhile, venture capitalists are investing billions more to fund new ed-tech ideas. All this spending has changed curriculums, as teachers become ever more reliant on the tech tools constantly dangled in front of them. Now, instead of handing out reading assignments and worksheets from a textbook, they can show kids videos from Khan Academy and assign them apps that collect data on their progress.

This type of personalized education has been transformative for some kids. But for the hundreds of thousands of students across the country like Lopez, it’s isolating. For these kids, replacing the albeit imperfect equity of pen and paper with technology has put them at a distinct disadvantage, turning something as simple as completing homework into a Herculean effort.

But Qualcomm is working to make those iPads more useful at home by creating special rates for students who need it…

The unit, Qualcomm Education, is working to close the homework gap by convening other leaders in the wireless technology industry to help create the equivalent of a free-and-reduced lunch plan for data.

With this work, Qualcomm is capitalizing on a wave of momentum in the world of school connectivity. In addition to the federal ConnectEd program, which aims to give 99 percent of American students access to the Internet in school, the Obama administration also recently announced the launch of ConnectHome. Through this program, the government is working with service providers such as Google Fiber to bring high-speed broadband to 275,000 low-income households across the country.

They’re ambitious, well-intentioned initiatives that will, if all goes according to plan, have a major impact on the kids and families they touch. And yet, the companies backing these efforts—including AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and more—still earmark these programs as charity. That means they’ve set aside a finite amount of donations, and these donations have clear end dates. After that, schools will be left to figure out how to pay for the access they once received for free.

That’s where Qualcomm Education is hoping to make a difference. Instead of giving these data plans away for free, it’s pushing the industry to create a sustainable business model that might stand a chance of outliving these charitable donations. If carriers are willing to create a data plan for schools that costs around $10 a kid, then schools might actually be able to afford them. And carriers, forever motivated by their bottom lines, would have a monetary incentive to keep these projects up and running.