Today I’m hoping to post what local papers are saying about broadband policy. I could do it in one post but I think it will be easier for the archive if I do multiple posts. The Crookston Times says that within city limits most people are satisfied with their broadband options; outside the city is a different story but even that story is poised to change after Halstad Telephone Company completes the deployment there are doing thanks to receiving a state grant last year…

But then consider Craig Hoiseth’s situation. The executive director of the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority – a key position that one would think would especially benefit from quick, convenient and on-demand access to high-speed broadband Internet – lives barely outside city limits, just east of Highland School in Crookston Township, and he currently has no Internet service to his home.

That could change soon, Hoiseth stressed to the Times, since, he said, Halstad Telephone Company – as part of a grant the Internet provider was awarded through the state’s Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program – extended fiber-optic lines underground to his home, and he’s anticipating that soon the service will be extended into his home. But, for now, he’s decided that no Internet service is better than the headaches of slow, dial-up Internet service, which has been his only option.

They are pleased with the recent Minnesota Broadband Task Force report that asks for an increase in broadband speed goals and funding…

“Obviously, we are excited about the new policy recommendations and are hopeful northwest Minnesota will obtain adequate funding to provide broadband to this area of the state. Everybody agreed that the initial funding level of $20 million would not go far in addressing the need for broadband statewide, and this recommendation probably acknowledges such,” Hoiseth said.

They are concerned that funding go to providers who have been proactive about upgrades and not to providers who have not…

Considering that Halstad Telephone Company and other providers who bring Internet service to the area have been pretty aggressive in recent years when it comes to expanding and improving service, Hoiseth added that he hopes, if the statewide grant program is indeed expanded significantly, providers that have been working hard to improve Internet service aren’t “penalized” when seeking grant funds, in favor of other providers who have essentially been sitting back and waiting for the State to take the lead on broadband funding. “We always want to reward business for good, smart, forward thinking,” he said.