Almanac recently posted a video on broadband policy. In it, Chris Mitchell, from the Institute for Local Self Reliance, talks about the power of the Coop to get fiber to the home in rural areas – as demonstrated by Renville Sibley coop (RS Fiber). Brent Christensen, from the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, explains that RS Fiber  is a publicly funded coop, which means it is different than the traditional model. publicly funded coops compete with private providers.

Governor Dayton has promoted $100 million for broadband grants. ILSR and MTA both think the funds are a good idea. The big question is – who gets it? Does it go to the unserved communities (people with extremely limited access) or underserved communities (people with inadequate access)?