Monthly Archives: April 2016

Introduction to the Minnesota Brain Gain Bill – a push to push rural

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I’ve written about the idea of Brain Gain before – a term if not coined, certainly made meaningful by Ben Winchester at the University of Minnesota Extension. In short it’s the recognition that while rural areas may lose their 18-24 year olds as they expand their worlds at college, travel, armed forces whatever – rural areas are seeing a bounce back or brain gain from 30-50 year olds who are interested in returning to rural areas as they settle into careers and families.

The Grand Forks Herald recently posted an article on how the push to promote Brain Gain may get some official backing from the Legislature…

The Minnesota Rural Counties Caucus, which advocates for Greater Minnesota counties, was so impressed with a presentation Winchester gave in December that the caucus put a bill together that’s gathering steam at the Capitol.
The bill’s chief author in the Minnesota House is Rep. Deb Kiel, R-Crookston.

“I’ve presented a dozen times in each of your districts,” Winchester told a recent House panel speaking in support of the Greater Minnesota Brain Gain Bill.

“I regularly get asked, ‘What can we do now?’, and I really didn’t have a good answer. That has changed with the introduction of the Brain Gain bill, which is a first step in answering that question.”

Here are some of the details…

The Greater Minnesota Brain Gain bill is a one-year pilot project that identifies, coordinates and supports these energetic, largely volunteer and universally underfunded regional efforts. The idea is to provide structure and funding for a year and have grant recipients report back to the Legislature about the differences a sustained, asset-based marketing plan made to the area.

Long a lone voice for changing the narrative of decline in Greater Minnesota, Winchester now seems to be picking up converts. Here’s hoping they’ll soon join forces to become a chorus for a new and positive reality.

Stratton, a Douglas County (Minn.) commissioner, is chairman of the Minnesota Rural Counties Caucus.

Minnesota has only seen about 10 percent of what the broadband revolution can deliver

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The Duluth Tribune News recently posted an editorial from Jim Kohlenberger. He is a former White House policy adviser to two U.S. presidents and is president of JK Strategies, a public policy consulting practice. He currently serves on the advisory board for Mobile Future. He’s based in Washington, D.C.

He notes the power of the Internet…

As one of the greatest equalizers of our age, broadband connections give any child, regardless of geography or income, a chance to reach a hand across a smartphone or keyboard to access the same broad universe of knowledge. It means that any rural or remote business with a good idea and an Internet connection can become the corner store in the global economy. Notably, in both big cities and harder-to-reach communities, wireless broadband is extending this opportunity by giving us the ability to connect anywhere, anytime, to do almost anything.

And the opportunities we are losing…

We’ve all seen how powerful the Internet has been, creating as much economic growth in the last 15 years as the industrial age did in 50 years. But we’ve only seen a fraction, about 10 percent, of what the broadband revolution has to deliver. Today, only 1 percent of the things that can be connected are connected. By 2020, some predict as many as 50 billion connected devices, meaning this smart revolution will spread from the palm of your hand to smart cars, smart meters, smart buildings, smart cities and literally everything around us. This connected revolution will mean a complete and utter transformation of our economy. And for consumers, it will be especially empowering, putting us in charge of more of the physical world around us.

For policymakers, the mobile revolution opens up huge opportunities to help solve some of our most pressing policy challenges — smart sensors that can help us cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, smart cities that can improve quality of life, connected cars that can cut car fatalities in half, and a connected world that can help create thousands of jobs. As I travel the country, I see communities that are looking for opportunities to become the next Silicon Valley — for connected agriculture, connected health care or digital manufacturing.

Kohlenberger represents the mobile industry. It is interesting to hear his predictions on the Internet of Things (devices managed online) and sobering to realize how far rural areas may fall behind if they don’t have the broadband to take advantage of it. It’s going to take robust wired connections to support the last mile wireless options.

Al Franken on KAXE – we need to talk about broadband not elections

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In a recent conversation with Heidi Holton of KAXE, Senator Al Franken says we should spend less time worry about elections and more time worrying about subjects that directly impact residents, like access to broadband.

He notes that other countries have better broadband than we do and there’s no excuse for that. Part of the issue is access and part is affordability.

Broadband on Almanac – it’s all about supporting unserved vs underserved communities

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almanacAlmanac 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)?

MN House releases budget: broadband budget is $35 million, which includes funding for education connectivity

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According to Minnesota Session Daily…

With a focus of keeping government spending in line with family budgets, House leadership has released their budget adjustment targets Thursday.

A resolution to adopt them was approved 17-10 by the House Ways and Means Committee. Senate leadership is expected to release its targets next week.

The news isn’t good for broadband…

Broadband expansion

House Republicans are proposing $35 million to increase broadband in Greater Minnesota — $65 million less than Dayton is proposing.

Peppin said the $35 million would be more than the DFL put into broadband in the previous biennium when they controlled the House and Senate and Dayton was in office.

Thissen claims the Republican plan spends less on an annual basis than the initial investment DFLers made in 2014. “We know that the need is substantially greater, probably greater than the $100 million the governor has put in.”

Other changes

The proposal would add $11.67 million in jobs and energy, including $13 million in Fiscal Year 2017 and $15 million in Fiscal Year 2018 toward Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program. The additional funding is to be offset by savings from other areas as determined by the committee.

Looks like that $35 million includes school broadband budgets…

Neither K-12 nor higher education would see no additional funds, under the proposal. However, an extra $50 million of additional K-12 spending would be offset by allowing school districts the option of early state loan repayment. Of that amount, $7 million would go toward expanding broadband access for schools and students in underserved areas.

(I’m assuming there’s a typo above – and that “Neither K-12 nor higher education would see additional funds” but the broadband numbers gels with other information I have. It sounds like they may be saying $35 million will be broken up in the following way:
$13 million for Border to Border grants in 2017
$15 million for Border to Border grants in 2018
$7 million for education (annual I hope, since that is what is needed).

Becker/Sherburne County Broadband Roundtable April 8

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I’m on the road but I wanted to get this up in time for folks to make plans to attend. Sorry for short notices and limited details.

Becker/Sherburne County Broadband Roundtable
LOCATION: Becker Furniture World, Showroom, 13150 1st Street, Becker, MN (Enter at the Café Pawz entrance – clearly marked with sign)
DATE: April 8
TIME 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

CONTACTS
• Governor/Lt. Governor’s Office: Sarah Hinde, 651.262.7280
• Local Contact: Laura Kangas, Palmer Wireless, 320.743.5110
• Location Contact: Tiffany Erickson, Becker Furniture World, 763.262.9241
ADMINISTRATION REPS Jane Leonard, Grant Administrator, Office of Broadband Development

LEGISLATORS (confirmed)
• Rep. Jim Newberger
• Rep. Nick Zerwas
• Senator Mary Kiffmeyer
• Rep. Kurt Daudt (TBD)
• Senator Michelle Benson (pending)

PANEL PARTICIPANTS
• Rep. Jim Newberger
• Rep. Nick Zerwas
• Senator Mary Kiffmeyer
• Rep. Kurt Daudt (TBD)
• Senator Michelle Benson (pending)
• Jane Leonard, Office of Broadband Development
• Mark Brinkman, President, Highway Materials LLC
• Michael Tate, Telecom Engineer, Great River Energy
• Robb Feldhege, IT Manager, Becker Furniture World
• Laura Kangas, Co-Founder/Owner; Palmer Wireless
• Albert Kangas, Co-Founder/Owner; Palmer Wireless
• Amanda Othoudt, Economic Development Director for Elk River and former Community Development Coordinator for Becker
• Dan Weber, Assistant County Administrator/Economic Development Specialist, Sherburne County

MODERATOR Lt. Governor Tina Smith (LGS)

SCHEDULE
1) 2:00 pm: Welcome remarks and introduction of LGS, Steve Taylor, County Administrator, Sherburne County.
2) 2:03 pm: Welcome to panelists and audience members, LGS.
3) 2:04 pm: Panelists briefly introduce themselves.
4) 2:07 pm: Brief overview of completed project, Laura and Albert Kangas, Palmer Wireless.
5) 2:12 pm: LGS moderates roundtable conversation about the completed Becker Industrial Park project, its impact on local businesses, and what more needs to be in regards to broadband in Sherburne County.
6) 2:45 pm: LGS opens the discussion to questions/comments from audience.
7) 2:58 pm: Closing remarks, LGS.
8) 3:00 pm: Roundtable concludes.

Bemidji business idea to transition folks away from landlines by forwarding their number by family member

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Emerging Prairie recently reported on a business in Bemidji that has a service that forwards your landline to your cell phone. This solution allows you divert the call to the right family member (or staff) based on a menu response…

“Every carrier provider out there will forward your landline to your cell phone. That’s not new,” he said. “The differentiator was how do you send it to the correct person.”

What Swenson designed is a program that allows users to forward their home phone number to a variety of mobile phone users who live in the home. The voicemail for his home phone, for example, sounds something like this:
“You’ve reached the Swensons. Press 1 to reach Jeff, 2 to reach (wife), 3 to reach (son), 4 to reach (daughter).”
This is a good way to transition people who, as the article says, have an emotional tie to their phone and/or phone number. It doesn’t help folks who need a landline because cell phones don’t work in their house or area or folks who are concerned about having a phone that doesn’t need to be charged to work.

It’s also a good solution as people transition to new living situations. The article uses the example of people moving to retirement homes…

Customers include people like Swenson’s friend and his wife, who have an emotional tie to the landline. He’s also seen elderly customers who are transitioning to new living situations, but want people to be able to reach them through their old number.

“One woman is moving her dad to a nursing home, and was scared to death he’ll lose touch with his friends, because they all call the house,” Swenson said. “Put him on OurOldNumber.com, and they can still reach him.”

It would work just as easily for households with kids heading to college. The compare the cost from $9.99 a month to $32.27.

State funding for schools and libraries doesn’t cover costs; they need $7 million more per year

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Schools need broadband. Perusing materials from Minnesota Educational Technology Networks, I’ll pull out just a few reasons schools need broadband:

  • Online standard testing
  • Textbooks are increasingly online
  • Parent portals, allowing parents and students to check in on progress and assignments
  • Distance learning, including post-secondary Education opportunities
  • Remote field trips and special guests
  • Cloud computing for administration

Add libraries to the equation and you can add a few more reasons:

  • Providing public access to users without technology and/or broadband
  • Opportunities to learn how to use technology

With the increase in one-to-one student-to-device (iPad, Chromebook) programs, the need for broadband is increasing. We talk about the homework gap for students who can’t get online with their devices at home – imagine the students who have reduced access at school. It’s just difficult to think that they are getting the same opportunities as kids who have no troubles getting online at school and at home. I just heard from Little Crow Telemedia Network that they have doubled their bandwidth needs in one year due to 1-1 and other online resources they need.

Traditionally broadband costs for schools have been covered by the federal Erate program with state funding helping to fill the gap. That’s no longer the case. Erate is cutting back on what if funds (no long distance and local telephone costs will no longer be fully covered) and the state funding that covered costs a few years ago is no longer covering costs. You can see the direction costs and funding are going below. (Thanks to METN for the info.)

What it comes down to is Minnesota schools need $7 million more in funding a year to cover their costs. As I heard one educator say – We are not asking much but for a lot of district this means $20-30,000 in funding or half the cost of a teacher.

The costs and therefore the gaps are not created equal. In 2013, I wrote about specific libraries’ connections and costs. A standout comparison I remember:

Pioneerland Library System libraries have T1 connections (with the exception of Willmar). Annual cost per library is about $15,600 while East Central libraries are predominately 100 Mbps – with one library enjoy a Gig and two at 10 Mbps. Costs range from $5,000 to $14,000 – just to note the high cost does not cover the high bandwidth.

I don’t know the current costs – but to provide equal access to students throughout Minnesota, schools need more support.

Next Century Cities Announces New Awards for Tech-Powered Civic Engagement

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A good idea and a great opportunity…

Next Century Cities Announces New Awards for Tech-Powered Civic EngagementNext Generation Engagement Awards Will Celebrate Cities Using High-Speed Broadband to Enhance Democratic Participation

Austin, Texas (April 6, 2016) – Next Century Cities announced the new Next Generation Engagement Awards today at the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin, Texas. The awards will celebrate city governments that are harnessing high-speed Internet to enhance the democratic participation and civic engagement of their citizens.

Next Century Cities is a nonprofit membership organization of 130 communities nationwide focused on bringing more opportunities to their residents through access to fast, affordable, and reliable broadband. The inaugural Next Generation Engagement Awards, which will be awarded this summer, will elevate the wide array of creative innovations for using next-generation broadband to bolster civic engagement in communities.

“Broadband Internet is the opportunity-generating infrastructure of the 21st century. Communities across the country are beginning to tap the potential of high-quality broadband connectivity to improve civic life and democratic participation for their residents,” said Deb Socia, Executive Director of Next Century Cities. “With the new Next Generation Engagement Awards, Next Century Cities will celebrate communities that are pioneering the civic applications of high-speed Internet access and encourage other communities across the nation to learn from these innovators and enhance their own tech-powered democratic engagement.”

The Next Generation Engagement Awards will recognize at least three winners, who will receive up to $30,000 each and hands-on technical support for their projects. Applications from interested communities will be accepted through June 15, 2016. The awards program is being primarily supported by the Democracy Fund, with additional support from the Benton Foundation. Next Century Cities will host a public webinar on April 20 to share best practices in tech-powered democracy and offer details of the award application process. The application link and more information about the Next Generation Engagement Awards program can be found on the Next Century Cities website at http://nextcenturycities.org/next-generation-engagement-awards.

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Next Century Cities is a city-to-city initiative founded to support communities and their elected leaders, including mayors and other officials, as they seek to ensure that all have access to fast, affordable, and reliable Internet. As innovative municipalities across the country recognize the importance of leveraging gigabit level Internet to attract new businesses and create jobs, improve health care and education, enhance civic engagement, and connect residents to new opportunities, Next Century Cities will celebrate successes and help other cities to realize the full power of next-generation broadband. For more information, visit www.nextcenturycities.org.

Center for Rural Policy and Development fact sheet on rural broadband: great to for policy makers

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The Center for Rural Policy and Development published a primer article on broadband in Minnesota. I think it should be required reading for policymakers and community leaders who find themselves in a discussion of broadband where they are nodding but not entirely understanding all of the implications of the topic. A little bit like me talking to the car mechanic. CRPD have done a nice job of describing the technology at level that’s informative but not overwhelming and outlining the potential impact of policy decisions – based very specifically on what has been happening in Minnesota for the last two years.

Here’s a sneak preview of their recommendations…

How can policy makers help?

• Let solutions be decided at the local level. The best solutions for communities will be based on many factors, including population density, terrain, and what customers can afford. The factors will vary considerably from place to place.

• Don’t try to choose between fiber and wireless. It will probably take a combination of both technologies to meet a community’s needs. Instead, weigh the importance to communities and to the state’s economy as a whole of getting fast Internet speeds versus getting any Internet at all.

• At the same time, make sure that state funds are being used to create upgradeable, future-ready networks and not just good-enough systems.

• Help mitigate those barriers to entry. Free-market solutions won’t work unless there are more viable players on the field. A little competition has done wonders in the past to motivate reluctant broadband providers to provide actual broadband.

• Understand that symmetric-speed networks that have generous upload speeds are crucial for economic activity. In addition to regular businesses, more and more people are setting up home-based businesses or becoming “1099ers,” independent contractors, especially in rural areas. We need to be a state of producers, not just consumers.

• Pay attention to strengthening the overall network. A reliable, robust network will keep speeds high and won’t be as likely to break down, which will be very attractive to businesses and will keep the system running strong into the future.

And instructive diagrams…

 

center for rural policy diagram

 

Blandin eNews April 2016: Broadband State Funding is All about the Details

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Broadband News Around MinnesotaBBC Map

Broadband in the Legislature
In the middle of the Legislative session, several meetings related to broadband have already happened. Most people seem to agree that broadband is worthy of funding, it’s just a matter of defining the parameters – speed, unserved versus underserved and goals:

  • After making broadband one of the key points in his State of the State speech http://wp.me/p3if7-3rt, Governor Dayton announces his budget including $100 million for broadband; local press chimes in. http://wp.me/p3if7-3s1
  • Notes from MN House meeting on broadband (HF2381): focus on unserved vs underserved, budget, incumbent rights and implications of federal funding. http://wp.me/p3if7-3sc
  • Notes from MN Senate Hearing on broadband (SF 2448 and SF 2447): focus on unserved vs served and who should get priority for funding http://wp.me/p3if7-3su
  • Minnesota House Committee talks broadband (HF 2381) a second time: focus on speed goals, unserved vs underserved and wireless http://wp.me/p3if7-3sB (See also planned testimony from Bernadine Joselyn http://wp.me/p3if7-3sX and Bill Coleman http://wp.me/p3if7-3sZ.)
  • Small wireless facility deployment bill; came up quickly, didn’t make deadline http://wp.me/p3if7-3tB

Local papers have been covering the issues, local policymakers have been vocal and even industry folks and community leaders have chimed in:

  • Austin Daily Herald promotes funding for underserved and unserved areas http://wp.me/p3if7-3tD
  • Minneapolis Star Tribune supports Minnesota broadband funding for unserved and underserved http://wp.me/p3if7-3ty
  • Faribault enthusiastic about broadband funding but curious about details for grants http://wp.me/p3if7-3tu
  • Reaction from various sources to broadband battle at the Minnesota Legislature: how much, how fast, who gets first dibs on broadband http://wp.me/p3if7-3ss
  • Mankato Free Press sums up 2016 legislature in three words: Broadband, bonding and roads http://wp.me/p3if7-3rH
  • Minnesota Public Radio finds that one of the biggest issues for townships in Minnesota is broadband. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rp
  • Lots of organizations support the Minnesota Broadband vision! http://wp.me/p3if7-3rB
  • Blandin Foundation sends a letter to MN Legislators asking them to remember the Minnesota Broadband Vision and the many who support it. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rX
  • Blandin Foundation’s Kathy Annette implores Minnesota to seize the momentum to build broadband statewide. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rw
  • Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation supports Sate broadband funding. http://wp.me/p3if7-3tq
  • Industry view of HF1066/SF736 promotes allowing competitive landscape within telecom regulation. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rV
  • Original Broadband Task Force Chair Rick King on current status of broadband in Minnesota. http://wp.me/p3if7-3r8
  • Senator Schmit on (then upcoming) Senate Hearing http://wp.me/p3if7-3sn
  • Senator Sparks and Representative Sanders promote telecom deregulation http://wp.me/p3if7-3to
  • Gary Schindler is running for House seat 27A House brings up broadband in his plans http://wp.me/p3if7-3tr FCC extends Lifeline to cover broadband For eight years Akamai has been tracking the national and international status of broadband. The report only shows locations that rank “Top 10” in any category. Minnesota does not show up in the report. Here is how Minnesota ranks in the latest report (looking at the US rankings): http://wp.me/p3if7-3sS

New Akamai rankings are out – MN is not top 10
Policy discussions are not limited to State matters. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rO The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) expands the Lifeline program to support stand-alone broadband service as well as bundled voice and data service packages. Low-income households may have access to a $9.25 subsidy for broadband. http://wp.me/p3if7-3tw

  • Average Speed: Minnesota ranks #18 with an average speed of 14.9 Mbps
  • Peak Speed: Minnesota ranks #23 with a peak speed of 61.8 Mbps
  • 4 Mbps adoption: Minnesota is #29 with 84 percent adoption
  • 10 Mbps adoption: Minnesota is #26 with 51 percent adoption
  • 15 Mbps adoption: #22 with 33 percent adoption
  • 25 Mbps adoption: #16 with 12 percent adoption

Minnesota Broadband Task Force on Adoption
The Task Force hears from a number of local practitioners (Technology Literacy Collaborative and PCs for People) on digital inclusion best practices. They also hear from Professor Colin Rhinesmith whose research indicates that the answer to combatting a digital divide is a four-pronged approach: http://wp.me/p3if7-3s6

  • Access to good, affordable computers
  • Reduced rates for broadband
  • Public access (such as at libraries)
  • Training

Rural health care suffers from lesser broadband
According to Daily Yonder, rural areas are falling farther behind urban counterparts when it comes to broadband access and that divide is growing even greater in rural health care. There are subsidies to support rural health care facilities but it appears as if the rules to apply may be too stringent. http://wp.me/p3if7-3tc

Can broadband help reduce or postpone food deserts in Minnesota?
Minnesota Daily notes reduced longevity of locally owned rural grocery stores and offers broadband as a support to help local businesses stay stronger and remain locally owned. http://wp.me/p3if7-3t9

Comcast explains why 4/1 may not be enough for your home business
Comcast Trends promotes broadband speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up for their business clients. http://wp.me/p3if7-3t1

Local Broadband News

Afton
Afton may have better broadband by fall. CenturyLink may spend some of their CAF 2 funding in the area. http://wp.me/p3if7-3qN

Aitkin County
Aitkin County leaders talk to local providers, who are willing to expand in the area if there’s financial assistance from the county. http://wp.me/p3if7-3r0

Bemidji and Grand Rapids
Paul Bunyan’s GigaZone is activated for over 3,400 locations around Bemidji and Grand Rapids. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rJ

Cloquet
Computer virus shuts down schools in Cloquet http://wp.me/p3if7-3sq

Dakota County
Dakota County to move forward with Joint Powers agreement to expand a countywide broadband system. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rT

Faribault
The Faribault Daily News publishes a series of editorials on broadband that distill down to a passion for increased broadband and decreased politics. http://wp.me/p3if7-3qX

Itasca County
Itasca County endorses the Minnesota Broadband Vision. http://wp.me/p3if7-3qI

Madison
Madison is looking into options to extend fiber to the city. http://wp.me/p3if7-3t3 Madison is the county seat of Lac qui Parle County, which has fiber to the home through most of the county. Madison did not qualify for the original funding the supported fiber. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rm

Minneapolis
In an interview with Institute for Local Self Reliance, US Internet co-founder Travis Carter talks about how they are able to deploy fiber in Minneapolis. http://wp.me/p3if7-3tk (Learn more about their planned expansions. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rQ)

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Digital Divide in Minneapolis is narrowing but getting deeper http://wp.me/p3if7-3rd

Slayton
Slayton hosts broadband conversion, recognizing that they need it for commerce and want to better understand the nuances of building it. Specifically, they are interested in what happens with funding for underserved communities with proposed legislation. http://wp.me/p3if7-3tf

Twin Cities
PCs for People finds a way to offer reduced rate broadband to low income households. http://wp.me/p3if7-3rr

Upcoming Events

  • March 10: Blandin Webinar Archive: Spurring small business use of technology (See archive: http://wp.me/p3if7-3rz)
  • April 14: Free Blandin Webinar: Broadband-Focused Economic Development Marketing http://wp.me/p3if7-3rD
  • April 18: Ignite Cup Startup Competition Deadline http://wp.me/p3if7-3tJ
  • April 29: E-rate applications are closed http://wp.me/p3if7-3nv
  • May 3: Call for Entries: Best of the Web & Digital Government Achievement Awards 2016 http://wp.me/p3if7-3qR
  • June 14: Applications due for $10 Million in Funding for Gigabit Applications from US Ignite http://wp.me/p3if7-3sz
  • Looking for more events? Check out TechDotMN’s calendar http://tech.mn/events/. Many events are based in the Twin Cities but it is a comprehensive list. (If you have an upcoming event, consider submitting it.)

Stirring the Potbill right

As the legislative session passes the midway point, it seems like a good time to review the hot broadband topics.  These are my own personal reflections on the discussion.

The question of how much money should be appropriated is still open.  The Governor and the Senate have each talked about $100 million and the House’s starting bid was $35 million.  Doing the simple math might indicate a fund of $75-80 million.

The Governor’s Broadband Task Force recommended two new broadband goals. I am extremely disappointed that the 25/3 Mb by 2022 goal seems to be taking priority over 100/20 Mb by 2026. There are three reasons why this is extremely disappointing.

First, the current state goal is 10-20/5-10 Mb.  25/3 would mean an embarrassing decrease in upload speed in our goal from 2010 to 2022. Second, tying our state goal until 2022 to the FCC current definition of minimum broadband speed is deflating. The FCC’s definition has increased thirtyfold over the past eight years.  What might it be in 2022?  Third, some now dismiss the 100 Mb goal is “aspirational.”  By definition, all goals are aspirational.  Some are challenging, others are too easy so as to be meaningless.

There is also controversy around broadband access versus broadband based economic development.  We need both.  A rural industrial park without fiber is now by definition, deficient.  There are many ripe opportunities to get fiber installed in critical locations through public private partnerships.

There was even discussion about providing state grants for wireless services meeting a very low 10/1 Mb standard.  In my opinion, state funds should only be used to support projects with long term, useful benefits, not quick fixes that won’t satisfy anyone very long.  Where providers are installing fiber, these areas are set for decades no matter what the standard.  These networks can also support any emerging wireless technologies. The current 100 Mb scalable standard (upgradeable without extraordinary delays or costs) seems reasonable to me.

These are my thoughts.  I am sure others have a different point of view.

Ignite Cup Winner to be Automatic Semifinalist In Nationally Recognized MN Cup: deadline April 18

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A great opportunity…

Ignite Cup Winner to be Automatic Semifinalist In Nationally Recognized MN Cup

Startup Competition Deadline: April 18

RED WING, Minn. – March 30, 2016 – A collaboration of community builders, including Red Wing Ignite, Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, Lake City EDA, and the Blandin Foundation, have partnered together to host the annual Ignite Cup startup competition, including a new partnership with MN Cup. The Ignite Cup is the first annual event, and this year the winner will be an automatic semifinalist in the MN Cup.

The Ignite Cup is open to all entrepreneurs, investors, and community members who are focused on launching a startup and want to pitch their idea to an experienced panel for a chance to compete in the MN Cup or simply attend to network and learn more about business innovation. Local startups will be able to receive exposure, gain investor feedback, add regional connections, and will also be linked to the upcoming, nationally recognized MN Cup competition. All eligible startups will be able to compete by presenting their startup concept to a highly qualified board, which will choose the best pitch from the competition to move into the final rounds of the MN Cup.

“We are very excited about the new partnership between the community organizations and MN Cup. There are many big ideas that live within our communities. The Ignite Cup exists to bring a voice to some of the greatest minds in the area,” said Neela Mollgaard, executive director at Red Wing Ignite and organizer of the Ignite Cup.

Hosted by Carlson School of Management, the MN Cup is the largest statewide startup competition. Entrepreneurs from around Minnesota will come together to share their best ideas. Competition benefits include mentorship opportunities, business plan feedback, networking, media exposure, and $400,000 in available seed money. The startups will be broken into different divisions, with winners chosen within each field.

The Ignite Cup will take place Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. at the Red Wing Ignite Innovation Center. For more information or to register for the event, click here. Startup competition participants must register by April 18. Minnesotans from all over the state are welcome to apply to pitch their business concept or attend to network and learn more about new innovative businesses.

Red Wing Ignite is a community-funded innovation center. We provide a place where creative individuals can build their ideas. We enable entrepreneurship and technological innovation for the Red Wing community by offering collaborative space for co-working space and private offices, events to learn and connect, resources for all stages of businesses, regional and national networks, and gigabit Internet access. By bringing together like-minded entrepreneurs, investors and advisors, we create a unique ecosystem for the Red Wing community to share ideas, resources, and expertise. This ecosystem, in turn, promotes local and regional economic development through new company creation and expansion.

For more information, visit us on our website or check us out on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Austin Daily Herald promotes funding for underserved and unserved areas

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Another example where people who are talking about the Minnesota broadband fund are in agreement that it’s good idea – just a matter of details. Austin Daily talks about funding for underserved and well as unserved areas…

District 27 Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, introduced a bill late last week that would make sure cities like Austin and Albert Lea are eligible to receive current and proposed broadband funds after many existing grants and some initial bills this session limited the cities that would qualify. “We also want to make sure that cities like Austin or Albert Lea qualify,” Sparks said. At issue is the state’s Border-to-Border Broadband grants and some state statutes in regards to access to broadband funding across the state. Currently, many of the funding sources target unserved communities but not underserved communities.

The article also gives an update on local broadband efforts Gig Austin…

In Austin, most broadband efforts would likely go through Gig Austin, a nonprofit effort through Vision 2020’s Community Wide Technology Committee aiming to bring high-speed Internet and massive amounts of data to the city through a gigabit-level network. Austin Utilities General Manager Mark Nibaur, a member of the Gig Austin committee, said the committee has been meeting with potential partners in recent months, like the city, county and Austin Public Schools along with Vision 2020’s Business Friendly and Education Leaders committees to gauge interest in future partnerships. While Austin, Mower County and school district leaders haven’t yet pledged any money toward Gig Austin, Nibaur said they’ve provided feedback and showed the potential for future partnerships. After gathering more input and after further discussions, Nibaur said the committee could go to the Hormel Foundation again and determine a next step.

Small wireless facility deployment bill – came up quickly, didn’t make deadline

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House File 3554 came up pretty quickly. The short description is – Small wireless facility deployment provided. It was introduced by Representative Sander on March 23. It was discussed twice last week March 30 and 31.

The proposed legislative changed an existing law by adding “wireless communications service provider” to the list of other communications providers that may use public property to build out infrastructure…

“Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 222.37, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 1.4 Subdivision 1. Use requirements. Any water power, telegraph, telephone, wireless 1.5 communications service provider, pneumatic tube, pipeline, community antenna television, 1.6 cable communications or electric light, heat, power company, or fire department may use 1.7 public roads for the purpose of constructing, using, operating, and maintaining lines, 1.8 subways, canals, conduits, hydrants, or dry hydrants, for their business, but such lines shall 1.9 be so located as in no way to interfere with the safety and convenience of ordinary travel 1.10 along or over the same; and, in the construction and maintenance of such line, subway, 1.11 canal, conduit, hydrants, or dry hydrants, the company shall be subject to all reasonable 1.12 regulations imposed by the governing body of any county, town or city in which such 1.13 public road may be…

And adding lot of language was introduced related to the addition. (You can get all of the text online.)

What happened was that a counter was made to allow the inclusion of “wireless communications service provider” to the existing list and proposed establishment of a Task Force to look into deployment of small wireless telecommunications facilities and deleting the rest of the proposed language.

It opens the doors to looking into changes suggested in the original version but makes very few changes. And even with that Friday (April 1) was the deadline for policy changes to move forward in the Legislature and the proposed bill wasn’t moved forward. So it sits in a limbo of sorts. There is a chance that it could move forward via Rules but that looks unlikely. It seems as if maybe this door has been opened for a future legislature. It sounds like Verizon, not local providers, was behind these changes.

Minneapolis Star Tribune supports Minnesota broadband funding for unserved and underserved

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune is in support for broadband funding – but they are concerned that discussion of who may receive the money may get in t the way…

The worrisome news is that a tussle has emerged among advocates of broadband about what should take precedence in grant allocations — aid for the “unserved” or the “underserved.” Should state funds be directed at providing connections where they are lacking or boosting service in places where speeds meet the 2010 state standards but are insufficient for today’s commercial, medical and educational needs?

They offer a proposal that would leverage greater private (or at least non-state) funding for projects in underserved areas…

We hope the answer is “both.” Both situations represent a failure of the private marketplace, which justifies state action. But legislators could design the grant program to require a larger local government and/or private-sector match for projects to improve existing service, while offering a richer match for the remaining unserved portions of the state.

They suggest pulling broadband out on the omnibus to get it greater consideration…

The other worry is that despite growing legislative support, a boost for broadband grants could still get stuck in the partisan logjam that snagged major bills last year and has yet to give way. That would be a sorry fate for what some advocates are calling the most important Greater Minnesota economic development bill of the year. That’s why legislators would do well to keep broadband in a stand-alone bill, rather than including it in an omnibus measure laden with more controversial provisions. Legislators, especially those from Greater Minnesota, deserve the chance to vote on a clean broadband bill — and their constituents deserve the chance to hold them accountable for their votes.

Having witnessed the outrage of rural constituents at Farmfest last year who felt that many representatives dropped the ball on broadband funding, I think the idea of offering legislators an opportunity to very clearly rectify that notion is worth considering.