Monthly Archives: June 2018

Lake Park citizens tell Sen Utke and Sen Green that they want better broadband – ask about Net Neutrality

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Detroit Lakes Online report on a June 7th town hall meeting in Lake Park with Sen. Paul Utke, R-Park Rapids, and Rep. Steve Green, R-Fosston. The meeting has held to give people a chance to talk about the most recent legislative session.

They talked about the need for better broadband in rural Minnesota…

Leno [a technology entrepreneur who lives on Little Cormorant Lake] also brought up the need for more broadband funding by the state.

“The Internet I work with is just barely enough to operate my business; I’m moving gigabyte files. It’s all built on the foundation of a strong Internet,” he said.

Broadband Internet services delivered to rural homes and businesses by fiber optic cable is a huge economic development issue in Minnesota, Leno said, and it should be treated with the importance that rural electrification received early in the last century.

He pays $10 to $15 a gigabit when he goes over his Internet provider’s plan. “When you’re using a terabyte a month, that gets to be expensive,” he said.

Utke agreed that “putting cable in the ground is the best we can do,” to bring reliable, affordable Internet to rural Minnesota.

The Legislature had provided $15 million towards that effort in a bill that ended up vetoed by Gov. Dayton, he said. That was on top of $35 million provided by the Legislature last year, Green added.

and the impact of the Net Neutrality repeal…

Leno also asked the lawmakers to address net neutrality at the state level, by making Internet providers answerable to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. He said he was disappointed that Republicans reversed course on net neutrality at the federal level, allowing Internet providers to slow service for Netflix, for example, or any content producer that doesn’t pay a higher fee.

Neither lawmaker showed any inclination to handle net neutrality at the state level, saying that the federal changes merely reverted the rules to where they were in 2015.

That’s when the problems began with providers slowing down services, and that’s why the FCC acted to regulate internet providers like utilities in 2015, Leno said.

Green noted that CenturyLink provides “some of the poorest coverage,” while local providers like Arvig and Garden Valley Telephone Co. do a great job.

“It would be great if I could get it, yeah,” Leno said.

West Virginia is looking to Minnesota (Blandin) research report for path for better broadband

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The Register-Herald suggests that West Virginia look at the report that Bill Coleman and I wrote last fall (Measuring Impact of Broadband in Five Minnesota Communities) to make plans for their broadband future…

With growing talk and debate on how to expand broadband in the Mountain State, leaders might want to look to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for a path forward.

A recent study published by the Blandin Foundation and completed by Treacy Information Services and Community Technology Advisors, “Measuring Impact of Broadband in 5 Rural MN Communities” takes a look at the efforts in a variety of rural counties spread throughout Minnesota and how those efforts have paid off.

The demographic similarities between Beckley and southern West Virginia with one county in the study are striking.

Using formulas to predict future values, gathering community data and host community interviews, researchers with the study traveled to Beltrami, Crow Wing, Goodhue, Lake and Sibley counties to get an on-the-ground perspective of the issues.

The report goes on to specifically compare the Minnesota communities with specific West Virginian communities.

NBC draws from Lake County for story of broadband success and cites recent Blandin report

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NBC recently wrote about the impact of broadband in rural America. They make the point that with better broadband, rural communities can see greater economic impact and they use Lake County as the example…

A contractor building high-end houses in Minneapolis swung by Greg Hull’s sawmill on Friday, a timber operation located in deeply rural Lake County, Minnesota. The builder had seen Hull’s website and driven nearly 250 miles to the mill to inspect Hull’s high-end lumber as potential building material for his homes.

These days that’s not unusual. In the past year-and-a-half, Hull has seen orders balloon and interest grow, and a significant factor is his recent ability to gain access to high-speed internet. That’s made a huge difference for the saw mill, located at the end of a power line in an area that knows only gravel roads and limited cellphone coverage.

“Before, if you wanted to download or do anything on the internet, back when it was a phone line system, you couldn’t do anything,” said Hull, who lives and works on 100 acres of Minnesota woodland. “I had to go to the library or hire someone to do stuff, but now we can do it all. We have an improved website. It’s made the whole internet presence a lot more viable, which has in turn opened the exposure.”

That’s something largely new to Lake County, an area that covers 3,000 square miles and stretches from the shores of Lake Superior to the Canadian border. About 10,000 people call this area home. But local leaders there decided they needed high-speed internet, and after nearly eight years and the investment of more than $80 million — much of it coming from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as former President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill) — access to the internet is beginning to boost the local economy.

That could mean a long-term impact of tens of millions of dollars in household economic benefit and residential real estate value, a report by the Blandin Foundation claimed.

The economic upside of internet access is being pushed by rural broadband advocates across the country who say that there isn’t enough being done to connect rural communities. Building out the necessary infrastructure, they argue, could function as an economic and informational driver for some of the country’s most cash-strapped regions.

Digidaze Community Technology Fair Comes to Rondo Library (St Paul) June 15

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For folks in the area, this is an event announcement. For folks not in the area, this is an idea you might want to replicate…

Digidaze Community Technology Fair Comes to Rondo Library
Join us for a free public fair showcasing learning opportunities related to technology for youth, adults and seniors. There will be four laptop giveways from  Minnesota Computer for Schools throughout the day; free food; activities for youth; lessons on using online library services for adults; face painting; free tech advice; media production games; and sign-ups for free classes about computer and employment skills in your neighborhood.
Check out the event page on Facebook!
WHEN: Friday, June 15th, 10:30AM-3PM
WHERE: Rondo Community Outreach Library in Saint Paul, 461 N Dale St
CONTACT: krogstad@spnn.org for more information.
DigiDaze is presented by SPNN’s 35 AmeriCorps members of the Community Technology Empowerment Project and the Saint Paul Public Library.
Help us spread the word with this flyer!

Ely uses first fiber connection to connect a coworking space

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports…

Just off the main drag in the North Woods town of Ely, often described as the “end of the road,” a side door to a brick building offers locals and visitors a little haven of modern technology.

The new Ten Below Coworking space — a basement office with desk seats for a dozen people — boasts the city’s first fiber-optic broadband-connection available to the public.

The city and the nonprofit group Incredible Ely used a $15,000 grant from the Blandin Foundation to create the open floor plan office as well as a couple of meeting rooms in the Klun Law Firm building. The money was used to furnish the space and should be enough to keep the lights on and the internet working for a year, officials said.

The coworking space is just a first step…

Ely Mayor Chuck Novak said he’s enthused about the energetic people who are working to make the space viable, including advertising it so people are aware of it. It’s part of a larger plan to bring internet fiber to the rest of downtown and get high-speed internet out to the entire school district, in some places using wireless access points, Novak said.

“We’re tired of legislators at the state and federal level always talking about broadband and not providing a sufficient amount of support for it. … It’s one of the most important things for economic development in greater Minnesota,” Novak said. “We’re going to have to take care of this ourselves. … We’re going to start getting creative here. We will find a way.”

The space in Ely will serve as a pilot project for getting local people exposed to working with truly high speed internet, officials said.

Kristi Westbrock named new CEO/General Manager at CTC

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Congrats to Kristi (and CTC) and best of luck to retiring Manager Kevin Larson! CTC stakeholders and customers (often one in the same) will remain in good hands!

CTC reports…

The Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) Board of Directors unanimously elected Kristi Westbrock as Chief Executive Officer/General Manager. Westbrock succeeds CTC’s current CEO/General Manager Kevin Larson who announced his retirement from CTC at the company’s Annual Meeting on June 6, 2018. Kevin’s retirement date from the CEO position at CTC will be June 30, 2018.

“The CTC Board of Directors is delighted that Kristi has accepted the CEO/General Manager position. We are confident that Kristi will continue to move our Cooperative forward with the best interest of our members in mind,” states Morris Nelson, Chairperson of the Board of Directors. “We also thank Kevin for his dedication and commitment to the Cooperative for the past 17 years. Kevin has many accomplishments over his tenure, including leading the fiber to the home project to our original ten service areas.”

The NDIA ranks worst connected cities: St Paul is #74 and Minneapolis #120

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NDIA reports…

Using data from the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS), released in September 2017 by the U.S. Census Bureau, NDIA ranked all 185 U.S. cities with more than 50,000 households by the total percentage of each city’s households lacking fixed broadband internet subscriptions. Note that this data is not an indication of the availability of home broadband service, but rather of the extent to which households are actually connected to it.

Only St Paul and Minneapolis show up on the list (with more than 50,000 households). Here’s how they ranked:

  • St Paul ranks 74 with 32.91 percent without fixed broadband
  • Minneapolis ranks 120 with 27.99 percent without fixed broadband

It’s a little counter intuitive since they’re looking at worst cities – the lower the ranking, the better. We have room for improvement.

News from the FCC Meeting – streamlining barriers or eliminating consumer protections?

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The FCC held a big meeting last week and lots of things were decided. Here are two high level takes on the changes from two big broadband policies. The headlines from the meeting from the FCC:

FCC Eliminates Needless Barriers to Next-Generation Networks, Services

And from the Benton Foundation:

FCC Eliminates Consumer Protections for Carriers Promising Network Upgrades

The first headline describes the whole meeting, the second only one change but the tone remains the same regardless of your looking at specifics or whole.

You can read the Benton Foundation’s take on the meeting in a recent newsletter. (It was really just too long to paste here. Here is the press release from the FCC…

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2018—The Federal Communications Commission today took additional steps to eliminate unnecessary regulatory hurdles for carriers seeking to move from the networks of yesterday to the networks of tomorrow.

 

As demand for lower-speed data and legacy voice services declines, the Commission determined that its rules must be modified so that resources that could be used to expand next-generation networks and services aren’t unnecessarily diverted to maintaining outdated infrastructure.  The current FCC rules entail burdensome requirements that carriers must meet in order to replace legacy voice and lower speed data services.  The Commission’s action helps to reduce these burdensome requirements while maintaining protections for consumers and providing incentives for deploying better networks.

 

In a Second Report and Order adopted today, the Commission eliminated some unnecessary impediments to timely network upgrades, while ensuring that consumers and businesses receive the services they require and the notice they need to adapt to changing technologies.  The Order includes the following revisions:

 

  • Streamlines grandfathering of lower-speed data services where the carrier already provides fixed replacement data services at download speeds of 25 Megabits per second and 3 Mbps for uploads. The streamlined process provides 10 days for public comment, and grandfathering is allowed automatically in 25 days, barring substantive objections.
  • Streamlines permanent discontinuance of services already grandfathered by the Commission for 180 days. The process will now provide 10 days for comment and 31 days for an automatic grant.
  • Relieves carriers of discontinuance approval obligations for services with no customers and no reasonable requests for service for at least the preceding 30 days.
  • Eliminates burdensome, inflexible, and unnecessary education and outreach requirements for carriers discontinuing legacy voice services in the transition to next-generation IP services.
  • Allows carriers to seek streamlined discontinuance of legacy voice services when a carrier provides stand-alone interconnected VoIP throughout its affected service area, and at least one other stand-alone, facilities-based voice service is available from another provider.
  • Eliminates unnecessary and burdensome or redundant notifications for changes that may impact compatibility of customer premises equipment.
  • Facilitates rapid restoration of communications networks in the face of natural disasters and other unforeseen events by eliminating advance notice and waiting period requirements for network changes in exigent circumstances.

The Second Report and Order builds on reforms adopted by the Commission last November to the network change disclosure and discontinuance processes to encourage investment in next-generation networks.

 

Action by the Commission June 7, 2018 by Second Report and Order (FCC 18-74).  Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Rielly, and Carr approving.  Commissioner Rosenworcel approving in part and dissenting in part.  Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Rielly, Carr, and Rosenworcel issuing separate statements.

MN 2018 Tekne Awards – Nominate a neighbor by Aug 3

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It’s nice to see a lot of rural businesses, leaders and projects make the list…

The Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) announced categories for our 19th Annual Tekne Awards. Applications will be accepted until August 3, with the Tekne Awards ceremony to be held November 29.

Tekne Awards recognize the leaders in Minnesota’s innovation economy and cutting-edge innovators in science and technology. The awards celebrate the individuals and organizations that play a significant role in discovering new technologies that educate and improve the lives of Minnesotans and people around the world.

Learn more.  Also, on June 20 at 9 a.m. there is a Tekne Award Webinar.  MHTA will be hosting a webinar to provide advice and answer your questions on award categories, eligibility, important dates and more. A past award recipient and Tekne judge will also provide their perspectives. Register here for the webinar.

Representative Kiel and Senator Johnson talk about broadband and upcoming listening sessions

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The Crookston Times reports on a recent meeting with Representative Kiel and Senator Johnson. Here’s what they said about broadband…

On broadband, Rep. Kiel and Sen. Johnson say their district is in decent shape but they need to fill gaps across the state.

“Bigger companies like AT&T don’t want to expand, but we are very fortunate for some of the smaller companies that are willing to expand,” said Kiel.

According to the Minnesota Broadband Coalition, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed the Omnibus Supplemental Budget bill on May 23 which included the $15 million in funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program.

The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program looked to provide broadband internet speeds of 25 Mbps/3Mbps to the 252,000 households that currently lack such service, and look at providing statutory broadband speeds of 100 Mbps/20Mbps by the year 2026 for all Minnesotans.

“No funding will be available for this program until legislators pass a new biennial budget at the end of the 2019 session,” said the Coalition in their 2018 Session Report review.

Apparently they are planning listening sessions…

On the upcoming Town Hall forums, Rep. Kiel and Sen. Johnson say they’re happy to get outside the “bubble” in St. Paul to hear the thoughts and concerns of area residents. Kiel and Johnson will be in Crookston for a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, June 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers at 124 North Broadway. Other stops on the tour include Fosston, Red Lake Falls, East Grand Forks, and Fertile.

Here are dates for all of the sessions:

Fosston Town Hall
Who: Rep. Kiel, Rep. Green and Sen. Johnson
When: Monday, June 18, 2018
Time: 8:30-10:00 am
Location: Civic Center, Glass Room, 215 1st Street East, Fosston, MN

Red Lake Falls Town Hall
Who: Rep. Kiel and Sen. Johnson
When: Monday, June 18, 2018
Time: 11:30 am-1:00 pm
Location: City Hall, Basement Hearing Room, 108 2nd Street SW, Red Lake Falls, MN

East Grand Forks Town Hall
Who: Rep. Kiel and Sen. Johnson
When: Monday, June 18, 2018
Time: 5:00-6:30 pm
Location: City Hall, Council Chambers, 600 DeMers Avenue, East Grand Forks, MN

Fertile Town Hall
Who: Rep. Kiel and Sen. Johnson
When: Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Time: 8:30-10:00 am
Location: City Hall, Auditorium, 101 South Mill Street, Fertile, MN

Crookston Town Hall
Who: Rep. Kiel and Sen. Johnson
When: Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Time: 11:30 am-1:00 pm
Location: City Hall, Council Chamber, 124 North Broadway, Crookston, MN

Surveys show that more people are using the internet but access is still an issue

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The NTIA recently released data on Internet use in the US. Here is a summary of that survey from the Benton Foundation…

The survey, which was conducted in November 2017, reveals new contours of Americans’ Internet use. In 2017, more households had a mobile data plan than wired broadband service. Additionally, for the first time since NTIA began tracking use of different types of computing devices, tablets were more popular than desktop computers among Americans, and the number of people who used multiple types of devices also increased substantially. The data show that 78 percent of Americans ages 3 and older used the Internet as of November 2017, compared with 75 percent in July 2015, when our previous survey was conducted. This increase of 13.5 million users was driven by increased adoption among low-income families, seniors, African Americans, Hispanics, and other groups that have been less likely to go online.

Americans are continuing to increase the number of devices they use. The proportion of people using at least two different types of devices increased from 52 percent in 2013 to 57 percent in 2015 and then 62 percent in 2017. The use of three or more different device types also increased substantially, from 32 percent in 2013 to 37 percent in 2015 and then 42 percent in 2017.

The information on mobile use rings true in a recent article from the Tech Advocate that explores the down side of mobile-only access…

Although nine out of 10 low-income families have Internet access at home, most are underconnected: that is, they have “mobile-only” access – they are able to connect to the Internet only through a smart device, such as a tablet or a smartphone.

A recent report, “Opportunity for all? Technology and learning in low income families,” shows that one-quarter of those earning below the median income and one-third of those living below poverty level accessed the Internet only through their mobile devices.

This leads to limited access: A third of families with mobile-only access quickly hit the data limits on their mobile phone plans and about a quarter have their phone service cut off for lack of payment.

They may have some access, but access is still an issue – both access to broadband and a device…

One-fifth of families who access the Internet only through their mobile devices say too many family members have to share one device. This means that the amount of time each individual has to access the Internet is limited.

This can be a barrier to learning for young people. It can limit their access to resources to complete their homework, as well as create barriers for other learning. Thirty-five percent of youth who have mobile-only access look online for information about things they are interested in. But this goes up to 52 percent when young people have access to an Internet-connected computer.

Possible increase in funds for the Rural Health Care Program

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Looks like there may be more funds for the Rural Health Care Program – FCC Chair Ajit Pai is interested in making that happen…

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced today that he has circulated a draft order to his colleagues that would take immediate action to significantly increase funding for the Universal Service Fund’s Rural Health Care Program.

The program’s current annual funding cap is $400 million. The cap was set in 1997 and was never indexed for inflation. Recently, demand for funding under the program has outpaced the budget, creating uncertainty for patients, health care providers, and communications companies alike.

The Chairman’s order would increase the annual cap to $571 million.

Blandin report on Public ROI for Public investment in rural broadband in Daily Yonder

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It was fun to talk to Tim Marema from the Daily Yonder in Austin (Texas) after presenting with Bernadine Joselyn on the Case Studies Measuring the Impact of Broadband in Five Minnesota Communities – which I worked on with Bill Coleman. Then it was funny to see that interview in the Daily Yonder yesterday.

One question I really liked was sort – why do the study?

Marema: What interested me in this report is that someone could look at this for their own community and, in a rough and ready way, come up with a back-of-the-envelope estimate on what the public return on investment might be in high-speed fiber-to-the-home. Are the methods you used useful to other communities that are looking at broadband investment? 

Treacy: I think it would be …  Because all of a sudden if you’re having a conversation about how much tax money are we willing to put into a solution, well that factors in. I mean if it’s going to increase taxes by only $100 a year, and you know that you’re going to see an increase in value on your home, and an increase in economic benefit of $1,850 [on average for each house], well that $100 seems pretty minor. 

We’re looking at helping people do that back on the envelope math at the broadband conference this fall. (That’s still in development.)  I do hope people are able to use the formulas to figure out ROI for the community and household.

North Carolina sees Minnesota broadband plan as model

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North Carolina Health News reports…

North Carolina is among the first handful of states to establish a rural broadband grant program. Minnesota is seen as one of the leading states with a $20 million broadband grant program.

It’s a bittersweet distinction since Minnesota broadband grants were not funded after the last legislature. But it nice to know that Minnesota is a model.

Blandin Broadband eNews: Federal and MN policymakers on broadband

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Map of MN broadband grant projects

Border to Border Broadband: Transforming Minnesota Oct 23-24
Join policymakers, economic and community development professionals and community broadband champions from across the state for this annual opportunity to learn, connect and engage. https://wp.me/p3if7-4D6

Funding Available from USDA
USDA is seeking applications for grants under the Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant program to provide technical assistance to socially-disadvantaged groups in rural areas. There is room for broadband-related projects. https://wp.me/p3if7-4D2

MN Broadband Task Force May Meeting
In May, the Task Force heard from experts on cyber security at the State, the Education Superhighways (including an update on e-rate and impact on Minnesota Schools) and a presentation on bitcoin and blockchain. https://wp.me/p3if7-4C0

Minnesota Legislature – actions and reactions
In the end, no funding was dedicated to broadband grants in the Legislature because the grants were part of a large supplemental budget bill that was vetoed. Below are articles related to that ongoing conversation in reverse chronological order

Federal Legislature – actions and notes

Provider News

Local Broadband News

Lincoln County
Lincoln County Broadband Feasibility Study finds wireless is more affordable but not permanent fix https://wp.me/p3if7-4AU

Murray County
Murray County Broadband Feasibility Study finds fiber in stages may be possible over years, fixed wireless already available. https://wp.me/p3if7-4AK

Murray & Pipestone Counties
Starting with a feasibility study, moving to getting funding and deploying broadband is happening in communities in Murray and Pipestone Counties through various projects. https://wp.me/p3if7-4Cb

Nobles County
Telecompetitor posts a profile of Nobles County and their journey toward better broadband. https://wp.me/p3if7-4Br

Pickwick
Pickwick is getting online thanks to MN State Funds and HBC https://wp.me/p3if7-4D0

Pipestone County
Pipestone County Broadband Feasibility Study finds that building broadband will require grants https://wp.me/p3if7-4AX

Healthcare facilities in Pipestone County need broadband for telehealth applications https://wp.me/p3if7-4Bx

Rochester
Minnesota WiFi is bringing service to residential and business subscribers across six counties around Rochester. https://wp.me/p3if7-4C4

St Paul
Saint Paul Public Library extends computer and wifi access to Giant Wash Coin Laundry https://wp.me/p3if7-4C6

Yellow Medicine County
Yellow Medicine County Broadband Feasibility Study finds wireless is a temporary solution, grants needed for fiber builds https://wp.me/p3if7-4AN

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

We are looking to add MN broadband-related events to the Blandin on Broadband blog calendar. https://wp.me/P3if7-4yG If you have an event you’d like to add please send it to atreacy@treacyinfo.com

Stirring the Pot – by Bill Coleman

I hope that the screeching halt to the legislative session does not bring an equally painful pause to community efforts to improve Minnesota’s broadband progress.  Those areas with quality broadband are moving fast ahead of the unconnected places.  Economic developers forced to work on improving broadband are left at the starting gate while developers in connected communities are supporting creative entrepreneurs, transforming their workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs and creating a place in the global economy for their community.

 

The loss of $15 million to the Border to Border grant is a huge blow to the many rural places – counties, cities and townships – that have been organizing, strategizing and perfecting broadband implementation plans.  The lack of state funding will put more onus on local resources to fill the gap the provider partners need to make their business case – whether their ROI hurdle is 36, 60 or 120 months.  Communities will have to be smart in how they participate in these projects.  If the funding balance swings too far to the public side, public ownership of networks will require serious consideration.  Communities can then decide whether to partner with a single or with multiple operators to offer services over the public infrastructure.  There are excellent working models for this framework around the country and elsewhere.

 

As the candidates at all levels, maybe most importantly at the local level, hit the campaign trail in the coming weeks, questions about their real commitment to rural broadband deployment need to be asked and answered.  Be specific in your questions and demand specific answers and commitments.  Many candidates will not know much about broadband besides that their prospective constituents want it and need it.  Use the MN Rural Broadband Coalition website (mnbroadbandcoalition.com) to educate the candidates in your area.

Most of all, keep working on your broadband plans and keep developing relationships with prospective partners.  There will likely be opportunities for which the prepared will be ready and the unprepared will miss out.  Don’t miss out!