Monthly Archives: October 2019

Minnesota and Blandin Foundation get nice nod from Christopher Ali as broadband instigators

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Telecometitor has a nice feature on Professor Christopher Ali of the University of Virginia. He researches broadband policy noting…

In comparing what he hears today with what people have told the FCC and USDA in the past, Ali said, “the conversation hasn’t changed at all.”

We still hear that rural areas need broadband and people are “frustrated” because “large telecom is gobbling up the subsidies,” he said.

He also mentions Minnesota and the Blandin Foundation…

Ali singled out several success stories he encountered in his research, including a couple from Minnesota, where the Blandin Foundation has played a key role in spurring rural broadband deployment. In Rock County, Minnesota the community managed to build a fiber-to-the-home network to reach nearly 100% of the 10,000 people in the area. The modern infrastructure helped attract a shrimp company that wanted to set up operations there and although the company ultimately opted against that, the reason was unrelated to broadband but instead related to other Minnesota regulations.

Another success story comes from Winthrop County, Minnesota, where RS Fiber Cooperative built a broadband network that attracted a satellite medical college that required high-speed connectivity, Ali noted.

Also Minnesota gets a nod for our speed goals…

Asked about what the broadband speed target should be, Ali said “100/100 would be amazing” and noted that this is the target that the state of Minnesota has used successfully.

The 2026 speed goals are actually 100/20 (100 Mbps down and 20 up) but anyone applying for broadband grants must build networks that are scalable to 100/100.

Participants Sought for Survey on Small and Mid-size Business Cybersecurity Issues

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The SBA is looking for businesses to take their cybersecurity survey…

The Information Technology Sector Coordinating Council and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are conducting a survey on cybersecurity issues for small and mid-size businesses. The survey is open to all small businesses. This is a voluntary survey and will not publish confidential or identifiable information. It will help inform the Cybersecurity Framework being developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and other agencies. The Cybersecurity Framework aims to help organizations better manage and reduce cybersecurity risk and has implications for some government contracts.

Here is a link to the survey, which will be open until Nov. 11, 2019.

The survey data will be collected and anonymized by ACT | The App Association. If you have any questions about the survey, please email the industry chair, Brian Scarpelli, at BScarpelli@actonline.org.

Aitkin Age says fund broadband to support seniors

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The Aitkin Age is running a series of editorials on issues facing Minnesota’s aging population. Today they recommended some policy action points…

Fully fund the Border-to-Border Broadband Program recognized as a critical factor in the economic and social sustainability of all rural Minnesota communities, which many senior citizens call home. The $40 million in grants approved by the 2019 Legislature will give the program a substantial start in achieving the state’s 2026 goal of reaching everyone with reliable broadband internet. But more funding is needed to see the program fully developed.

MiEnergy Cooperative hosts legislative discuss in Rushford on topics including broadband

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Bluff Country News reports…

MiEnergy Cooperative hosted two field hearings in Rushford on Oct. 3 as part of the Minnesota House of Representatives three-day mini session in southeastern Minnesota.

The cooperative provided testimony on disaster relief and broadband funding for the Greater Minnesota Jobs and Economic Development Hearing. The group of nine representatives also heard testimony from the co-op on energy policy and initiatives for the Energy and Climate Finance and Policy Hearing.

Here’s what they discussed in regard to broadband…

Legislators also heard testimony on what led to the creation of MiBroadband, which was formed by three cooperatives (Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company, MiEnergy and Spring Grove Communications) looking to serve high-speed internet needs of those living in unserved and underserved areas of southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa. Vassil Vutov, MiEnergy’s vice president of information technology, explained how the co-op built a network backbone with a combination of fiber and wireless technology to connect its Rushford and Cresco offices. As the electric industry evolves, communicating via broadband to its 43 substations in Iowa and Minnesota is a necessity for MiEnergy, he said. This combination of fiber and wireless technology, known as fixed wireless broadband, is the solution for the electric co-op’s needs and the ample amount of expandability is how the joint effort with MiBroadband can help make reliable, high-speed internet service a reality for residents living in rural areas.

MiEnergy has wireless towers currently in Cresco, Rushford, Peterson and Fountain. As MiEnergy expands its communications technology to all substations, MiBroadband service can be offered in those areas. MiBroadband CEO Jill Fishbaugher noted its Minnesota Border-to-Border grant application request of $2.2 million of a $5 million project that would bring broadband to 12 townships in Fillmore County and three townships in Mower County. It would add 417 fiber passings and over 1,000 wireless passings.

Announcing 100,000 Udacity Scholarships for America’s Workers

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Udacity offers a wide range of online classes to educate and train American Workers. They are looking to make classes available via scholarship for low income workers. Their website announces…

Udacity is awarding 100,000 need-based scholarships for America’s workers. Win a scholarship to ignite your career in tech. Applications open in early 2020.

Sign up today to be among the first to know when applications open!

Senator Smith talks about broadband in Granite Falls and Montevideo

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Montevideo American News reports on recent meetings in Granite Falls and Montevideo (Chippewa, Renville, and Yellow Medicine Counties)…

On Wednesday October 9, Senator Tina Smith hosted a roundtable discussion in Granite Falls with local leaders and rural community advocates in an attempt to get to the root of rural needs in the broadband game.

The Senator opened the meeting ” I am so thankful you ALL are here this morning, I am here to check in with you”. Smith, who introduced the Revitalizing Underdeveloped Rural Areas and Lands Act (RURAL Act) aiding cooperatives impacted by new tax codes in keeping their ability to get broadband implementation grants without affecting their tax-exempt status said, “I want to understand better how I and the federal government can be a good partner with you as we work to expand broadband in small towns and rural areas”.

Smith detailed her understanding of the negative impacts of insufficient or nonexistent broadband access “If you don’t have access to broadband you can’t get your homework done, you can’t work remotely for your job, your healthcare systems don’t work, you have trouble recruiting people into your community.” Her focus as of late is combating and correcting false data on where broadband actually exists. “We have a federal government pushing out a significant amount of money but sometimes it’s pushing out that money based on maps that are not at all accurate about where there is coverage, or there is coverage but it’s pitiful. It’s a few drops of water coming out of a pipe. It doesn’t begin to meet the needs of the community” . The Senator was quick to point out that even though Minnesota broadband coverage maps makes it appear most households are serviced “there are still 145,000 households that don’t have it, that doesn’t even count the households sitting at the end of the pipe with a few drops, not able to do what they need to do.” Participants went around the table, taking two minutes each to detail there broadband access concerns and interests.

Broadband Struggles in Greater Minnesota featured on Almanac

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Last Friday TPT’s Almanac did a nice feature on rural broadband. It’s a nice piece on a range of issues. And it’s only a 5-minute video.

The spoke to some folks who have trouble running credit card, and therefore a business, because of slow connections. The spoke to folks at Frontier, Brent Christensen at MN Telecom Alliance and Gary Johnson at Paul Bunyan Telephone (Cooperative). So they really got a wide range of views from providers.

Monticello receives prestigious award for broadband leadership from Blandin Foundation

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I suspect I’ll see a few more of the Blandin Broadband award announcements. I shared the live unveiling last week during the broadband conference but each of the winners has worked hard and I didn’t do individual posts about each one so I’ll post these local announcements as I see them. This one comes from the Monticello Times…

 A state leader in broadband initiatives has recognized the City of Monticello for its support of FiberNet.

The Blandin Foundation recognized the City of Monticello with its Courageous Leadership Award. Monticello was recognized for its early recognition of the importance of telecommunications to its economic future and for its perseverance in deploying a fiber-optic network, FiberNet, that has transformed the city’s technology capabilities, Blandin officials stated.

The recgonition was made in Nisswa at the 15th annual Blandin Foundation broadband conference.

“Thanks to this municipally-owned fiber-to-the-home network, the City of Monticello has transitioned from a poorly connected community to one of the top connected communities in the nation,” said Bernadine Joselyn, director of public policy and engagement at Blandin Foundation.

“Monticello leaders never wavered in their belief that access to broadband is essential to everything from economic vitality to quality of life,” Joselyn said.

Monticello City Administrator Jeff O’Neill accepted the award on behalf of the City of Monticello.

“Vitality can’t be divided between urban and rural; all communities deserve the tools necessary to thrive in the modern world,” O’Neill said.

 

Lincoln County Board renews their membership in the MN Broadband Coalition

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The Marshall Independent reports on a recent Lincoln County Board meeting…

In other business, the board agreed to renew Lincoln County’s membership in the Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition. The group asked for $1,000 in funds, but agreed to allow member counties to remain part of the organization for any contribution of $500 or more.

Commissioner Joe Drietz said he favors keeping the county’s share at $500, with the possibility of giving more in future years if rural broadband proposals continue to move forward.

“The $500 is what we’ve been paying each year to get things started,” Drietz said. “We still haven’t gotten to the point of having an implementation phase.”

The Coalition is always looking for new members. They recently presented an update and plans for 2020 at the MN Broadband Conference. You can see the presentation in the video below:

New Video: From Crops to Co-ops: Small Towns Want Better Internet!

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The Community Network folks from the Institute of Local Self Reliance have gone into animation…

In rural communities, large companies often won’t invest in high-quality Internet network infrastructure due to the lack of population density. Increasingly, rural electric and communications cooperatives are filling the void and providing the Internet access small towns and surrounding areas need. In order to illustrate the challenges facing these small rural towns, we’ve developed a series of videos titled, “From Crops to Co-ops: Small Towns Want Better Internet!”

The video certainly has a point of view – but I have to admit that I’ve had people email me with similar stories and complaints from communities without an invested provider.

Broadband access tough to get on farms according to the United Soybean Board

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Progressive Farmer reports on the state of broadband on farms based on a survey of 2000 farmers by the United Soybean Board. I’ve compiled the statistics they report into bullet points:

  • 60 percent of farmers say they don’t have enough internet connectivity to run their businesses
  • 59 percent of farmers that participated in the study said they want to incorporate more data into their operations
  • 78 percent of farmers don’t have a choice in internet service providers
  • 40 percent of farmers have a fixed internet connection, while others rely on satellite connections.
  • More than 90 percent access the internet on their smartphones, which they say is the most reliable.

Why do they want broadband?

  • 37 percent wanted to increase their use of data to make better decisions
  • 19 percent want to use it to improve their efficiency
  • 10 percent cited cost savings

EVENT: NTIA’s BroadbandUSA Practical Broadband Conversations Free Webinar Oct 16

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An invitation from NTIA…

You are invited to join NTIA’s BroadbandUSA Practical Broadband Conversations Webinar

Topic: Broadband’s Role in Revitalizing Main Street

Date:   Wednesday, October 16, 2019

   Time:  2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET

Overview: Broadband connectivity helps to ensure that local communities are vibrant and successful. In parts of the country that are not fully connected, some communities are creating partnerships with local businesses, health organizations, schools and art groups to solve these challenges. These innovative partnerships leverage existing assets to build new opportunities. Join NTIA’s BroadbandUSA to hear case studies of models that are working to successfully connect Main Street in underserved areas.

Speakers:

  • Michael W. Burns, Senior Advisor to the Regional Administrator, EPA Region 4/CUPP Program Manager
  • Mona El Khafif, Associate Professor UVA School of Architecture, RCN Co-Director MainStreet21
  • Fletcher Kittredge, CEO, GWI

Please pre-register for the webinar using this registration link.   After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Want to access past Practical Broadband Conversations webinars? Visit our webinar archives for past presentations, transcripts and audio recordings.

More info on Aitkin County’s $1.9 million in USDA funding for broadband

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I reported on the award a few weeks ago, AgWeek provides more details…

In Aitkin County, USDA will provide a $1.95 million grant to Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative. The project will create a Fiber to the Premises Network to 235 establishments in parts of the county, including tribal land and facilities of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

The project seeks to help with business and economic development, as well as telehealth and educational improvements, USDA says.

A total of $152 million is being invested in 19 projects in 14 states, mostly in rural areas, according to information from USDA.

“Deploying high-speed broadband internet connectivity, or ‘e-Connectivity,’ in rural America expands access to essential health, educational, social and business opportunities,” USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald LaVoy said in a written statement.

A 2017 USDA report identified e-connectivity as a key to improving rural prosperity. To read the report: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/rural-prosperity-repo….

Google brings workshops for entrepreneurs to St. Cloud

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St Cloud Times reports…

Google will be coming to St. Cloud next week with a day of workshops for local entrepreneurs.

On Friday, Oct. 18, Google will partner with Great River Regional Library, 1300 W. St. Germain St., to house workshops from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The event is part of the company’s Grow with Google initiative, which aims to create economic opportunities across the U.S., according to a press release.

Google staff will teach workshops aimed to provide resources for community members to grow businesses and find jobs, according to the release. Attendees can learn skills ranging from how to set up email accounts to ways to advertise their business.

“Great River Regional Library is excited to bring this opportunity, Grow with Google, to Central Minnesota,” said Karen Pundsack, executive director of Great River Regional Library, in a press release.

There is no cost, and attendees can pre-register for workshops or drop in and sign up for individual 20-minute training sessions with Google staff.

“Many job seekers in our community are looking for their next opportunity. We’ll have a class to connect them with new ways to build their digital skills,” Pundsack said.

To register, visit g.co/growMinnesota. Space will be limited. 

I attended what sounds like similar training in Minneapolis a few years ago. I think it was time well spent and would be even better time well spent if you weren’t at all uncomfortable with the technology.

Gigabit service now offered in St. Joseph (Stearns County)

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The News Leaders reports…

A significant speed upgrade to Midco’s St. Joseph service announced Oct. 8 will mean faster, more reliable internet for residents and businesses. Higher-speed service will spur innovation, economic development and education, company leaders said.

Midco announced a $2.1 million technology and facility investment that opens the way for the gigabit internet service.

The new technology provides up to 35 times faster than average internet service, according to the company.

From Midco’s St. Joseph facility, the gigabit service branches out to 15 other Central Minnesota cities.

Finding ways to provide high-speed internet for small cities and rural areas is a big issue for government and the event attracted a number of local, state and national officials.

St. Joseph Mayor Rick Shultz said the faster service should help the city attract start-up, high-tech businesses as well as residents who need fast, reliable internet to work from home.

Rep. Tom Emmer, a member of the House of Representatives Rural Broadband Caucus, said that high-speed internet is a key infrastructure investment that will allow people to continue to live outside of big cities but still access to jobs and services.

Includes the following areas…

The other Central Minnesota cities branching off from the St. Joseph equipment are: Annandale, Avon, Becker, Clear Lake, Clearwater, Cold Spring, Foley, Holdingford, Pierz, Richmond, Rockville, Royalton, St. Augusta, St. Stephen and Waite Park.