Today, Representative Baker introduced HF4627. Here’s the short description:
Telemedicine examination of a patient by prescribing practitioner permitted before prescription drug issuance order for medication assisted therapy for substance abuse disorder treatment.
It was referred to Health and Human Services Policy. There is a companion bill that was introduced in the Senate on April 16 (SF4478).
I have seen articles saying that Internet is built to withstand the increased quarantine traffic and some that say, we’ll do OK and now one that says some areas are slowing down. The Guardian reports…
The Covid-19 crisis is exposing how the cracks in the US’s creaking digital infrastructure are potentially putting lives at risk, exclusive research shows.
With most of the country on lockdown and millions relying on the internet for work, healthcare, education and shopping, research by M-Lab, an open source project which monitors global internet performance, showed that internet service slowed across the country after the lockdowns.
Here’s what that looks like in the US..
And a close up on MN (blue is better than 3 Mbps upload)…
Minnesota doesn’t look too bad – unless of course you live in an orange area. And we are talking speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 up, which may not be sufficient at a time when we are all working, learning and staying healthy (both via telemedicine and Netflix) online!
The FCC recognizes the problem but perhaps not the severity…
The FCC said more than 21.3 million people don’t have any internet access, though many experts think this is an undercount because the FCC’s reporting system is flawed. Broadband Now, a company which helps people find ISPs, said in a February report the number is close to 42 million. Microsoft researchers have pinned the number without access at 163 million Americans.
Hosted by the Minnesota Youth Council and Youthprise, this looks like an interesting conversation from the points of view of the guest stars – teachers and students…
Join Representatives from the Minnesota Youth Council and Youthprise for a live-streamed conversation on the ways in which distance learning is impacting students and their learning experience. Listen as they talk through challenges, opportunities and resources for students across the state.
Tuesday (May 5) 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Last week I wrote about the teacher in Spring Valley MN, who does her work at 1am, because that’s when the Internet works for her. Then she wakes up her second grade daughter at 5am to do her work . Not only is that crazy for them – it means the teacher cannot communicate effectively with her students during the school day and the daughter can’t communicate with her teachers. The idea of streamed classes is impossible for them – and therefore likely for the whole class and indeed school.
CNN tells a similar story that I’ll share below. Now is a good time to share these stories because there’s a fix for this problem. As a country, as an industry we know how to expand and improve broadband. I remember talking to Governor Walz at an event related to homelessness. We spoke briefly about broadband and he said – now that’s one we can win. Homelessness is more difficult. Technology alone won’t solve it. It’s the same with COVID-19. We don’t know how to win that one yet. The recommendations are far-reaching, which could indicate that we’re gong to be here a while.
So why not fix one big problem ? Fix broadband. It will take a big check but we can do it. And once we do – these teachers can teach, students can learn, more and more people can work from home. More and more people can watch Netflix from home, which is turns out is the ironically named killer app. So with that in mind, here’s another story from CNN…
Every Sunday since the coronavirus lockdown started, Stephanie Anstey drives 20 minutes from her home in Grottoes, Virginia, to sit in her school’s near-empty parking lot and type away on her laptop.
Anstey, a middle school history teacher, lives in a valley between two mountains, where the only available home internet option is a satellite connection. Her emails can take 30 seconds to load, only to quit mid-message. She can’t even open files on Google Drive, let alone upload lesson modules or get on a Zoom call with colleagues.
“You just have to plan,” Anstey said. “It’s not a Monday through Friday job anymore.”
So Anstey’s new office is in her car in the corner of the parking lot where the WiFi signal is strongest. She comes here when she needs to upload instructional videos, answer emails from students and parents or participate in the occasional video conferencing call. It’s not ideal, she says, but using her slow internet at home is even more frustrating.
Anstey’s predicament casts a new light on a longstanding digital divide that is being made even starker by the coronavirus pandemic.
MPS said final details of the event are still being worked out but High School Associate Superintendent Shawn Harris-Berry said plans include MPS airing graduation ceremonies for each high school on Facebook Live through a link on the district’s website and on Minneapolis Comcast Cable channel 15. The plan is for the virtual ceremonies to be held on the same dates as the originally-scheduled ceremonies. Portions of the ceremonies will be live and portions will be pre-recorded. All recorded ceremonies will be archived on the MPS website for later viewing, according to the news release.
It’s a sign of the times. My heart goes out to the seniors and their families. A Facebook graduation is not like a graduation in real time but it is much better than nothing.
Big plans from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce…
House Democratic Plan to Connect All Americans to Affordable Broadband Internet
Invest in Internet Infrastructure
- Deploy High-Speed Broadband – Invests $80 billion over five years to deploy secure and resilient broadband infrastructure to expand access for communities nationwide, connecting unserved and underserved rural, suburban, and urban areas across the country while prioritizing persistent poverty communities
- Offer Low-Interest Financing for Broadband Deployment – Invests $5 billion over five years for low-interest financing of broadband deployment through a new program that would allow eligible entities to apply for secured loans, lines of credit, or loan guarantees to finance broadband infrastructure build out projects
- Dig Once – Promotes the installation of broadband conduit during the construction of any road receiving federal funding to facilitate the building of broadband network infrastructure
- Invest Federal Funds Efficiently – Establishes the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, responsible for coordinating with other federal agencies to streamline the application processes for broadband funding programs; ensure that broadband-related support is being administered in an efficient, technology-neutral, and financially sustainable manner; and track all federal money used for construction and use of broadband infrastructure
Ensure Internet Affordability
- Promote Competition – Gives preference in awarding funding to broadband builds that will provide open access to new infrastructure to allow additional providers to use taxpayer funded infrastructure on fair terms to provide more options to consumers
- Require an Affordable Option – Requires internet service providers whose networks are built with new federal funding to offer at least one affordable option
- Enhance Payment Support – Increases existing payment support for consumers, expands eligibility for and applicability of support, and eliminates barriers to helping low-income and recently unemployed Americans afford broadband access
- Protect Local Options – Guarantees the right of local governments, public-private partnerships, and cooperatives to deliver broadband service, which has lowered prices in many communities
- Gather Pricing Data – Directs the Federal Communications Commission to collect data on prices charged for broadband service throughout the country and make that data widely available with appropriate privacy protections
- Learn More Information – Directs the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth to conduct a study on the extent to which cost remains a barrier to broadband adoption and the feasibility of providing additional targeted federal subsidies to offset costs for low-income households
Enable Internet Adoption
- Promoting Broadband Adoption and Digital Skills – Provides over $1 billion to establish the State Digital Equity Capacity Program, an annual grant program for states to create and implement comprehensive digital equity plans to help close gaps in broadband adoption and digital skills. Also establishes the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program to further support these efforts through digital inclusion projects undertaken by individual organizations and local communities.
- Lend Mobile Hotspots – Provides for the rapid deployment of mobile hotspots and other internet-connected devices to enable students without internet at home to participate in remote learning and complete homework assignments requiring an internet connection
- Connect School Buses – Authorizes funding for Wi-Fi on school buses so that students can be connected, especially in rural areas where long bus rides are common
Fierce Telecom reports…
Companies that deploy fiber broadband networks are seeing increased demand for their services, as stay-at-home orders keep millions of Americans connected to family, work and school via internet.
“We’re seeing demand up significantly right now,” said Clay Branch, director of network development at C-Spire, speaking on a webinar presented by the Fiber Broadband Association. “Obviously, demand for residential internet is up.” C-Spire serves the state of Mississippi and offers gigabit speeds through fiber deployments in select areas. Branch describes this service as “one gigabit symmetrical service” because it provides gigabit speeds on the uplink as well as the downlink.
That means at least two things. First, it’s going to take longer to get fiber for upgrades. So order now! Second, more people are getting fiber which means a deepening of the digital divide as more people get faster connectivity.
From the MN Broadband Coalition…
Memo To: MRBC Members
Memo From: Nathan Zacharias
Re: Broadband Funding
Date: 5/1/2020
House, Senate Send Broadband Funding to the Floor, Differences Remain
Saint Paul—With 17 days left in the 2020 legislative session, the House and Senate have sent legislation to the floors of each chamber that would spend $10 million on the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program. Additionally, a distance learning internet access program for students without broadband during the 2020 school year would receive $8 million or $15 million (depending on which version prevails) and a similar reimbursement program for telemedicine technology would receive $2 million. But the two chambers are trying to pass this legislation in slightly different ways.
The Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed Sen. Torrey Westrom’s (R-Elbow Lake) SF 4494 on Wednesday, April 29. The committee had two robust hearings on SF 4494 and worked through members’ concerns with spending new state dollars during economic uncertainty. The Senate Finance Committee decided that funding in SF 4494 for schools and telemedicine should be spent from funds in the federal coronavirus relief account if possible, but would come from the state’s general fund if they were not eligible for federal funds. The $10 million for the broadband grant program must qualify for funding via the federal coronavirus relief account or the appropriation is cancelled. The Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget will make this determination. The bill was sent to the Senate floor for final debate and passage.
The House Greater Minnesota Jobs and Economic Development Finance Division amended and passed Rep. Rob Ecklund’s (DFL-International Falls) HF 3029 on Monday, April 27 and sent the bill to the Ways & Means Committee. During the Ways & Means hearing on Friday, May 1, the committee decided to attach HF 3029 as an amendment to a larger COVID-19 relief package, HF 1507. The broadband language included in HF 1507 is similar to the language in SF 4494 passed by the Senate Finance Committee, with two important changes: the $10 million for broadband grants should come from the federal coronavirus relief account if it qualifies, but would be spent from the general fund if it does not; and the committee increased the distance learning funding from $8 million to $15 million. In addition to broadband funding, this package includes funding for personal care assistance rate increases, small business loans, and homelessness prevention and assistance. The Ways and Means Committee passed the bill 18-7 and sent it to the House floor for final debate and passage.
(note: HF 3029 was also sent to the Rules and Legislative Administration Committee in case it needs to move independently of other COVID-19 funding before the end of the session)
While this process is difficult to follow, it’s clear that the House and Senate are on the same page when it comes to prioritizing additional funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program. Senate and House leaders are facing incredibly difficult choices during the pandemic and will face even harder decisions in the coming weeks and months with the state’s uncertain economic future. Through all this, they have consistently said that connecting more Minnesotans to broadband should remain a top priority. We are thankful for their leadership.
The two chambers will need to find a way to agree on how to pair up their COVID-19 relief funding priorities and to reconcile the differences between them. The Senate has not yet put forward a comprehensive spending package to match HF 1507, but there is certainly a possibility they will. The Legislature still has work to do on a Bonding bill and a few other outstanding items. The final stretch of days during the legislative session will be fluid and legislation will move quickly. We will continue to provide you with the most currently available information as it happens.
Today I was a panel for MN CLE on Vital Role of Telecommunications During the Pandemic. I was the only one not associated with a broadband provider. So I mostly told stories of what people are doing on the frontlines of trying to get kids learning online but it occurred to me that folks might be interested in quick snapshots of what’s been happening in Minnesota.
From my fellow panelists I learned that everyone is seeing an increase in traffic. It seemed like 25 percent at peaks was a popular answer. Also, everyone has seen the peak hours change from night (starting at 8-9 pm) to work or school day. I think everyone had a deal to provide free or low cost broadband for folks who couldn’t afford it. And people were doing what they could to create community hotspots near areas without access.
It was interesting to hear that there was an increase in new subscribers who didn’t ask for any low cost options, which means there likely people who chose not to have broadband regardless of cost.
I think there was a shared feeling that it was great to see everyone rally round to meet the immediate need as quickly and as well as possible but that policymakers should not think that short term solutions meet long term needs. A hotspot in the school parking lot is better than nothing BUT Minnesotans need to be able to access broadband from their homes to work, learn and keep healthy! That will take public private partnerships – like the MN Broadband grants.
Local hospital officials believe the health care changes brought by COVID-19 will forever alter health care delivery.
The comments came during a health care roundtable hosted Thursday by 2nd Congressional District Rep. Angie Craig, DFL-Minnesota. The briefing was intended to provide updates on the implementation of federal relief packages and protecting front-line workers. Discussion came the same day Gov. Tim Walz extended Minnesota’s stay-at-home order until May 18.
Northfield Hospital and Clinics President and CEO Steve Underdahl told Craig doesn’t expect virtual health care to significantly diminish once the pandemic passes. Instead, he believes providers will question the necessity of face-to-face appointments.
But note the one exception…
Underdahl said a limiting factor in virtual visits could be the divide between broadband access in exurban Northfield compared to the surrounding rural area.
Today the Ways and Means heard from Representative Ecklund on HF 3029 (Broadband development grant program annual statutory appropriation provided, and money appropriated). Ecklund’s bill was rolled into HF1507, as stated on the Ways & Means page…
BILL REMOVED: HF 3029 (Ecklund) Broadband development grant program annual statutory appropriation provided, and money appropriated (pending referral)
NOTE: A decision has been made to package the four COVID-19 bills that were the agenda into a larger COVID-19 Economic Security Act package. HF 1507 will be the vehicle. A series of motions to move the language adopted in the individual bills into HF 1507 as separate articles will be made before HF 1507 moves out to General Register. At this point, HF 3029 (Ecklund) remains in the Rules Committee. The broadband proposal will be offered as an amendment to HF 1507.
The bill provides:
Talking points seemed to be:
There is a similar bill in the Senate (SF4494) that passed to Senate Floor on April 30, 2020.
There is clearly frustration from legislators working with the new online system, which makes the discussion on how to serve students who are suddenly working all-online – or at least remotely where online isn’t viable – so poignant.
In December I wrote about the potential dangers of changing management of the .org top domain. In short, the danger is that the new management (registrar) could increase the charges and/or they could alter intent, which has historically been to offer a place for nonprofit organizations.
ICANN reports that have not approved such a move…
After completing its evaluation, the ICANN Board finds that the public interest is better served in withholding consent as a result of various factors that create unacceptable uncertainty over the future of the third largest gTLD registry. Factors that were considered in determining reasonableness include, but are not limited to:
A change from the fundamental public interest nature of PIR to an entity that is bound to serve the interests of its corporate stakeholders, and which has no meaningful plan to protect or serve the .ORG community.
ICANN is being asked to agree to contract with a wholly different form of entity; instead of maintaining its contract with the mission-based, not-for-profit that has responsibly operated the .ORG registry for nearly 20 years, with the protections for its own community embedded in its mission and status as a not-for-profit entity.
The US$360 million debt instrument forces PIR to service that debt and provide returns to its shareholders, which raises further question about how the .ORG registrants will be protected or will benefit from this conversion. This is a fundamental change in financial position from a not-for-profit entity.
There are additional uncertainties, such as an untested Stewardship Council that might not be properly independent, or why PIR needs to change its corporate form to pursue new business initiatives.
The transaction as proposed relies on ICANN as a backstop for enforcement of disputes between the .ORG community and the registry operator in an untested manner.
Joe Nathan, from the Center for School Change, is a name I know from back when I worked in Service Learning. It’s interesting to hear from someone whose focus is education, not technology. He has a column in the Mille Lacs Messenger…
Wendy Hatch, MDE’s public affairs manager, sent me responses received on Friday, April 17. About 230 of Minnesota districts and charters responded. That’s slightly less than half of Minnesota’s 496 traditional districts and chartered public schools. While results varied dramatically from one district to another, they showed that more than 7,000 students didn’t have access to a computer or related equipment, and more than 7,000 didn’t have access to high-speed internet or broadband. This is a huge issue in many rural and suburban as well as urban communities.
That doesn’t include the Twin Cities…
State numbers above didn’t include Minneapolis or St. Paul. Julie Schultz Brown, executive director of marketing and communications for Minneapolis Public Schools, said they’ve found that 1,878 MPS students needed devices, and somewhat less 3,100 needed internet connectivity. That’s after MPS delivered more than 12,000 computers and many internet hot spots, which allow connectivity.
Kevin Burns, director of St. Paul Public Schools’ office of communications, reported that the district has distributed many Chromebooks and hot spots. However, as of April 17, 839 students did not have necessary equipment, and 2,701 did not have internet access.
He has recommendations…
This leads me to several recommendations: