Monthly Archives: January 2022

MN & WI farm credit groups supports rural entrepreneurship – including broadband

Posted on by
Reply

The Brainerd Dispatch reports…

Rural entrepreneurship in Wisconsin and Minnesota will get a boost from a newly created program in the Extension programs at the states’ land grant universities.

The rural entrepreneurship program was announced in a news release this week by University of Wisconsin Extension Dean Karl Martin and University of Minnesota Extension Dean Beverly Durgan. Two farm credit associations — Compeer Financial and AgCountry Farm Credit Services — contributed $400,000 across four years to make the joint program possible.

The new program will build upon research and outreach capabilities of Extension. The program will create and build linkages in entrepreneurial networks, improve the availability and use of resources to entrepreneurs, create opportunities for entrepreneurs and develop the skills necessary for success in the modern rural economy.

“There’s great energy around starting new businesses in our states, but in rural locations there are unique challenges, too, ranging from financing to broadband and child care,” said Durgan in a news release.

OPPORTUNITY: MN Broadband Task Force looking for one member

Posted on by
Reply

The Minnesota Secretary of State reports…

The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State today released the January 2022 notice of vacancies for various state boards, councils and committees that are accepting applications, due 1/22/2022. Minnesotans are encouraged to apply and serve in demonstration of public service. The full list of vacancies are listed below and here: Open Positions.

They are looking for a member for the MN Broadband Task Force…

Governor’s Task Force On Broadband
Vacancies: 1 Seat — Member
You can learn more and see who has applied online.

New rules mean broadband providers can’t upsell customers using government subsidies

Posted on by
Reply

Ars Technica reports…

Less than a year after Verizon and other ISPs forced users to switch plans in order to get government-funded discounts, a new federal program will prevent such upselling by requiring ISPs to let customers obtain subsidies on any Internet plan.

With last year’s $50-per-month Emergency Broadband Benefit that was created by Congress, the Federal Communications Commission let ISPs participate in the program as long as they offered the discount on at least one service plan. The FCC said it did so to encourage participation by providers, but some major ISPs drastically limited the subsidy-eligible plans—forcing users to switch to plans that could be more expensive in order to get a temporary discount.

Congress subsequently created a replacement program that will offer $30 monthly subsidies to people with low incomes. The program also specified that ISPs “shall allow an eligible household to apply the affordable connectivity benefit to any Internet service offering of the participating provider at the same terms available to households that are not eligible households.” The FCC still has to make rules for implementing the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), but that requirement prevented the FCC from using the same one-plan rule that helped ISPs use the program as an upselling opportunity.

Dakota County libraries check out Chromebooks and Hotspots

Posted on by
Reply

The following is helpful if you’re in Dakota County or if you are in a different county and want a model to replicate to get Chromebooks and hotspots into the hands of their residents. The Dakota County newsletter reports…

Dakota County Library is making is easier for you to do schoolwork, look for a job and connect with family and friends online.

Anyone with a Dakota County Library card can check out a Chromebook and a Wi-Fi hotspot from an of the none county library locations. Check out either a kit that includes a Chromebook and a Wi-Fi hotspot or just a hotspot for up to six weeks. Just like other library materials, there’s no charge ro check out and borrow devices.

Learn more.

MN hospital reduces postpartum hemorrhages 40% after retooling EHR

Posted on by
Reply

It’s great when we can calculate how technology improves how we live and while I understand this doesn’t require broadband to track this info – the move to remote care for as many people as possible during COVID means that every tool we have makes staying home safer. Becker’s Health IT reports…

Robbinsdale, Minn.-based North Memorial Hospital used an EHR to create a screening tool that would predict, identify and guide postpartum hemorrhages, resulting in a 40 percent reduction, according to a Jan. 10 report in EpicShare.

North Memorial’s clinical practice committee analyzed data to determine which patients were at “high-risk” of hemorrhaging. The committee found that high-risk pregnancy didn’t always equate to hemorrhaging.

The committee then created a screening tool within Epic’s EHR system that would calculate a patient’s risk based on:

  • What type of birth it is: vaginal or C-sections, as C-sections have higher rates of hemorrhaging.
  • Where the placenta is: Placenta previa, or low-lying placenta, increases hemorrhage risk.
  • Hemoglobin measurements, or a low hematocrit measurement.
  • Any pre-existing conditions such as obesity or a bleeding disorder.

North Memorial  also used Epic to create a quantitative blood loss calculator to improve response time for hemorrhages.

OPPORTUNITY: In Cloquet MN, please take the broadband survey to help plan for better broadband (Carlton County)

Posted on by
Reply

Fox21 News reports…

 A foundation is recognizing Cloquet as an area of rural Minnesota that could use some help boosting its access to broadband internet.

The Blandin Foundation offers $75,000 matching grants to help advance technology goals for communities that apply to be a part of the program, and Cloquet is one of the newest cities to receive funding from it.

Now, Cloquet is asking residents to fill out a survey so city leaders can better understand what the internet needs are in the area, so they can help more residents connect to broadband services.

Leaders say that these past two years have shown how reliant society is on internet access to be able to work or learn from home.

“We forget sometimes that there are people in our communities who don’t have that same access,” Dr. Michael Cary, the ISD 94 superintendent, said. “And it becomes extremely critical in situations where we have to deliver education or learning through that medium.”

Dr. Cary added that 25% of Cloquet students don’t have access to reliable high speed internet.

The survey runs until January 31st, and you’ll be entered to win an iPad if you take it.

AT&T’s Paul Weirtz named state president of AT&T Wisconsin (as well as MN)

Posted on by
Reply

If you don’t know him from anywhere else, careful readers will know Paul Weirtz from his seat on the MN Broadband Task Force. Wisconsin Business reports that we’re going to have to share him – and congrats to Paul…

AT&T* announced today that Paul Weirtz has been named state president of AT&T Wisconsin.

As president of AT&T Wisconsin, Weirtz will lead all external, government and community affairs efforts for AT&T in the state. Weirtz succeeds Scott VanderSanden, who retired in December after nearly 33 years with the company.

“I am honored to lead AT&T external affairs in the great State of Wisconsin,” said Weirtz. “AT&T has a long history of investing in Wisconsin, and I’m excited to work closely with our team to continue those investments, from expanding our networks to giving back to our local communities.”

Weirtz has more than 22 years with AT&T. In 2013, he was named president of AT&T Minnesota. He has served on the Minnesota Governor’s Broadband Task Force since 2015 and played a key role in the passage of small cell legislation in the state in 2017. He has also held positions in local external affairs and government relations for the company.

As current state president for Minnesota, Weirtz will lead legislative and community affairs operations for both Wisconsin and Minnesota, working closely with legislators, business leaders and other policymakers.

HBC Bringing 10 Gigabit Residential Fiber Service to Winona

Posted on by
Reply

Good news for Winona…

The City of Winona is about to become the fastest broadband community in southeastern Minnesota. Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc. (HBC) has announced it will be constructing a new Fiber-To-The-Premise (FTTP) network in Winona, MN.
HBC President, Dan Pecarina, made the announcement today saying the time has come to update the existing network with state-of-the-art fiber-optics. The project will
allow HBC to provide faster Internet speeds than any other service provider in the area.
“In 2022, HBC is celebrating its 25th anniversary. And what better way to begin our 25th year of serving the Winona community than to build a new, state-of-the-art, fiber-optic network,” said Pecarina. “This new network will provide service speeds of up to 10 Gigabits to our Winona customers, the fastest broadband Internet available.”
Pecarina stressed that all Internet speeds will be symmetrical, meaning a connection with equal download and upload speeds. Gigabit symmetrical speeds are best
delivered with FTTP networks.
“Customers are going to notice their Internet connection will be much smoother and faster, with noticeably lower latency. Higher upload speeds are becoming more and
more necessary given the growth and usage of video conferencing, virtual reality, and other two-way communication services. We are extremely excited about this project and the benefits it will offer Winona’s residents and businesses,” he said.
Construction is scheduled to begin this spring. The project will employ XGS-PON technology which, according to Jim Kronebusch, HBC VP of Technology, will allow the delivery of 10 Gigabit Internet services.
HBC is deploying GigaHome Blast routers in customer’s homes so they can take full advantage of the ultra-fast Internet speeds and allow them to manage their home WiFi
network.
“These routers are WiFi 6 capable, extremely reliable, extraordinarily versatile, and offer exceptional range. And if needed, our Mesh WiFi extenders will fully cover any
size home, and even the garage or back yard” Kronebusch said. “And with our HBC GigaHome app, customers will be able to control their home networks themselves. This includes network security, parental controls, and more.”

HBC’s predecessor, Luminet, was created in 1992 by Bob Kierlin, founder of Fastenal.
Kierlin and others in the community, created the network to connect Winona’s government, health care, business, K-12 and post-secondary education facilities with plans for that network to eventually provide access to City of Winona residents. In 1997, Luminet’s board of directors voted to build a community-wide hybrid fiber-coax network that would serve the greater Winona area and HBC was born.
After completing construction of the network in Winona, HBC expanded its reach adding the communities of St. Charles and Wabasha, with Wabasha being the company’s first all-fiber-optic network in 2005.
Since then, HBC has grown to serve more than 30 towns and cities throughout southeastern Minnesota, with 28 of those being Fiber-To-The-Premise (FTTP) communities. In 2021, HBC began construction of a FTTP network in Hastings, MN.
The company also serves thousands of homes and businesses in some of the most rural areas with its fixed-wireless broadband product, HBC Air.
HBC also built and manages the RS Fiber Cooperative network in central Minnesota.
This network has brought gigabit broadband service to the rural towns and farming areas in parts of five counties.

FCC Draft of Broadband Subsidy Rules – doesn’t include subsidies for smart phones

Posted on by
Reply

Next TV reports…

As advertised, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has released a draft of an order and further notice of proposed rulemaking (FNPR) on rules to govern the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) broadband subsidies, including proposing to allow Emergency Broadband Benefit providers to automatically qualify to provide ACP-authorized service.

But despite the urging of the wireless industry, the FCC is not expanding the definition of covered devices to include smart phones.

The idea is to give the public and stakeholders time to comment on the item, though they will have to read fast since it is over 150 pages long.

The ACP program provides up to $30 per month toward broadband service (up to $75 for tribal communities) and up to $100 toward a broadband access device, excluding smart phones.

The public will have only until January 11 to comment given a congressional deadline that the FCC have promulgated the rules by January 14, which the commission still needs to vote on.

The FCC report and order is proposing to make the ACP technology neutral, which means among other things, that eligible entities will include both cable and wireless internet service providers, but also municipal broadband and co-ops.

But it is not proposing requiring ISPs to turn over service plan information during the ACP election process, saying it was convinced by commenters, which included ACAC, NCTA, INCOMPAS and many others, that “such an administrative burden could discourage provider participation.” The burden being “filing information on all service plans for a particular provider,” which “could result in thousands of permutations of price, service characteristics, and geographic information that would delay election notice filing and processing.”

I am an advocate for having an actual computer to get work/homework done but I also recognize that not everyone can afford a computer and not everyone lives a life that accommodates the time and space to sit down with a computer and therefore for some folks the smartphone is essential, more practical and deserving of support.

Rep Fishbach lists policy highlights from 2021 – broadband makes the list

Posted on by
Reply

In Forum posts a letter from Representative Fischbach on her highlights and lowlights of 2021…

The 7th District covers most of western Minnesota and is one of the top ag-producing districts in the nation. However, approximately one in five farms lack access to high-speed internet. Getting high-speed access to every corner of our district is a top priority. That is why I was especially proud, as Ranking Member of the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee, to work with fellow Republicans to introduce the Broadband for Rural America Act. The framework of this bill was incorporated into the Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act, which passed unanimously and was the only major broadband infrastructure proposal to advance through committee this Congress. It provides a massive investment in USDA rural broadband programs, additional technical assistance to rural communities and service providers, assists with confirming broadband availability maps, and offers increased program accountability and oversight.

Rep Fischbach voted against the Infrastructure Bill that will bring funding to broadband across the US.

OPPORTUNITY: FCC Commits Over $361M in Additional Emergency Connectivity Funding

Posted on by
Reply

The FCC announces…

The Federal Communications Commission today announced that it is committing $361,037,156.16 in its latest wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support.  This round of commitments will support 802 schools, 49 libraries and 8 consortia, which are approved to receive nearly 654,000 connected devices and over 313,000 broadband connections.  Today’s seventh funding wave brings total commitments to nearly $4.2 billion since the program was launched on June 29, 2021, supporting students, school staff, and library patrons in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

“Today’s funding announcement will provide 700,000 more schoolchildren with the digital tools they need to connect with teachers and classmates,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel.  “The Emergency Connectivity Fund is the single largest effort to close the Homework Gap by bringing connectivity and devices to students and library patrons.  The need for this support is apparent in both rural and urban America and I’m pleased to note that with this funding we are supporting communities stretching from Aniak, Alaska to New York City.”

The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework and virtual learning, to ensure students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education.  Total commitments to date are supporting over 9,800 schools, 800 libraries, and 100 consortia for over 8.9 million connected devices and over 4.7 million broadband connections.  Today’s announcement includes nearly $155 million in commitments from Window 1 applications and over $206 million in commitments from Window 2 applications.

More details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-connectivity-fund.

Detailed information on the status of Emergency Connectivity Fund applications is available in the Open Data Portal, including applicant details, requested funds, individual product or service details, funding commitment, and funding disbursement information.  Additional information on the Emergency Connectivity Fund program is available at: https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org.  The program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company, with oversight from and under rules unanimously adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.

BBC Cohort meeting – learning about what’s happening with broadband communities in Minnesota

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday the Blandin Broadband Team met with incoming and outgoing Blandin Broadband Communities. The seasoned folks gave advice to the newbies, especially in how to make broadband planning possible in the pandemic world.

We also heard from each of the communities about some of their highlight projects for example, Ottertail spoke about their community smart room/zoom rooms and broadband availability mapping too, White Earth spoke about their elders initiative, Chisago Lakes talked about their community survey and broadband infrastructure work and the virtual manufacturing tours (for students looking at careers) and Le Sueur talked about their economic development summit and the Google Suite work.

NOW OUT! 2021 Annual Report from the MN Governor’s Task Force on Broadband

Posted on by
Reply

The MN Broadband Task Force Annual Report is now available. Here are their recommendations…

Recommendations – Unserved, Underserved, & Funding

(1.1 & 1.3) The total $180 million Capital Projects Fund allocated to Minnesota from the federal ARPA fund, should be allocated to OBD for funding the Border-to-Border Broadband program over the next 2-3 years to help attain broadband service for all Minnesota residents.
(1.2 & 1.3) Grant funds should first be focused on unserved areas (~171,000 households fit this category), and the definitions of ‘unserved’ & ‘underserved’ should remain unchanged as they highlight the geographic areas not meeting stated goals.
(1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5) Geographic considerations should be factored in when allocating broadband grant funds. A “one-size fits all” grant allocation will not secure service in areas of the state where a fiber/cable option is difficult or impossible:
● Unserved areas of the state that are difficult to reach due to low density, tough geography, etc. should receive a higher % of funding match from OBD to increase build out options for wireline projects/solutions
● The legislature should require all future projects funded by OBD grant dollars be capable of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload at the time of deployment (irrespective of whether or not a provider offers a service package of 100/100), and meet network reliability requirements in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Recommendations – Mapping and Speed Goals

(2.1-2.3) Minnesota should continue to invest in improving broadband maps
● strive to achieve ISP cooperation in producing address-level or ‘shapefile’ broadband maps (rather than rely on current FCC census block data)
● include eligibility data related to the various federal programs supporting broadband infrastructure development
● OBD is encouraged to incorporate, whenever possible, data from reliable 3rd party ‘crowd-sourced’ maps when determining eligibility for Border-to-Border grants (2.4 & 2.5) The legislature should continue to make the investments from state general funds necessary to ensure that all Minnesotans, regardless of zip code, have access to broadband at speeds that meet state goals. Federal investments should not be seen as a substitute for ongoing state investment

Recommendations – Access, Affordability & Education

(3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6) Provide funding to the Office of Broadband Development to promote broadband adoption and use to redress digital inequity.
(3.2) Fully fund the Telecommunications Access Equity Aid (TEA) program (by raising the funding cap to at least $9 million) in order to allow school districts to equitably procure the internet and network bandwidth needed to fully support digital learning. This
aid program benefits school districts by making access to broadband more affordable by fully funding the eligible costs of the federal E-rate program.
(3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6) Establish and fund a position within the MN Department of Education to provide leadership and support to schools (and families) in areas of digital equity, digital literacy, funding (E-rate, etc.), cybersecurity, instructional technology and
other areas of education technology.
(3.7, 3.8) Given expressed needs from city & county leaders to expand the Lead for MN American Connection Corp fellows program (Americorp/Vista), the state should provide supplemental funding of $225,000 to support work in Minnesota communities on broadband expansion projects (15 more fellows @ $15,000 per fellow)

FCC Releases Draft Program Rules for the Affordable Connectivity Program

Posted on by
Reply

From the FCC…

The Federal Communications Commission released draft rules associated with the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).  Created in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act), this new longer-term program builds upon the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB). The program provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. It also continues to provide the same one-time discount of up to $100 on a computer or tablet for eligible households that was available as part of the EBB program. 

In releasing the item for public review, Chairwoman Rosenworcel said: “… Given the importance of this program to consumers, I made public the draft for our newest broadband affordability program to invite feedback. We know that programs meant to help the most vulnerable consumers benefit greatly from public input.” 

 The Commission is expected to vote on this item next week. 

You can learn more about the ACP by visiting: www.fcc.gov/ACP. 

You can also find ACP program outreach materials for the ACP in our partner toolkit. 

Kandiyohi County and Reps Baker and Lang make broadband a hot topic

Posted on by
Reply

The West Central Tribune reports…

State Rep. Dave Baker and Sen. Andrew Lang, during a visit to the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners, agreed with the commissioners on the importance of getting broadband to the rural areas of the county. Both said completing changes to legislation language and grant matches were important priorities for this year’s legislative session.

Broadband was a hot topic…

The topic the group spent the most time on during Tuesday’s meeting was broadband. Since early 2021, the county board has made expanding the reach of high speed broadband a high priority, even pledging up to 75% of its coronavirus relief funds from the American Rescue Plan act to the cause.

“This group of people are very committed to broadband,” said Connie Schmoll, who has been working on county broadband projects on a contracted basis.

In recent months the state and federal government have also brought broadband forward as a priority, in part due to the pandemic and how it showed the need for high speed internet access across the nation. The federal infrastructure bill includes hundreds of millions of dollars for broadband infrastructure, some of which will come to Minnesota.

“It has become the new rural electric issue. It is infrastructure, it has to happen,” said Commissioner Rollie Nissen.

However, not everything is running smoothly in getting broadband projects approved, funded and constructed. Some of the rules and regulations attached to state broadband grants and federal funding are making it difficult for the county to put all the pieces together. Kandiyohi County has its eye on both a federal grant and a state Border to Border grant, but those regulations are slowing the process.

One of the biggest issues still be hashed out is whether both the state and local units of government like Kandiyohi County can use American Rescue Plan act dollars to fund the same broadband project. Kandiyohi County wants to use part of its ARP money to fund the 50% local match required of the state Border to Border broadband grant. However, the state might use its ARP money to pay its half of the project as well, and state law doesn’t allow that.

“That would really be helpful, if we would remove some of those barriers applying for those grants,” Imdieke said.

The county would also like to see the match local governments are asked to pay when awarded a state broadband grant, presently 50%, to be lowered, to make it easier for more rural areas to participate.

They have run into a familiar hiccup…

Yet another barrier is the inability for the county, when using the state Border to Border program, to be able to extend broadband to areas already within the purview of a private service provider, whether that business provides the service to that area or not. Incumbent first right of refusal means if an unserved or underserved area is within the service area of a private internet provider, that provider can block a Border to Border funded project from moving forward. The county has run into problems with this rule in the past. Kleindl would like to see that rule removed.

Both Baker and Lange agreed that changes needed to be made to the rules. What may have made sense years ago, such as the first right of refusal or the size of grant matches, might no longer work.

“I think it is policy getting in the way,” Baker said. “Money isn’t the issue.”

The county board, Schmoll and others are pushing for those changes to be made quickly, in time for grants to be awarded and projects to be moved forward for construction.