USI has revealed their fiber expansion plans, which you can see below include Minneapolis, St Louis park, Edina, Village of St. Anthony and St. Paul.
Le Sueur County News reports…
According to a report by the Blandin Foundation, nearly one in four Le Sueur County households are under-served or unserved. But despite the record $70 million in Border to Border grants, Le Sueur County is at risk of not seeing a single cent in state grants.
Many under-served and unserved areas of Le Sueur County are now ineligible for Border to Border grant dollars since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auctioned over $408 million in grants to internet service providers to construct fiber optic networks across northeastern and southern Minnesota.
Of all the companies competing for grants, the largest sum is expected to go to a little-known ISP: LTD Broadband. The telecom provider bid for over $311,000 in 102,000 locations across the state. LTD’s planned fiber optic network encompasses approximately two thirds of unserved and under-served areas in the county.
I’ve written before about the situation in Le Sueur, they have been ineligible for state funding because of the LTD proposed opportunity with RDOF. So far nothing has changed as we wait to hear with LTD gets the funding but Le Sueur has been working to tell the story and on new plans…
Le Sueur County officials and the Board of Commissioners aired these frustrations to state legislators in a meeting on Tuesday. County officials pushed Sen. Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake), Rep. Todd Lippert (DFL-Northfield) and Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) to bring the eligibility issue to the DEED Office, which distributes Border-to-Border grants, and the governor’s office.
“It seems that the state is going to receive a significant amount of money from the federal government for broadband investments, and if this policy issue isn’t addressed, we’re not going to be eligible for these investments,” said County Administrator Joe Martin.
Draheim responded that the state was tied by conditions attached to federal dollars and believe the county’s concerns are primarily tied to the federal government’s actions.
“I think it stems more from the federal government than the state government,” said Draheim. “I definitely will be in contact with the broadband department and others at the state level to see if there’s anything we could work around, but I think we need to be talking to Washington and not St. Paul.”
Draheim offered to have a non-partisan staff member answer clarifying questions on whether it was a state decision or federal conditions that led to the county’s grant request being denied.
In the future, Draheim advocated for the state to shift its focus away from fiber networks and toward subsidizing rural high speed internet through satellite dishes.
”It’s very disappointing for Le Sueur County that we’re in this position. Moving forward, I think the state legislators are going to have to look at what’s the next step,” said Draheim. “We have literally pumped billions of dollars into internet across Minnesota. Unfortunately, most of those federal dollars go to ‘rural internet,’ but it just connects large cities through rural Minnesota and doesn’t help the people of rural Minnesota.”
I think it’s worth noting Draheim’s focus on satellite. I’m afraid we may see a resurgence of interest in satellite in the legislature because it has gotten better but it still does not compete with the fiber, which is built for today’s need and future needs. People and businesses will move to an area with fiber to build a future; they won’t move to areas with satellite-only.
From the NTIA…
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that it is requesting public comment on a wide range of policy and program considerations associated with new broadband grant programs authorized and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL): the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, and the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program.
The BIL provides $65 billion to expand broadband in communities across the U.S. Of those funds, $48.2 billion is allocated to NTIA to deploy broadband to unserved and underserved locations, create more low-cost broadband service options, deploy middle mile infrastructure, and address the digital equity and inclusion needs in our communities. NTIA is interested in input on the program design, policy issues, and implementation considerations for these new programs in order to meet the programmatic goals articulated in the statute and by the Biden Administration.
“President Biden delivered a historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect all Americans to high-speed broadband and close the digital divide for good,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “Universal, affordable broadband is essential to our economy, our small businesses, educating our students and keeping Americans healthy. As we begin to set up these essential programs, we are asking for your input. We need to hear directly from the communities who will benefit from these programs so we can fund solutions that appropriately address their needs and meet the challenge before us.”
Development of the programs will also be informed by NTIA’s experience in promoting broadband infrastructure development and digital inclusion efforts through its BroadbandUSA initiative as well as previous and current grant programs. NTIA intends to release an additional request for comment to address the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program and Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program.
“This unprecedented investment in closing the digital divide requires input from a wide range of voices to assist NTIA’s efforts in the design and implementation of the new grant programs,” said Evelyn Remaley, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information. “This feedback is critical to maximizing the impact of these programs, bringing affordable broadband to all Americans, promoting adoption, and closing long-standing gaps in digital equity and inclusion.”
Commenters are encouraged to address any or all the questions enumerated in the Request for Comment. Written comments may be submitted to regulations.gov by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 4, 2022. All comments submitted will be posted publicly on regulations.gov.
In addition to requesting written comment, NTIA will continue a series of public virtual listening sessions in connection with the BIL programs in January and February 2022. Registration information for these sessions is on the BroadbandUSA website.
The Wadena Pioneer Jounral reports…
Rep. John Poston (R-Lake Shore) and U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber were invited to speak to a group of Wadena County leaders and other interested citizens about their 2022 priorities on Jan. 3, chief among them was making 2022 better than 2021.
Rep Stauber mentioned broadband, although he voted against the Infrastructure Bill that secured funding…
Stauber noted other high level issues he’s concerned about including securing the southern border, the energy crisis and bringing down inflation.
Stauber spoke about the growth of billions of dollars worth of broadband in the state but said the fruits of that infrastructure have not yet been seen.
He later brought up that even more funding for broadband is coming, and he is fighting for more of it to come to rural Minnesota, rather than the metro area. Speaking further on broadband, it’s Stauber’s goal to have local elected officials determine the type of broadband used in their community.
When asked about the Build Back Better Plan passing through the House of Representatives, Stauber shared that he voted against the bill because of the wasted money found inside and that committees were not given opportunities to weigh in on the bill.
From the Federal Register…
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests input from community health stakeholders, technology developers, and other interested parties about how digital health technologies are used, or could be used in the future, to transform community health, individual wellness, and health equity. …
To support this effort, OSTP seeks information about: successful models of strengthening community health through digital health technologies within the United
States and abroad, barriers to uptake, trends from the COVID-19 pandemic, how user experience is measured, need for tools and training, ideas for potential government action, and effects on health equity.
DATES: Interested persons and organizations are invited to submit comments on or before 5:00 p.m. ET on [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE
FEDERAL REGISTER].
ADDRESSES: Interested individuals and organizations should submit comments electronically to connectedhealth@ostp.eop.gov and include ‘‘Connected Health RFI’’ in the subject line of the email. While email is preferred, brief voicemail messages may be This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 01/05/2022 and available online at
federalregister.gov/d/2021-28193, and on govinfo.gov
left at 202-456-3030. Due to time constraints, mailed paper submissions will not be accepted, and electronic submissions received after the deadline cannot be ensured to be incorporated or taken into consideration.
The Fiber Association reports…
The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today announced the results of its 2021 Fiber Provider Study that reveals fiber broadband is strong and entering the largest investment cycle ever. The research, performed by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA), shows that fiber broadband now passes over 60.5 million homes in the U.S. alone—a 12% growth in 2021. The increase in deployments can be attributed to the fact that fiber continues to score higher than any other broadband technology—such as cable, satellite or wireless—in terms of capacity, reliability, latency and customer satisfaction. These benefits have created competition among more diverse sizes and types of service providers that are now racing to reach more subscribers with fiber. The Study suggests that if all federal infrastructure funding is directed at fiber, there could be more fiber deployed in the next five years than all the fiber deployed to-date, enabling the initial U.S. FTTH build to be nearing completion by the end of this decade.
“It is through research like the Fiber Provider Study that we’re able to educate the industry on the benefits of fiber and the positive impact fiber can have on local communities. When every community can leverage fiber optics for its critical infrastructure, we’ll open endless possibilities for prosperity,” said Gary Bolton, President and CEO at the Fiber Broadband Association. “The private sector is increasing its understanding of the importance of fiber and government efforts to close the digital divide have never been greater. This momentum is exciting and sets the stage for our industry to finally deliver digital equity to everyone regardless of where they live, work or play.”
The Study revealed that 43% of U.S. households and 60% of Canadian households now have access to fiber. Larger providers such as AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and the top five cable MSOs have built nearly three-fourths (72%) of overall fiber broadband access, with Tier 2 regional operators like Windstream, Frontier, Consolidated and TDS making up 10% of the growth. Unique to the U.S., over 1,200 Tier 3 market players with smaller projects ranging from a single state to three or four states compose the other 17% to 18% of the build. This group includes a mix of rural telcos, private competitive carriers, rural electric companies, smaller cable companies and municipalities.
While there is currently a steady increase in fiber deployments, there are several challenges that the industry will have to overcome before it can complete FTTH builds within this decade. Supply chain and labor shortages were the greatest perceived concern of mid-size and small providers. The FBA has welcomed several supply chain speakers on recent episodes of its Fiber for Breakfast series to offer guidance on how to navigate through the challenges. To address labor concerns, the FBA created its Optical Telecom Installation Certification (OpTIC) Program to design expert fiber broadband curriculum, fill the existing fiber skills gap and accelerate fiber deployments across North America.
Fiber providers are also concerned about how to ensure that the vast majority of federal funding goes to fiber. The FBA continues to conduct research and provide evidence that investing federal money in non-fiber broadband is irresponsible because fiber-based broadband performance metrics measure the highest for download and upload speed, latency and reliability. Additionally, the FBA is working with the NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association to publish a Broadband Infrastructure Playbook to assist State governments in best leveraging infrastructure funding. The Playbook will outline the benefits for consumers and communities of directing funds towards reliable future-proof fiber networks, recommendations for best structuring State broadband programs, templates for funding applications and more.
Minnesota Broadband Rankings are out!
The Office of Broadband Development released the county broadband maps and numbers; the data was collected by October 2021. Get details:
MN Broadband Task Force finalizes annual report
Some decisions were made in the final meeting. They decided to remove the waiver to allow providers to bid of grants that did not meet the 100/100 standard in areas that are difficult to serve. They also decided to keep the $5 million award cap for grants.
Update on MN Broadband Funding
The Office of Broadband Development offer a Border-To-Border Broadband Infrastructure Grant Update.
MN Rural Broadband Coalition Legislative Platform 2022
The MN Broadband Coalition outlines their legislative platform, starting with “Support legislation that allocates $70 million from the General Fund to fulfill the fiscal obligation in the 2022-2023 biennial budget for the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant program.”
State Policy Issues (in reverse chronological order)
Federal Policy Issues (in reverse chronological order)
Vendor News
Paul Bunyan Communications shares info on the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program
Local Broadband News
Chisago Lakes Area
Blandin takes a look at last two years with grantees such as Chisago Lakes Area
Crookston, East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, Roseau
Chemical Health Assessments available online in Crookston, East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls and Roseau
Dodge County
KMTelecom earns award for broadband connectivity (Dodge County)
Jackson, Cottonwood, Nobles, Martin, Murray, Brown Counties
Change in broadband provider ownership (Federated Rural) in Jackson, Cottonwood, Nobles, Martin, Murray and Brown Counties
Kandiyohi County
Kandiyohi County spends $56,000 in ARPA on broadband project
Recap on Kandiyohi County using ARPA funds to build better broadband in Prinsburg with Arvig
Lake of the Woods
New FirstNet Cell Site Launches in Angle Inlet (Lake of the Woods County MN)
Le Sueur County
Blandin takes a look at last two years with grantees such as Le Sueur
Northeast MN
Innovate 218 gets more recognition for lifting up Northeast Minnesota
Nobles County
Nobles County commits $2 million match for ReConnect application for broadband
Otter Tail County
Blandin takes a look at last two years with grantees such as Otter Tail County
White Earth Nation
Blandin takes a look at last two years with grantees such as White Earth Nation
Upcoming Events, Opportunities and Resources
Stirring the Pot – by Bill Coleman
By January 2023, many of the decisions affecting long-term rural broadband investment and deployment decisions will be made. Local governments will have allocated their ARPA dollars. States will have created and begun implementing their BEAD plans. NTIA will have awarded the funds from their Broadband Infrastructure, Tribal Broadband Connectivity and Connecting Minority Communities Programs. The FCC will have finalized their due diligence on RDOF funds. Everyone will have their own eligibility and technical requirements. It is hard to imagine how all of this chaos will turn out and even, harder to imagine that it will turn out as well as we hope. To quote famous railroad man Leonor Loree, “This is no way to run a railroad.”
The current broadband investment boom compares closely to the railroad boom of the late 19th Century. The federal government, led by President Lincoln, spurred private investment in the trans-continental railroads. Decisions made in Washington DC and in state capitols determined local futures. Communities invested their own precious local dollars with railroad developers with mixed results. There were many winners and losers, just like today. With the many positives of population and economic growth came monopolies, robber barons and swindlers as well as loss of tribal lands. The effects of these 19th Century decisions can still be seen on our US geography today. (As a side note, abandoned rail lines are now bike trails which demonstrates the ongoing value of infrastructure investment even if the long term benefits are drastically different than anticipated.)
Lewis Carroll’s “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” highlights the range of community role choices. To ensure that your community ends up as a busy station on an advanced broadband network, community teams must carefully create their community vision and then assume the roles necessary to achieve that vision. Or wait for someone to do something and hope for the best.
With ARPA funds, some communities will simply issue an RFP that invite providers to make proposals, selecting the projects that provide the best results in terms of cost per household, number of households, quality of service, etc. without much discussion of “What’s next?” or “How do we get service to the next group of houses down the road?” I fear that many of these incomplete solutions will be permanent with long lasting impacts. Others will work with provider partners ready to embrace a comprehensive solution to your community broadband needs. This approach requires community leaders to adopt John Henry – the famous steel driving man – as the role model. Here is some motivation
And then again, maybe not! 🙂 If not the lyrics, get inspiration from the teamwork!
As someone who is currently on a road trip to California with plans to fly home, I am pleased to share a recap from Benton…
AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay their rollout of a new 5G service for two weeks, after the Federal Aviation Administration requested they do so in an effort to mitigate potential interference with airplane safety systems. At Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s request, “we have voluntarily agreed to one additional two-week delay,” an AT&T spokesperson said. “We know aviation safety and 5G can co-exist and we are confident further collaboration and technical assessment will allay any issues.” The sudden turn of events came as the Federal Aviation Administration was preparing to soon issue flight restrictions that US airlines worried would significantly disrupt air-travel and cargo shipments around the country. Airlines for America, which represents major passenger and cargo carriers, had planned to ask a federal court to block the 5G rollout slated for Jan 5. The trade group held off once both telecom carriers agreed to further delay their 5G rollout until Jan. 19.
To be fair my concern is more related to my fear of flying that knowing anything about the real risk of 5G.
Grand Rapids Herald Review reports…
Chatting with your doctor via video about your health issues works just as well as an in-person office visit, at least when it comes to managing chronic illnesses, a new review suggests.
Replacing office visits with video checkups delivered results that were just as effective for patients being treated for conditions like diabetes, respiratory illnesses, chronic pain, heart problems and neurological disorders, researchers reported recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“In general, the evidence shows that using video teleconferencing in health care results in outcomes that are just as good as and in some cases better than in-person care,” said lead researcher Jordan Albritton, a public health analyst with RTI International, a nonprofit research institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Despite these findings, experts maintain that in-person physical exams remain essential to quality health care, particularly for new patients who have just fallen ill.
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC), with the goal of continuing to invest in and elevate the field of economic development, is pleased to announce the launch of the Equity in Economic Development Fellowship Program in 2022. IEDC invites applications from Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) to participate in this new and purposeful 10-week program to host fellows between May and August of 2022.
NOW EXTENDED! Applications for EDOs will close on January 10, 2022.
The application form will be posted on this page on December 1, 2021. EDOs will be selected by February 1, 2022.
Applications for Fellows will open on February 1, 2022, and close on February 28, 2022. The application form will be posted on this page on February 1, 2022.
Good info for folks in and out of Paul Bunyan coverage area…
Today, Paul Bunyan Communications announced it is working to help build awareness about the Affordable Connectivity Program, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program. The new long-term benefit will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service.
The $14 billion Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount of up to a $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands. The benefit also provides up to a $100 per household discount toward a one-time purchase of a computer, laptop, or tablet if the household contributes more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase through a participating broadband provider.
A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:
- Has an income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
- Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
- Participates in one of several Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Head Start (only households meeting the relevant income qualifying standard) Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
- Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
- Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
- Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income program.
Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment opened on December 31, 2021. Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or by (1) going to ACPBenefit.org to submit an online application or print a mail-in application and (2) contacting their preferred participating broadband provider and selecting a plan. Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.
CNS continues to update their interactive map of RDOF Auction Details…
Here’s the latest updates:
We update this map whenever the FCC releases RDOF-related data. The latest update was 12/29/2021 with data released from the FCC on 12/14/21 and 12/16/21. Updates include:“Bids in Default” DA-21-1582A3 12/16/2021
“Ready to Authorize” batches 1-5 12/16/2021
“Authorized” batches 1-4 12/14/2021
Duluth New Tribune posts letter from Senator Tina Smith…
As we look ahead to 2022, the historic investments we made this year will power our recovery. The once-in-a-generation, bipartisan infrastructure law we passed this fall will put millions of people in good-paying jobs in Minnesota and across the country by rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, ports, and electric grids, as well as by expanding broadband networks. And the American Rescue Plan that I helped pass into law in the spring gave us the tools to battle the pandemic, restore lost jobs, and reopen our schools and small businesses.
In November, I joined President Joe Biden at the White House when he signed the historic, bipartisan infrastructure bill into law. I also joined him this past month when he came to Minnesota to discuss the transformative impact the new law will have on the lives of Minnesotans, by creating a generation of good-paying jobs and economic growth.
I pushed hard to enact this law because it will make badly needed improvements to our state’s roads, bridges, ports, and electric grids. It provides the support to bring high-speed, affordable broadband networks to Minnesota families and businesses — especially those in rural areas. The new law also includes strong buy-American provisions so things like steel will be mined, melded, and manufactured in the United States.
The West Central Tribune reports…
Twenty-three homes along 30th Avenue Northwest in Dovre Township of Kandiyohi County might soon have access to high-speed broadband. A proposed Charter project would bring speeds up to 100 megabits download and 20 megabits upload to the area, which is currently considered unserved by the state.
“It is kind of isolated,” said Kandiyohi County Administrator Larry Kleindl at the Dec. 21 Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners meeting. “We are trying to get them some broadband coverage.”
Continuing its commitment to broadband expansion, the county commissioners approved granting the project $56,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds, the latest in several projects to which the board has given money.
The total project is expected to cost $136,000, with Charter contributing $80,500, or 59%, of the cost. Construction is scheduled to begin in April.
Kleindl said Dovre Township will also be asked to participate, which might reduce the county’s share of the bill. However, the county will cover the remaining costs if Dovre Township decides not to take part, as the county doesn’t want Charter to pull out of the project.