Monthly Archives: May 2023

OPPORTUNITY: MN Office of Broadband Development Job – Digital Equity Grants Administrator

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The Office of Broadband Development is hiring…

Working Title: Digital Equity Grants Administrator
Job Class: Grants Specialist Coordinator
Agency: Employment and Economic Development Department (DEED)

  • Who May Apply: This vacancy is open for bids and for all qualified job seekers simultaneously. Bidders will be considered through 05/15/2023.
  • Date Posted: 05/08/2023
  • Closing Date: 05/22/2023
  • Hiring Agency/Seniority Unit: Employ & Econ Development Dept / Employ & Economic Dev-MAPE
  • Division/Unit: Employee Payroll / BCD Admin & Support X
  • Work Shift/Work Hours: Day Shift, 8am to 4:30pm
  • Days of Work: Monday – Friday
  • Travel Required: Yes, up to 20%
  • Salary Range: $27.93 – $41.24 / hourly; $58,317 – $86,109 / annually
  • Classified Status: Unclassified
  • Bargaining Unit/Union: 214 – MN Assoc of Professional Empl/MAPE
  • End Date: Up to two (2) years
  • FLSA Status: Exempt – Administrative
  • Telework Eligible: Yes, may be eligible to telework up to five (5) days per week
  • Designated in Connect 700 Program for Applicants with Disabilities: No

Make a difference in the lives of Minnesotans.

The work you’ll do is more than just a job. Join the talented, engaged and inclusive workforce dedicated to creating a better Minnesota.

Job Summary

The Digital Equity Grants Administrator supports the administration of Digital Equity Act grant programs and other digital equity initiatives of the Office of Broadband Development. This includes following DEED procedure to prepare, publicize, execute, monitor, and report on competitive and non-competitive grant awards; creating and revising grant application, reporting, and technical assistance materials; maintaining accurate grant files and records; preparing and submitting federal grant applications and reports; and adhering to state and federal legal requirements. The Digital Equity Grants Administrator reports to the Executive Director of the Office of Broadband Development and takes daily work direction from the Digital Equity Program Lead. This is a position requiring attention to detail, budget experience, and an ability to prioritize work and resources while meeting deadlines.

This position is expected to last two (2) years. 

This posting may be used to fill multiple positions.

A Minnesota Take on the Federal Farm Bill

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Axios parsed out Minnesota reaction to several aspects of the Farm Bill, starting with MN policymakers’ role…

Minnesota lawmakers are set to play a big role in shaping the final bill. Klobuchar and Tina Smith are members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, while U.S. Reps. Angie Craig and Brad Finstad are on the House panel.

They note precision ag…

A bipartisan proposal cosponsored by Klobuchar would provide low-interest loans to farmers who want to buy precision agriculture equipment.

“That’s going to allow them to use less water and target their pesticides instead of spreading it over areas that don’t need it,” she said. “Imagine what a game changer that will be.”

And broadband…

Broadband: An estimated 144,000 Minnesota households still don’t have access to high-speed internet. That’s a problem, especially for a growing number of families where one person farms and the other works remote from a rural area, Klobuchar said.

EVENT May 18: Global Accessibility Awareness Day: Help your community because digitally accessible

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This is an invitation from the City of Minneapolis. They have a whole team that focus on technology and digital inclusion. Many Minnesota cities, town and counties do not. If wish you had such a team, this might be a great one-hour, online session for you…

Join the City of Minneapolis as we celebrate GAAD on Thursday, May 18

Digital inclusion: It’s an ongoing journey toward accessibility May 18, 2023

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT

Register for this free event<https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/dba7b9f4256947c083a4ffd7cf2c30e7>

About the session

Making key changes to your website and the digital services that you offer can create a better experience for everyone. We call this digital accessibility.

Join our session to learn how the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County are creating a more positive, inclusive digital experience for all.

In our session, you’ll learn:

*   How we’re making our organization’s digital experience more accessible.

*   How to make digital content accessible for all the ways that people think and those who’ve experienced trauma.

*   Resources to help people learn how to use technology and the internet.

*   Assistive technology and help offered at Hennepin County Libraries.

*   Ways to work with others to make things more accessible for everyone.

*   We encourage government employees to attend. This free event is open for anyone to attend.

Who should attend

We encourage government employees to attend, especially those in Minnesota. This free event is open for anyone to attend.

Visit our event webpage for more information.

MN Legislature is working out Agriculture and Broadband Budget

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Brownfield News reports…

A conference committee is working out differences in the Agriculture and Broadband Budget as the Minnesota Legislative Session hits the home stretch.

House Ag Committee Chair Samantha Vang tells Brownfield she and Senate Ag Chair Aric Putnam are aligned on much of the bill.

“The differences are just a matter of how much funding we put towards each of these issues, so I think those can be resolved very quickly and hopefully this week we get to see conference committee up for adoption.”

She calls the ag budget very robust.

Both House and Senate have budgeted $100 million for broadband; so this isn’t big news but nice to know it’s moving along.

5G rollout deadline of July 1 remains despite safety concerns from airlines

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As someone who is very afraid to fly, I keep my eye on stuff like this (as reported by the BBC)…

The US will not delay a deadline for airlines to refit planes with new sensors to address possible 5G interference, despite concerns the cut-off date could cause travel disruption.

Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Tuesday that airlines were told the 1 July deadline would remain in place.

Airlines have warned that they will not be able to meet the deadline and may be forced to ground some planes.

Telecoms firms have previously delayed 5G rollout to allow airlines to adapt.

This doesn’t help…

In a separate development, the FAA on Tuesday proposed new rules for many Boeing aircraft due to the possibility of new 5G interference.

The proposed rules affect nearly 20,000 planes worldwide. They require revised flight manuals, bans on some landings, and new operating procedures for landings and approaches when dealing with 5G interference.

Farmington is getting FTTH – completion expected in the next two years

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Hometown Source reports on an update in Farmington. It might be worth noting that HBC isn’t new, they have been building fiber networks since 1997…

A new fiber-optic provider called Hiawatha Broadband Communications is busy placing fiber across Farmington to offer the city, residents and businesses high-speed Internet, TV, along with smartphone and landline services.

In recent weeks, HBC crews have been drilling along Denmark Avenue across from Boeckman Middle School. The crews have been placing big, orange rolls of plastic tubing with fiber inside and is buried underground. This week crews are setting up fiber networks within the city’s industrial park area.

HBC, based out of Winona, is marketing a tagline of: “We Serve. We Connect. We Care.”

In the next 24 months, HBC will be building out networks underground from border to border in Farmington to complete the build out of fiber access.

More info on the network…

The city of Farmington is partnering with HBC to complete a Wi-Fi buildout that will be throughout 20 city parks to give guests free Wi-Fi access.

“This will save more than $750,000 in future expense to taxpayers,” Hoyt said.

“Our park system is critical to the quality of life to many of our residents, but it also enhances the park experience,” Hoyt said.

City park visitors will be able to access free Wi-Fi. This will enable guests to be able to take part in geocaching, scavenger hunts, augmented and virtual reality activities, geospacial visualization, interactive mapping, targeted messaging with real time feedback, along with additional public safety. City park Wi-Fi services will be free and secure, although the bandwidth will not be the fastest.

And just for Friday fun, I’ll share the headline: Hiawatha Broadband Communications lying fiber across Farmington.

Wynne Ridge area in White Township gets better broadband with Mediacom (St Louis County)

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The Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation newsletter (The Ranger) reports…

Mediacom Communications Corporation constructed a new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network to the Wynne Ridge Rock N Pines residential area. The project involved 25 unserved households within White Township and a portion of Biwabik Township near Giants Ridge Recreation Area. Wynne Ridge residents can now connect to Mediacom’s Xtream internet service that delivers download speeds of up to 2Gig and upload speeds of up to 1Gig. The Wynne Ridge network was built using an advanced 10G broadband platform that delivers multi-gigabit speeds while supporting higher reliability, high security and low latency.
Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a $65,000 Broadband Infrastructure grant to White Township. The total project investment was $180,165.
“Our new 10G platform is future-ready,” said Jason Janesich, Mediacom’s director of area operations. “The fiber network deployed in the Wynne Ridge neighborhood has more than enough capacity for today’s data needs, and capacity for future needs as well.”
The project was initiated after White Township received a petition from a group of Wynne Ridge residents whose homes were unserved by broadband or high-speed internet service. There is high speed broadband infrastructure throughout the Giants Ridge Recreation Area, but there was a pocket within Wynne Ridge that was unserved and dependent upon slow and unreliable satellite internet service. The geographic gap and lack of service posed significant challenges to the residents who work remotely from home, area business owners, educators and students. In response to the petition, White Township partnered with St. Louis County and Mediacom to proceed with construction of FTTH.
“Our township is very grateful for not only the financial support provided by Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, St. Louis County and Mediacom, but also for the leadership and collaboration of everyone involved,” said Jodi Knaus, White Township manager and clerk. “This project is a great example of what working together across different agencies regionally can accomplish. The Township Board of Supervisors will continue to collaborate with area leaders bringing broadband infrastructure projects to underserved areas in the township.”
Mediacom is a leading gigabit broadband provider to smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Mediacom has offered Gig-speed internet to Minnesota residents in all areas of its 48-county service area for more than six years. In addition to Wynne Ridge, Mediacom’s fiber-based network delivers Gigabit-speed broadband service throughout St. Louis County including the communities of Aurora, Biwabik, Buhl, Chisholm, Eveleth, Gilbert, Hermantown, Hibbing, Hoyt Lakes, Kinney, McKinley, Mountain Iron, Proctor and Virginia; and in parts of Fayal, Midway, Solway and White Townships. Nearly 25% of Mediacom’s broadband customers choose to use 1 Gig speeds, and the company is transitioning its network to a 10G platform.
Learn more about Mediacom.

Update on PUC looking into LTD Broadband: LTD doesn’t want to file long form

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This is an ongoing saga. If you are new to the topic, here’s a very quick recap…

LTD was awarded an opportunity to apply for $311 million in federal RDOF funding. They needed the ETC designation from the MN PUC to qualify; industry folks asked the MN PUC to rethink their designation because there were concerns about LTD being able to fulfill the contract. Last month, their application for RDOF was rejected. On April 23, they held a preconference to decide whether or not to continue to look into revoking their ETC status.

Yesterday, the PUC posted a few documents I could view and I few that I couldn’t. Mane submitted document would include protected information; that may be the reason. (I have asked about it and hope to hear more about that later.)

I was able to view a letter from LTD Broadband lawyers saying they didn’t want to file their RDOF long form, because thye had already shared that information with engaged parties and a letter from MN Telecom Alliance saying they have received the Long Form from LTD.

From LTD Broadband lawyers…

Towards the end of the prehearing conference last Monday, Your Honor indicated that LTD Broadband, LLC (“LTD”) had not “filed” its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund long form application pursuant to your September 1, 2022 Second Prehearing Order. In the context of the proceedings at that time, LTD viewed the order as a memorialization of LTD’s voluntary agreement to “serve” the long form available on the state agencies and the petitioners and did not appreciate that there may have been a separate requirement to “file” the long form in the docket. LTD provided the parties with the long form on the afternoon of August 26, 2022 and believed that it had complied with its voluntary agreement with the other parties, which raised no objections to the documents served, and with Your Honor’s order.
LTD believes that any separate requirement to “file” the long form would be unnecessary. First, all of the parties that have signed the Protective Order have received the long form, such that filing it in the public docket would appear to be duplicative given the uncertainty over whether future proceedings will even be necessary. In addition, LTD notes that its long form is not pending with the FCC and unless or until that status changes, there is no value in further dissemination and disclosure of its contents, which remain highly sensitive and proprietary to LTD.
Every time these documents change hands, particularly through electronic transmission, it poses a risk of unintended disclosure of highly confidential financial, technical, and other business information with potentially very damaging consequences for LTD. Second, separately filing highly confidential, confidential, and public versions of more than 1,500 pages will take significant time and effort, at a time when Your Honor is considering action on the petitioners’ Motion to Stay and Motion to Certify. …

From MTA…

This letter is sent to address the following statement, which I made at the Prehearing on April 24, 2023, concerning information provided on August 26, 2022, by LTD in relation to LTD’s long form application before the FCC:
We received approximately 200 pages of material. We saw Bates stamps on the material that went up to approximately page 1500. We do not know as a matter of certainty whether or not we have all of the materials that have been submitted to the FCC, but it appears to us that we do not. (Tr. p. 30, lines 15-21).
Mr. Coran, as counsel for LTD, recently provided information to us as to the manner in which the LTD information was transmitted on August 26, 2022, to the Department, Office of Attorney General, and our office (as counsel for Petitioners).
We have determined that we did, in fact, receive 1562 pages of Bates stamped materials from LTD on August 26, 2022. Through inadvertence, the statement that we received approximately 200 pages of material recognized only the Highly Confidential Trade Secret information provided by LTD and did not recognize the significantly larger part of non-confidential information also provided.

 

Cook MN get FTTH from Paul Bunyan Communications

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The Ely Timber Jay reports…

While emerging springtime has area residents prognosticating again about the most likely day for ice-out on Lake Vermilion, Cook residents have something else they’re looking forward to – the completion of the high-speed fiber Gigazone broadband network being installed in the city by Paul Bunyan Communications.

The company ran into a snag last fall with supply chain issues that left them without the equipment necessary to complete the project before winter. But the equipment has now arrived, and some residents who signed up early and had fiber already run to their homes have been connected and are enjoying blazing fast speeds of up to 10 gigabytes.

The company recently hosted a sign-up event at the Cook Hospital, and according to Brian Bissonette, the company’s marketing supervisor, the turnout was strong.
“I checked in with the team that went and they said it was wall to wall,” Bissonette said. “It was nonstop – our crew from start to finish didn’t have a free moment. It wasn’t a meeting where we answered questions and things, we did that on a personal level. They were just able to go to the Cook Hospital and sign up for services that day. It was really successful. The word is starting to spread.”
The base level of Gigazone service available is 250 megabytes, with additional options ranging up to the 10-gigabyte maximum, Bissonette said. Because the network is fiber-based, upload speeds are as fast as download speeds, something that will accommodate many of the needs for high-speed fiber broadband revealed by the COVID pandemic, such as distance learning, telemedicine, media streaming, and working from home, Bissonette said.

EVENT May 15: Paul Bunyan Communications and Red Lake Nation Affordable Connectivity Program Sign Up Day

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I share for the folks in the area who might benefit (please tell a friend who isn’t online and might benefit). I also share for other communities that might host a similar event…

Paul Bunyan Communications and the Red Lake Nation are holding another a sign-up day for the Affordable Connectivity Program on Monday, May 15 from 1-4 p.m. at the Red Lake Community Center, 15041 Great Nation Drive.

The Affordable Connectivity Program will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service and 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.

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 inone 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.

Eligible households can enroll at the sign-up event, through a participating broadband provider, or by going to ACPBenefit.org to submit an online application or print a mail-in application and 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.

 

Is your community taking advantage of ACP? Benton has a tool to help figure that out?

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The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)  provides 17 million households up to $30 per month in subsidies to offset the cost of broadband. In Minnesota, 193,678 have signed up. Benton Institute for Broadband & Society has created a tool to help determine whether that number is good or not, based on how many people qualify – down to the zip code level…

The Benton Institute’s ACP Performance Tool is a resource for any community that wants to answer the question: “How are ACP sign-ups going?” To answer, search a 5-digit zip code on the tool’s website. The ACP Performance Tool returns results that show two important numbers for the zip code area: 1) how many households have signed up for ACP (from government data) and 2) the expected number of households enrolled (the output from a statistical model discussed more below).

The difference between actual ACP enrollment and expected enrollment is a measure of performance. The tool places the zip code area into one of five performance categories:

  1. Highest: Where actual enrollments exceed expected enrollment by 40%
  2. High: Where actual enrollments are between 10% and 39% greater than expected
  3. Medium: Where actual enrollments fall between 9% and -9% of expectations
  4. Low: Where actual enrollments are between -10% and -39% of expectations
  5. Lowest: Where actual enrollments are below expected ones by 40% or less.

 

Three providers are seeking Border to Border grants in Douglas County (MN)

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The Echo Press reports…

Now that area is in an enviable position. Three internet providers are vying for state funding to provide residents with high-speed, top-notch fiber optic internet service. It’s unusual for three providers to target the same area of Douglas County.

Gardonville, Arvig-Tekstar, and Spectrum-Charter have all applied for grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which will dispense up to $67 million dollars in 2023, about triple what has been appropriated in previous years. The money is awarded through a program called the Border-to-Border grants. …

Each company has targeted an area with slightly different borders, but they all include the Emerald neighborhood as well as areas north along the Lake Carlos shore and along Highway 29. Only Perham-based Arvig includes the city of Carlos, while Gardonville, based in Brandon, would go further south, scooping in Laura Lake, the Nordic Hills Golf Course, the area adjacent to the Belle River State Wildlife Management Area and north to sections of Viking Trail and Fairfield Creek Road. Charter, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, would serve two areas west and east of Carlos.

Douglas County could use some help…

Douglas County is lagging much of the state in reaching broadband goals, according to the Grand Rapids-based Blandin Foundation, which ranks Douglas County 58th of 87 counties for broadband access. It says that 5,532 households in Douglas County do not have access to internet speeds of 100 megabits per second download and 20 megabits per second upload, and says it will cost about $51.4 million to extend that level of broadband to the entire county.

The most recent census data says that 92.9% of Douglas County households has a computer, and that 83.6% have a broadband internet connection, but it doesn’t specify the broadband speeds.

They have had good luck in getting grants in the past.

Martin County approves two ARPA broadband grants

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The Fairmont Sentinel reports…

The Martin County Economic Development Authority board held a meeting on Monday and approved two broadband development grants as well as measures which will provide event management training. The board also launched a new website.

The board approved two grant requests from its rural broadband development program. The first was submitted by Bevcomm and requested $71,879 which would fund 25 percent of $287,516 which would serve 128 households and 13 additional locations in the Granada area. The second project was a much larger project submitted by Federated REA which would connect much of rural Martin County.

Here’s a little bit more about the Martin County Broadband Partnership Project…

The board approved two grant requests from its rural broadband development program. The first was submitted by Bevcomm and requested $71,879 which would fund 25 percent of $287,516 which would serve 128 households and 13 additional locations in the Granada area. The second project was a much larger project submitted by Federated REA which would connect much of rural Martin County.

The funding for the project comes from ARPA funds.

eNews: MN Monthly Recap May 2023: Broadband news from around MN

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MN House and Senate say $100 million for broadband
The Minnesota House passed the Ag bill with $100 million for broadband. And The MN Senate passed a bill with $100M for broadband grants.

State News    

Federal News

Local Broadband News

Bemidji
4,000+ Attend GigaZone Gaming Championship in Bemidji MN

Duluth
Duluth is looking at using proceeds from Cirrus property sale go to fund local broadband

Le Sueur County
Imagine moving to an area with slow internet – would you work like Barbara Drӧher Kline to fix it?

Twin Cities
Gilda’s Club in the TC helping to get cancer support to unserved with broadband and devices

Upcoming Events, Opportunities and Resources

Fiber touted as future-proof necessity for Edtech in Minnesota

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Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal have a recent article on the virtues of EdTech, including the three steps you need to take to make it happen in a school:

  1. Evaluate your internet service and bandwidth
    Fiber is a proven winner for school networks. While many technologies have the potential to meet growing demand for bandwidth, fiber is a clear leader for several reasons. Fiber is highly secure and can easily scale to speeds of 100 Gbps or more.
    As more edtech devices proliferate on networks and digital learning continues to advance, demand is growing for bandwidth and speed. Fiber is designed to be future-proof and suited for current and future needs.
  1. Shore up your cybersecurity strategy
    Growing your IT network and tech capabilities is a net positive, but introducing more devices inherently comes with risks. It’s a numbers game. The more connected devices you have, the more points of entry there are on a network. If your infrastructure is not properly secured, it’s vulnerable to hacking, phishing, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and other emerging threats.
  1. Be aware of assistance programs such as E-Rate
    Broadband services represent a large share of the technology budget for many districts, making the best available service options — fiber, for example — seem out of reach. The reality is, access to scalable, redundant or symmetrical speed fiber networks is more possible and cost-effective than ever. The federal E-Rate program is a big part of making the best in broadband more affordable.