Monthly Archives: October 2023

More info on 22 Companies accepting Enhanced A-CAM funds in Minnesota

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The FCC reports…

Consistent with the Commission’s Enhanced A-CAM Order, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) authorizes 368 rate-of-return companies that elected offers of Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM) support to receive model-based support.[1]  Authorization Report 1, released today, shows the authorization amount and initial deployment obligations for each carrier that elected an offer.[2]  The authorizations specify support to the electing companies for a 15-year period beginning January 1, 2024, in exchange for these companies committing to deploy broadband service of at least 100/20 Mbps service to over 700,000 unserved locations across the United States, and maintain or improve existing 100/20 Mbps service to approximately 2 million locations.

Below are the companies serving Minnesota. This list is slightly different than the list I shared earlier in October. Rural Communications Holding Corporation was not on that list.

Holding Company Current Funding  Required Locations Carrier-Served Locations  
 
  ACAM and ACAM II Subtotal                  398,975                            989,720
  CAF BLS Subtotal                    54,054                            510,995
  Total                  453,029                         1,500,715
Albany Mutual Telephone Association ACAM                          26                               3,831
Alliance Communications Cooperative, Inc. ACAM                          29                                  693
Arvig Enterprises, Inc. ACAM                    20,621                             50,966
Benton Cooperative Telephone Company ACAM                          11                               5,826
Rural Communications Holding Corporation ACAM                      1,542                             17,885
Consolidated Telephone Company BLS                          26                             13,656
Emily Cooperative Telephone Company BLS                             –                               2,556
Garden Valley Telephone Company ACAM                         227                             17,786
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association ACAM                      1,732                               2,039
Halstad Telephone Company ACAM                             –                               1,629
Harmony Telephone Company ACAM                         460                                  535
Johnson Telephone Company ACAM                         424                               2,842
Kasson & Mantorville Telephone Company ACAM                         116                               4,974
Manchester-Hartland Telephone Company BLS                             –                                  630
Park Region Mutual Telephone Company ACAM                      1,255                               5,032
Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative ACAM                         163                             15,617
Spring Grove Communications ACAM                            4                               1,359
Telephone & Data Systems, incl. UScellular ACAM                    11,044                             10,975
Upsala Cooperative Telephone Association ACAM                            2                               1,208
West Central Telephone Assn. ACAM                             –                               5,529
Wikstrom Telephone Company, Inc. ACAM                      1,155                               8,475
Tri-Co Technologies, LLC BLS                         494                               2,964

 

Mediacom Communications Launches Ultra-High-Speed Broadband in Swan Lake Area (Nicollet County)

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Announcement from Mediacom…

Mediacom Communications announced the completion of a fiber-optic network expansion that delivers ultra-high-speed broadband services to the Swan Lake area of Hale Township, MN.
Residents and businesses in previously unserved Swan Lake can now select from a variety of service offerings including broadband plans with download speeds up to 2 gigabits per second as well as low-cost phone plans. Mediacom also offers Connect2Compete-Plus (C2C+) for low-income households and participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Both programs will help remove income barriers to broadband accessibility for eligible residents.
The Swan Lake project extends Mediacom’s fiber optic network to nearly 100 homes and businesses and marks the ninth network expansion the company has completed in partnership with the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program administered by Minnesota Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
“Mediacom is proud to partner with Minnesota DEED to bring broadband to the unserved residents of Hale Township,” said Zach Raskovich, Area Operations Director for Mediacom. “Minnesota leaders have been trailblazers on closing the digital divide for Minnesotans through their broadband grant program. The Swan Lake project serves as another successful example of this public-private partnership.”

T-Mobile bringing fiber service to St Cloud (Stearns County)

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The DeskNet reports…

Wireless provider T-Mobile has brought its land-based fiber Internet service to new markets in Florida and Minnesota, according to a report.

Last Friday, industry publication Fierce Telecom received information from Wave7 Research principal analyst Jeff Moore that T-Mobile quietly debuted fiber-based service in Pinellas County, Florida and the St. Cloud metropolitan area in Minnesota.

Moore described the rollout as a “modest effort” that was intended to help T-Mobile better understand fiber broadband, “not a brad effort to sell broadband.”

“[T-Mobile CEO] Mike Sievert recently described this effort as ‘capital-light,’ and I think that’s the correct context,” Moore said.

 

Looks like a good time to become a broadband engineer or manager

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The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society reports…

A recently released survey of fixed-broadband providers demonstrates their workforce expectations as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program gains momentum across states.

Representatives of 46 broadband providers—including electric cooperatives and fixed-wireless, telephone, and cable companies—completed the survey. These providers typically served between 5,000 and 50,000 customers. Over half of the respondents had between 50 and 200 employees, with another 40 percent having between 10 and 50 employees. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents expected to receive federal or state broadband funding over the next 5-10 years, and most (77%) envision a 10-50% expansion of the geographic size of their network during that time.

Here are some of the resulting charts I found interesting and would find even more interesting if I were looking for a job in the future…

Arvig sign up for Enhanced A-CAM funding in Todd, Becker, Stearns, Hubbard, Otter Tail, Redwood and Cass Counties

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I wrote about the Minnesota companies that opted to sign up for Enhanced A-CAM funding but it’s nice to see local press pick up on it too. Grand Forks Herald reports…

Arvig has elected to enroll in a newly modernized Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) program that has been granted additional project funding and includes higher internet speed targets.

The Federal Communications Commission established Enhanced A-CAM after adopting an order to raise target speeds to 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload in eligible project areas. The updated program also makes a share of $13.5 billion available to Arvig and the nation’s 446 other participating service providers. …

Through this federal program, Arvig will invest in network projects across dozens of rural communities in the coming years to bring high-speed internet to thousands of households in the region. Arvig is on track to easily meet the higher speed targets, of up to 100 Mbps/20 Mbps, with many eligible areas projected to receive access to internet speeds up to 8 Gbps. …

Arvig has participated in A-CAM since it was established in 2016 and has since provided services to more than 43 rural communities throughout Minnesota. In 2023, Arvig is focusing its ACAM efforts on the rural areas of Eagle Bend, Frazee, Grey Eagle, Melrose, Nevis, New York Mills, Wabasso, Walker and Vergas, providing access to internet speeds up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) download and 100 Mbps upload.

A-CAM’s previous target speed was 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.

EVENT Nov 15: FCC Will Vote on Rules to Prevent and Eliminate Digital Discrimination

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On November 15, the will vote on rules to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination. The FCC has created an easy Fact Sheet and a more complete version for more information. Here’s the overview from that sheet…

Chairwoman Rosenworcel is proposing final rules to prevent discrimination in access to broadband services based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, and national origin. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the FCC is required to take steps to ensure that all
Americans have equal access to broadband services and without discrimination based on the characteristics listed in the statute.

And here is how it could help consumers…

Under these rules, the FCC could protect consumers by:

  • Directly addressing companies’ policies and practices if they differentially impact
    consumers’ access to broadband internet access service or are intended to do so;
  • Apply these protections to ensure communities see equitable broadband deployment, network upgrades, and maintenance;
  • Investigate possible instances of discrimination of broadband access, work to solve and – when necessary – penalize companies for failing to meet the obligations defined in the rules;
  • Review consumer complaints of digital discrimination through an improved consumer complaint portal;
  • Help protect both current and prospective subscribers to a broadband internet service.

EVENT Nov 1: BEAD initial proposals Volume 2: What is catching our attention?

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An invitation from Net Century Cities…

In the next National Broadband Resource Hub webinar we will be reviewing a cross section of states that have released their BEAD initial proposals Volume 2.

If your state has already released Volume 2 and you want insights into what it all means — or if your state has yet to release it and you want to prepare for public comment — this webinar is for you! Join us.
Nov 1 noon – register online

Minnesota has not released Volume 2 for the BEAD Initial proposal. Attending this seminar might help us to understand what others are doing and prepare us to make helpful comments when the time comes.

Bois Forte Band broadband project nearly to bidding process around Orr MN (St Louis County)

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The Timberjay reports…

After a delay in the state’s required historical review process, construction bids will soon be sought for the $19.8 million Bois Forte Band high-speed broadband project serving the south shore of Lake Vermilion and areas around Orr.
Bois Forte Information Technology Director Randy Long said on Tuesday that the detailed engineering for the project, which is being done in partnership with CTC Telecom, is “pretty much wrapped up.”
The band had originally hoped to break ground on the project this year, but a mandated review of plans by the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has taken far longer than expected.

…

Long noted last fall that the final scope of the deployment could be curtailed somewhat depending on the availability and cost of fiber optic cable and equipment, as well as unanticipated construction costs, which could be likely when dealing with Vermilion’s rocky south shore. The original plan was to start just west of Tower, and stretch fiber optic broadband all the way to the west end of Lake Vermilion, wrapping around the whole of Head of the Lakes Bay. The southern border for broadband deployment would be Hwy. 115 up to about Wakely Rd, where it would then taper to the northwest and Head of the Lakes Bay. The Orr portion of the development would include residential and resort areas along the northwest shore of Pelican Lake and west along Nett Lake Rd. to serve the major areas of residential and commercial properties along the south shore.
The new system will connect with another Band project serving the Vermilion and Nett Lake sectors and Indian Point on Pelican Lake. Sign-ups for those systems have been taking place, and Long said the systems will be coming online soon.
“We have our first customers being lit up on Oct. 30 – that’s for the Nett Lake, Palmquist, and Indian Point areas,” Long said. “And then Nov. 9 we’re doing sign ups for the Vermilion sector and will probably turn them on in mid-November.”
Long said the partnership with CTC has worked well.

Paul Bunyan Communications expanding broadband near Ash Lake (St Louis County)

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The Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) email newsletter, The Ranger, reports…

Paul Bunyan Communications (PBC) is currently extending one of the fastest rural all-fiber optic networks in the United States, the GigaZone™ to approximately 66 unserved households in an area around Ash Lake in rural northwestern St. Louis County (SLC). The locations will soon have access to fiber optic fast broadband with speeds up to 10 Gbps, along with voice telephone services. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a $101,000 Broadband Infrastructure grant to PBC. SLC also provided funding. Total project investment is estimated at $270,000.
The project area is about 15 miles north of Orr and 25 miles south of Ray near US Highway 53. Because the entire project area was considered unserved, it likely would have never received basic broadband service without external assistance. The Ash Lake project has approximately four miles of mainline fiber optic cable and is scheduled to be completed in December.
The 66 locations that will receive new service only had access to internet speeds below 10 Mbps, if any. SLC is Minnesota’s largest county at over 6,200 square miles in size and has the highest number of unserved households in the state.
“This project will give the people and homes access to the fastest internet speeds available, both upload and download speeds up to 10 Gig,” said Steve Howard, Paul Bunyan Communications’ IT & Development Manager. “It will be a huge service improvement for everyone in the project area. In addition to the 66 locations passed, Paul Bunyan Communications was able to leverage the fiber installed to provide services to mobile phone towers. The expanded mobile phone coverage will greatly improve communications throughout the area.”
The GigaZone™ not only provides the capacity to handle current communication technologies quickly and efficiently, but it will also meet the increasing demands of the next generation of broadband innovations. For example, initially the network provided a maximum speed of 1 Gigabit per second, but the technology advanced by 2021 so that the cooperative can now offer speeds up to 10 Gigabits per second.
Paul Bunyan Communications started as a telephone cooperative in 1952 and has grown into the largest broadband cooperative in Minnesota serving over 6,000 square miles throughout most of Beltrami County and portions of Cass, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, and St. Louis Counties. In addition to fiber optic fast Internet speeds up to 10 Gig powered by the GigaZone™, the cooperative offers television services, digital voice services, Residential and Business IT services, and is also the home of northern Minnesota’s certified Apple Service Centers in Bemidji and Grand Rapids.
Email Whitney Ridlon or call her at 218-735-3004 for Broadband Infrastructure grant information.

Minnesota designated a tech hub and now eligible for more federal funding

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports…

Minnesota is now eligible to compete for millions in federal dollars after being designated a tech hub by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

President Joe Biden announced 31 hubs on Monday.

“The U.S. will lead the world again in innovation across the board,” Biden said at a White House event Monday announcing the decision.

The new program aims to spread the benefits of tech sector growth beyond traditional hubs from California’s Silicon Valley to Boston, said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

What does that mean?

MedTech 3.0, like the other 30 hubs, will receive about $400,000 to $500,000 to help put together a plan to compete for the bigger grants. Five to 10 of the hubs will be awarded $40 million to $70 million.

Following MN’s progress toward BEAD initial proposal progress: MN at first stage of 8

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The NTIA has created a dashboard to track states’ progress toward submitting their initial proposal for BEAD funding. Genius – as a former teacher I remember, if you want to get folks to turn things in, create a check list and share it on the chalkboard. Here’s a description from the NTIA website…

This dashboard allows anyone to track how BEAD Eligible Entities are progressing through the major milestones* necessary to submit their Initial Proposal by the December 27, 2023 due date. The dashboard shows a check mark when an Eligible Entity has achieved one of the eight enumerated milestones. Check back here for weekly updates, and to view Initial Proposals that have been released for public comment, visit Public Notice Posting of State and Territory BEAD and Digital Equity Plans/Proposals | BroadbandUSA (doc.gov).
*The BEAD Initial Proposal consists of two separate volumes: Volume I is focused on the Eligible Entity’s challenge process; Volume II consists of the remainder of the Eligible Entity’s BEAD implementation plan.

Here are the steps they track:

  • Vol I draft shared with NTIA
  • Vol I released for public comment
  • Vol I submitted for NTIA approval
  • Vol I approved by NTIA
  • Vol II draft shared with NTIA
  • Vol II released for public comment
  • Vol II submitted for NTIA approval
  • Vol II approved by NTIA

Minnesota has completed the first task. You can see how they compare with the graph below. The Office of Broadband Development plans it to have the draft available in mid-November and then the public will have 30 days to comment. So be sure to mark off a little time to check it out and I’ll definitely let you know about it once it’s available.

 

Posted from: Office of Broadband Development News

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News shared from the Office of Broadband Development email news update…

Applicants for Grant Round 9

Reminder that the Required Pre-Application Outreach to Other Providers needs to be completed by October 26

Minnesota Law 116J.395, subd. 5(9) requires that an application include evidence that no later than six weeks before submission of the application the applicant contacted, in writing, all entities providing broadband service in the proposed project area to ask for each broadband service provider’s plan to upgrade broadband service in the project area to speeds that meet or exceed the State’s broadband speed goals in section 237.012, subd. 1, within the time frame specified in the proposed grant activities. The application is also to include the broadband providers written responses. This means that the required notification to other providers must be completed by October 26, 2023 for an application to be submitted by the last day of the filing window of December 7, 2023. This requirement is in statute and cannot be waived; an application that does not contain the necessary information will not be considered for funding.

We have added Frequently Asked Questions for ISP Providers for those looking at submitting a Broadband Grant application.

Line Extension Connection Program

The portal for the Line Extension Connection program is available until October 31 for inclusion in Round 2. The portal is for those in homes and businesses without a wired broadband service of at least 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload at their location to provide their location information. Eligible addresses will be provided to broadband providers to see if any want to bid through a reverse auction process to serve any of those addresses. Bids selected will qualify for a state grant to help offset construction costs. More information and the portal to register your address is available.

Digital Opportunity Planning Update

Many, many thanks to the hundreds of people who took the time to provide input on Minnesota’s draft Digital Opportunity Plan during the public comment period, which ran from August 21 to September 29. This level of thoughtful participation is phenomenal:

  • 14 Digital Connection Committee co-hosts supporting 16 in-person + 2 virtual listening sessions
  • 304 attendees at all listening sessions combined
  • 65 written public comments totaling 145 pages

OBD is in the process of reviewing feedback to integrate it into the revised draft plan. This revised draft will be submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration no later than November 30 for final review. While this submission will mark a significant milestone in Minnesota’s digital opportunity planning process, it does not mark the end: Ultimately, the digital opportunity plan will remain a working document, subject to ongoing revision as we learn more together about how to tackle digital inequities in Minnesota. Please stay tuned for more information and updates, or contact deed.broadband.equity@state.mn.us with any questions.

Welcome our new Grants Specialist Michelle Rebholz

Michelle previously worked for 15 years in telecom and energy regulation with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and Minnesota Department of Commerce. During that time, she worked on such issues as encouraging competition in the telecom industry and implementing the state’s renewable and carbon free requirements. She lives in North St Paul with her husband of 24 years and her kids, 14 and 11.  In her free time she likes to spend time baking, getting outside, and watching football.

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband

The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband members have been appointed for terms that will expire in April of 2027. More information, along with the future meetings and past meetings and materials is available on our website.

Chair

  • Tewodros (Teddy) Bekele
    Senior VP/CTO, Land O’Lakes

Members

  • Ini Augustine
    Chief Executive Officer, Technologist Computers
  • Bruce Crane
    Representative, Communication Workers of America
  • Steve Fenske
    General Counsel, Minnesota Association of Townships
  • Gail Hedstrom
    Director of the Fergus Falls Public Library
  • Brian Hood
    Operations Manager, Fond du Lac Communications
  • Adam Hutchens
    Marketing Representative, Laborers’ International Union of North America
  • Marc Johnson
    Executive Director, East Central Minnesota Educational Cable Cooperative
  • Daniel Lightfoot
    Intergovernmental Relations Representative/Federal Relations Manager, League of Minnesota Cities
  • Paul McDonald
    Board Chair, St. Louis County Commissioners
  • Briana Mumme
    Economic Development Coordinator, Redwood County
  • Phil Stalboerger
    Senior VP, Medical Transportation Management
  • John Twiest
    CEO/General Manager, Arrowhead Electric Cooperative
  • David Wolf
    CEO, Gardonville Coop Telephone Association
  • Melissa Wolf
    Government Relations Manager, Midco

Now Hiring a Community Engagement and Special Project Coordinator

Make a difference in the lives of Minnesotans.

We are driven to find talented and innovative public servants, motivated by the opportunity to serve businesses, people, and the greater good. At the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) you will join a diverse team, inspired by challenging work and united by shared values that guide our work every day.

Along with access to reliable high speed broadband infrastructure, the Office of Broadband (OBD) seeks to ensure every Minnesotan can afford broadband service and has a device and the digital skills needed to use the internet and engage in online digital work, education, and health monitoring.

Job Summary

Job ID: 70501
Location: St. Paul

Shift: Monday thru Friday 8:00am – 4:30pm

Travel Required: Yes, 20%

Salary Range: $26.64 – $39.06 / hourly; $55,624 – $81,557 / annually

Programs administered include the following:

  1. Coordinating the planning and execution of the Broadband Equity, Access and Development and Digital Equity Programs
  2. Supporting and maximizing Minnesota entities participation in state and federally-funded broadband infrastructure and digital equity programs
  3. Digital skills, broadband adoption and use programs
  4. Community engagement and involvement in the planning process and subsequent participation
  5. Promotion and education of the work of OBD

This posting may be used to fill multiple positions and is open for bids and all qualified job seekers simultaneously. Qualified applicants will be considered through 10/30/2023.

How to Apply

Interested in helping to achieve Minnesota’s Broadband goals?  Apply to join our team!

Select the following link to apply for the Community Engagement and Special Project Coordinator position or visit Minnesota Careers and search for Job ID: 70501

For more information on the Office of Broadband Development, visit our website.

Broadband makes short list of items White House wants to fund for National Security

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The White House is asking the US House to look at ways to find common ground and support a number of projects under the umbrella of National Security Funding…

Over the coming weeks, the Administration looks forward to continued engagement with members of both parties to reach a comprehensive, bipartisan agreement to fund the Government and invest in critical national priorities. As part of that process, the Congress has an opportunity and obligation to advance our national security by addressing critical needs that should earn bipartisan support. Today, I am writing to provide you with the President’s request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 emergency supplemental funding for these key national security priorities.

Broadband is part of the plan…

Finally, our Nation faces additional urgent needs for millions of hard-working Americans. The Office of Management and Budget is refining our estimates of funding required to address recent natural disasters, avoid the risk that millions of Americans lose access to affordable high-speed internet or child care, provide additional resources for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program, and avert a funding cliff for wildland firefighter pay. I anticipate submitting a request for supplemental funds in these areas in coming days, and I continue to urge the Congress to address critical funding needs I communicated in September, including for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

OPPORTUNITY: Free Geek Executive Director Wanted

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It seems like there might be a reader out there who would be a good fit. Free Geek is looking for an executive director. Free Geek Twin Cities offers very low cost desktop packages for customers who can demonstrate financial need. For some reason they don’t type out their job description on the website but it is available in an image:

MN advice on how federal broadband funding should be spent in MN

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports an update on what’s going on (or what local folks think should be going on) with federal funding in Minnesota…

Christopher Mitchell, who directs the community broadband networks program at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis, estimates there are now about 200,000 people in rural Minnesota without a broadband connection to the home — and about 200,000 people in the Twin Cities who can’t afford one that’s available to them.

“Sometimes I chafe at it being described as a rural problem,” Mitchell said. “There’s a bunch of places in Minnesota that have higher-quality internet access and pay less than I do in St. Paul.”

Second, as with anything involving big spending whether it’s a government or business project, the chances are high that money will be misdirected or overspent.

One of the big differences between now and the rural electrification rollout in the 1930s and 1940s is that small companies, often cooperatives, based in the communities they served did most of the hard work.

Data show some of the biggest access gaps for broadband are in rural areas served by the legacy companies of the Baby Bell system of the 1980s and 1990s. Mitchell said he fears too much of the broadband infrastructure money will go to those big companies, when firms with a local or regional focus have extended broadband to farther reaches.

“The state should be preferencing federal dollars going to projects that are locally rooted,” Mitchell said. “A company where the owner and employees are in the community, go to the local church and shop in the grocery store makes different investment decisions than a national one.”

That thinking aligns with the rising technical knowledge and skills in Native American tribes, where broadband service is statistically most scarce.