Category Archives: Broadband Summit 2010

Minnesota Rural Broadband Surveys are out

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I’m pleased to see that the latest Center for Rural Policy and Development Minnesota Internet Survey is now out and available. The Center measures broadband adoption and use. It’s a complement to the Connect Minnesota maps, which currently map access to broadband. Here are some of the highlights of the report:

Statewide, availability continues to spread: 76.8% of households report having computers, 73.5% (95.7% of those with computers) are connected to the Internet, and 69.5% of households (94.3% of households with Internet) are accessing the Internet via broadband. Computer and Internet adoption are up slightly from the last survey, taken in December 2007 and January 2008, when adoption rates were 75.9% for computers and 71.5% for Internet. Broadband adoption is up sharply, nearly 12 percentage points from 57.8% in 2007-08.

In Greater Minnesota, computer, Internet and broadband adoption continue to grow and are catching up with the Twin Cities. Computer ownership went from 73.0% in 2007-08 to 75.5%, while Internet connections have gone from 68.2% in 2007-08 to 71.2% in 2010. Broadband adoption grew from 52.3% to 65.4%.

It’s fun to look at back at the progress we’ve made throughout the state – and exciting to think of how we can use the data to reach more people in the future. For example the correlation is made between computer ownership and access so promoting programs such as PCs for People, which puts computers in the hands of low income households, should help increase broadband adoption. (And indeed, PCfP has told us that a huge percentage of their clients get broadband connections.) We might also take a look at how to promote broadband use without a computer. Maybe smart phones or other broadband-enabled devices will reach the folks who aren’t currently online.

We’ll be talking more about the report and the impact on planning at the Broadband Conference next week: Broadband 2010: Cultivating a Culture of Use.

MIRC October Update

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This week the NTIA announced their final ARRA broadband awards; Minnesota was part of a winning multistate effort to provide online educational opportunities to adults. Connect Minnesota also was awarded funding to extend their mapping in the state for another three years.

We’re excited for the state and it makes us even prouder of our ARRA-funded MIRC project. We feel like the old timers with five months under our belt. Our 11 demonstration communities spent the summer working on their strategies to improve broadband adoption locally. They have unveiled RFPs locally asking folks to submit projects for their consideration. The RDCs have been helping to spread the word beyond the demonstration community borders.

Our project partners have been honing their offerings to meet the needs of the communities. Some folks, such as the University of Minnesota Extension, have hired staff members to manage the program. Other programs, such as PCs for People, have been busy putting computers in the communities and picking up discarded computers to refurbish. We’re in a groove and we’re happy to share our story.

I was pleased to co-present with Bill Coleman and LaDonna Boyd about the Intelligent Community Forum at the annual development conference at DEED. The Intelligent Community Forum provides the underpinnings for our Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities project. You can learn more from our presentation below.

The idea is for communities to build upon a base of solid broadband infrastructure, to pursue the creation, attraction and support of knowledge workers; spur innovation; and address digital inclusion. Communities create their marketing/advocacy story based on these assets.

We’re going to look further into the Intelligent Community Forum with Robert Bell and others October 13-14 at the 2010 Blandin Broadband Conference: Cultivating the Culture of Use.

We will hear from experts, researchers, students and folks in the field who are creating programs to help boost broadband use in their communities. We will also have time and space for attendees to ask questions and tell their stories, and follow up on the work of the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Taskforce to answer the question, “Where are we now – one year later?”

The conference is open to everyone. We’re hoping to get a great variety of voices to help paint that picture of where we are – and maybe to start talking about where we will be next year.