I’m working on something entirely different when I ran across this offer from Lakeside Networks…

Ice House Seasonal WiFi

We are now offering seasonal packages for high-speed Wi-Fi directly to your ice house! Join the list below to register your interest for the program. This service will be sold as a package seasonally from December-March.

Senator Klobuchar’s website reports…

 U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is in Southwestern Minnesota Sunday, June 9th, through Monday, June 10th, to meet with local leaders and businesses in Pipestone, Murray, Rock, Nobles, and Cottonwood counties. At each stop, Klobuchar discussed infrastructure and economic development priorities. These visits are part of Klobuchar’s annual 87 county tour.
“It is great to be in Southwestern Minnesota to meet with leaders and residents to discuss the importance of supporting local economies and businesses in these communities,” said Klobuchar. “Whether it is increasing access to affordable child care, taking steps to strengthen our workforce, or expanding access to broadband, I am working to ensure rural communities across our state are thriving and able to unlock more opportunities for families and businesses.”

From the Office of Broadband Development…

Updates From the Office of Broadband Development

The following updates are available from the Office of Broadband Development:

• Register now! Connecting One Minnesota Summit, Tuesday March 12^th 2024
• Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, February meeting recap
• Digital Equity Act Update
• Welcome to our new staff in the Office of Broadband Development!

Register now! Connecting One Minnesota Summit, Tuesday March 12th 2024

The Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) Office of Broadband Development is hosting the Celebrating 10 Years of Connecting One Minnesota-Broadband Event on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. This hybrid event will bring together people in Minnesota from Internet Service Providers, the federal, state, tribal, local governments, and advocates from across the state. Connecting people to people, people to information, and people to resources in Minnesota is critical to our economic stability and digital opportunity.

Visit the Connecting One Minnesota-Broadband webpage for full information on the agenda, session and speaker biographies, and reserving a hotel room. Please note: Reservations made in the room block must be made by Tuesday February 27th, 2024, at 11:50 PM CST. 

Registration to attend in-person or virtually is available here.  

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, February meeting recap The Task Force met at the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) in St. Paul, MN on Thursday February 15^th to highlight AMC and the counties Legislative platforms, provide an overview of Minnesota’s Legislature and Timelines, go over BEAD and Digital Opportunity updates, and give updates on Task Force Subgroups. The agenda is available, as are minutes from previous Task Force meetings on the Broadband Task Force webpage.Digital Equity Act UpdateOn February 15, Maine became the first state to have its federal digital equity plan accepted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This milestone starts an important clock: NTIA has 30 days from the date of the first plan’s acceptance to issue the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and application materials. The Digital Equity Capacity Grant program is funded at $1.44B and enables states to implement their plans. OBD is awaiting NTIA’s acceptance of Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Plan and looks forward to sharing more information once the NOFO is released.Welcome to our new staff in the Office of Broadband Development!Ace Wesselmann, GIS Analyst Ace is a United States Air Force veteran who has over 10 years of experience working with geospatial data. He has experience working with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency as well as other federal agencies utilizing GIS. Ace has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Bemidji State University and a GIS and Geospatial Technology Certificate from UCLA. Most recently, he has also been studying for and obtaining certifications in Cyber Security. In Ace’s free time he enjoys traveling and the outdoor recreation opportunities that Minnesota offers.

The Office of Broadband Development posts their 2023 Annual Report. The report gives updates on activities of the OBD, the grants they administer, steps taken for federal funding and more. They list the year’s highlights:

• The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced Minnesota’s BEAD allocation to be $651,839,368.00
• MN Legislature approved an additional $50M each year – FY24 and FY25 for broadband infrastructure
• MN Legislature made the Lower Population Density Program permanent (was a pilot program in 2022)
• MN Legislature increased the cap on individual grant award amounts for traditional Border-to-Border to
  $10M
• Connecting One Minnesota: Internet for All Kick-off event in January
• Attended 14 regional Minnesota Association of Townships Trainings
• Held 17 regional and 2 virtual Digital Opportunity Listening Sessions
• Held 8 Tribal Consultations
• Submitted Five-year Action Plan to NTIA
• Submitted a Digital Opportunity Plan to NTIA
• Grant Round 9 Webinar for Border-to-Border and Low Density Broadband Development grant programs
• Submitted Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal Volume 1 and 2 to NTIA
• Certified 2 Telecommuter Forward! Communities
• Updated broadband availability maps in October 5 Office of Broadband Development Annual Report 2023
• Provided broadband availability analysis to over 400 constituents (113 emails and 360 phone calls)
• Participated in state and national meetings and conferences to continue to learn about and/or promote the broadband resources available from state and federal sources
• Met with local groups to provide technical assistance on broadband issues, including the state grant program
• Engaged Minnesota Congressional staff and federal agencies in work to maximize impacts of federal broadband programs in Minnesota
• Provided administrative support to the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
• Provided technical and programmatic information to policy makers on broadband discussions throughout the 2023 legislative session
• Updated the broadband availability by township and by county maps to continue to engage township supervisors and county commissioners in discussion of how to improve broadband availability to their residents
• Updated the broadband availability by school district map to continue to document the homework gap in Minnesota

And here are the next steps and recommendations…

This year, we announced a total of $36,907,763 in Border-to-Border grant projects, $29,961,246 in Lower Population Density grant projects and $4,395,257 in Line Extension Connection projects. Local matches totaled $73,725,747. These grants funded the connection of 13,979 locations.
The 2023 Legislature appropriated $50 million for each of FY 2024 and FY 2025. The FY 2024 State General Revenue Funds of $50 million will fund the ninth grant round. Plans for distribution of the FY 2025 funding are still being developed. Subsequent grant rounds are anticipated to be funded with approximately $652 million in federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Funds (BEAD).
In 2024, in addition to concluding the grant round (Round 9) that opened in December 2023, the Office will be working to ensure it meets all requirements to receive IIJA federal funding for Minnesota’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) allocation in the amount of $651,839,368.00 and Digital Equity Act funding through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Additional attention will be given to working with Digital Connection Committees throughout the state, applying for the Digital Equity Act (DEA) Capacity Grant funds, then using these funds to begin to implement key activities and strategies identified in the approved version of Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Plan.
In preparation for the large influx of federal funding, we anticipate our office to grow both in employee size and
capacity to fulfill the broadband needs for all Minnesotans in 2024 and beyond.
The funding for broadband and for digital equity will require engagement by the Office of Broadband Development, The Minnesota Legislature, partners, stakeholders, and various organizations to ensure that the
resources are put to the best and most efficient use to meet the state’s broadband speed goals and fulfill the definition of digital equity and digital inclusion for all Minnesotans

The Task Force met today. They heard from folks at the Office of Broadband Development, Marc Johnson from ECMECC and Dennis Rice from ECE, a border to border grant recipient. Lots of talk about BEAD funding, especially about mapping, the challenge process and questions about whether fixed wireless will be consider in the definition of broadband. It seems like folks are aligning to help smaller, more rural communities have a fair chance at receiving funding.

It was nice to hear a couple public comments. Also OBD announced a broadband conference happening March 12 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center.

Full notes: Continue reading →

Rank: 84
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Redwood County: Moving up the ranking

Redwood County ranks 63 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 76.23 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1439 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $13.4 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Redwood County has gone from almost 40 percent coverage in 2021 to 80 percent coverage in 2022 and now that has slipped, which is likely a reflection of map challenges and corrections. Redwood County worked on better broadband with the help of a Lead Fellow; they have been asking residents to take a broadband survey.

In December 2022, Arvig received $1.3 million in Border to Border funding to reach 15 unserved and 1,855 underserved households, farms and businesses in the cities of Belview, Clements, Morgan, Seaforth, Vesta, Wabasso, Walnut Grove and Wanda throughout Redwood County and Hanson Communications got almost $1 million to serve 484 underserved locations and 45 unserved locations in and between the towns of Lamberton and Revere in Redwood County.

Redwood County’s work getting the community engaged with a survey will likely help them strive to get federal (BEAD) funding once it becomes available. That is how they retain their yellow ranking.

Grants:

• 2022: Hanson Communications, Inc., $923,918.00
• 2022: Redwood County Telephone Co. dba Arvig, $1,336,037.04 (Learn more)

• 2017 – MVTC (Minnesota Valley Telephone Company, Inc.) – Milroy Broadband Project – GRANT $742,365
• 2016 – ARVIG – REDWOOD COUNTY TELEPHONE MIDDLE MILE FIBER EXTENSION – GRANT: $27,998
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2019: MVTC (Minnesota Valley Telephone Company, Inc.) – Rural Lucan Fiber Project – GRANT $635,400

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Minnesota Valley Telephone Company (MVTC) – Rural Franklin Fiber Project – GRANT $226,800 This middle and last mile project will serve approximately 45 unserved locations in the City of Franklin and the townships of Sherman, Eden, Camp and Birch Cooley in Redwood, Renville and Brown counties.

Checklist:

• Redwood County has worked with the Blandin Foundation

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

The Office of Broadband Development (OBD) hosted their first webinar on the BEAD Initial Proposals. The goal, I think, is to encourage people to submit public comments – not as critiques but also so that OBD has data on what Minnesota readers like in the proposal.

OBD has been doing broadband grants for a long time. In MN we’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. The Minnesota way does not always match with the federal recommendations. For example, Minnesota prioritizes wireline connections; the federal process includes fixed wireless when defining served areas. Minnesota is asking that we stick with the Minnesota definition of wired broadband. That’s an area where one might choose to make a public comment whether you agree or not. Often, I think we forget to speak as loudly when we do agree. (The questions below and at the end of the video get to a couple other areas.)

Below I have video from the session (I was a few minutes late), images of the PPT slides and notes from the question portion. A duplicate webinar will happen tomorrow (Join the December 5 meeting (8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.) and is open to the public.

Here are the documents on which you can comment:

• Minnesota’s Draft Initial Proposal, Volume 1
  • Deduplication of Funding Programs
  • Existing Broadband Funding Sources
  • MN CAI List
• Minnesota’s Draft Initial Proposal, Volume 2
  • BEAD IP Scoring Rubric
  • BEAD Meeting Tracker

Public comments on the BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 1 & 2 can be submitted online by completing this form.

Questions.

How is served/unserved/underserved determined?
Green areas have access and red areas are eligible for BEAD funding. There’s a difference between MN maps and FCC maps.
Considers DSL as underserved

Served locations that don’t receive service as reported will be categorized as unserved/underserved.

Fixed wireless will not be considered served unless providers proves that they can serve location. (So onus is on provider not location/household.)

MN rules Plan A: “you have to have a wired services” but NTIA allows fixed wireless – MN plan if Plan A doesn’t work OBD wants the onus to be on the fixed wireless providers to prove they are able to serve required speeds

MN Laws that might hinder municipal network:

•  429.021 broadband (non-compete) – not applicable since if area is already served, it won’t qualify for funds.
• 237.19 – refers to telephone service and so OBD doesn’t think it’s applicable.

Q: pg 9: Wireless providers are putting customers on the map. What are expectation for challenge process for counties?

• First – requesting that fixed wireless blanket excluded – to match border to border program (NTIA is unlikely to approve)
• Second (if first doesn’t work) – mark fixed wireless as un/underserved unless/until the fixed wireless provider proves that they serve

Q: Do fixed licensed wireless need to provide documentation?
Yes – need to be able to serve area in 10 day and meets other requirements – such as limited latency
Unlicensed wireless providers do not qualify as served.

Q: How can a county get involved in calling out a provider that’s not serving an area?
The County could rebut and say – maybe with speed tests from various locations.

Q: What if NTIA rejects both fixed wireless options?
Locations will have to take multiple speeds tests, then they could submit to county, and county could submit to OBD.

Q: how is state portal different from FCC map?
It will be similar. OBD is working on getting a vendor to create portal.

Q: Why can’t DSL rebut the maps?
Because the FCC has decided it doesn’t county because it’s end of life technology.

Q: Does is help OBD to get feedback from MN folks on the fixed wireless issues?
Yes. Sounds like MN-specific is a good way to go – like mention weather

If you agree with issues – it’s great to feedback on that too.

Arvig announces…

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.

Here are the target areas…

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.

The MN Office of Broadband Development is hosting talks about Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Planning Process. It’s an opportunity for folks to learn more and/or chime in with their view of the Draft Digital Opportunity Plan.

Today was the meeting in West St Paul. There were ten attendees in the meeting and four others who work for DEED or Dakota Library. Attendees include representatives from NTIA, Frontier, OurTech, Reconnect Rondo, community, Ramsey County Digital Equity, Two from Neighborhood House, a community couple and me.

An introduction from Dakota County Librarian – to a crowd of mostly not-Dakota residents.

• 11 percent of Dakota County does not have easy home broadband. Almost 20 percent does not have easy access if you remove smartphones as an option. At the library, we offer people access to computers and broadband.
• We are piloting self service hours that allows patrons to access library technology (in the building) during off hours in Farmington. The pilot has been going well. We hoped for 100 users; we have 465 users so far.
• Information knowledge is also important so we offer a range of technology classes. We do information literacy, online marketing as well as one-on-one help for folks who need it.
• We have wifi in public parks and buildings.

Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Program Lead, introduced the opportunity that the Draft Digital Opportunity Plan addresses. The slide projector isn’t working but I will post images from the PowerPoint below:

Questions about the overview/background:

Can we apply for Digital Equity competitive or capacity grants?
You can apply for both if you help folks use broadband.
Infrastructure will be completely different than Digital Equity funds. It is likely that infrastructure funding will go through the Border to Border grant process or other process created for the Office of Broadband Development.

Questions about the current situation:

Do you track folks who don’t have a computer, tablet, laptop or smartphone?
No

How does the State of MN handle this info? DO we need for everyone to want to have technology?
There should be choice – we’re just trying to get into the idea of choice.
We want to remove every barrier but not dictate use.

Questions about the draft digital opportunity plan:

Can you include infrastructure?
No

Can you suggest policy changes?
No

Can the Digital Community Groups make recommendations?
Yes. And the Broadband Task Force can do that too.

When will we have this money?
Sometimes in 2024, probably by July 1

When we distribute devices, we recognize that there is an ongoing cost involved with security?
Maybe we need to think about how to incorporate something like that.
People who drive a car need to get insurance; maybe people with computers need to be responsible for getting security for their computers.

How many state agencies are there? How many are looking at e-government?
25-26 state agencies.

Comments/questions from people doing digital equity work:

• I worked in a career lab, I think more effort could go to the people who are working with the people to get better tech skills.
• I see that there may be funding for “pilot digital navigator services” will you also continue programs that have already started? How can we institutionalize digital navigation training?
• We need better support for our jobs.
• We should have more opportunities for women-, vet- and minority-owned businesses.

The open comment period is open.

The Perham Focus reports…

Arvig has been awarded a $182,576 grant from Minnesota’s Border to Border Broadband program to expand its fiber network to 240 unserved structures in Sherburne County.

Construction on the last-mile fiber network will take place near the Travelers Country Club on the Mississippi River, southeast of Clearwater.

When complete, the network will provide residents with internet speeds from 100Mbps (20Mbps upload) up to 10Gbps (1Gbps upload), which meets or exceeds Minnesota’s 2026 state speed goal. …

The total project cost for the network is estimated at $456,440. Arvig will provide a local match of $182,576, and Sherburne County and the state will contribute $91,288 toward the project.

Bree Maki, director of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development, presented Governor Walz’s proposed broadband budget to the Minnesota House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee today (Jan 26). (See handouts.)

Here are their questions:

Q: what does 100/20 mean? Can I zoom with it?
These are faster than original speed goals. They coincide with federal speeds.

Q: But what can you do with it?
One person can Zoom. I have fixed wireless and can work from home even when college kid is home.

Q: What are grant ranges? And how many do you award?
Last year, we distributed $99M in 61 grants. WE have a $5M cap and are piloting a $10M. WE have heard that $5M isn’t enough.

Q: what about mobile vs fiber broadband?
We are technology agnostic. Mobile is catching up; people used hotspots during the pandemic. But fiber is more reliable.

Today local governments, community leaders, industry, state and federal representatives and other critical partners from around the state met to learn about key programs that are aimed at expanding broadband infrastructure and promoting digital equity for our residents. There were folks you have been attending broadband conferences for 17+ years and there were some first timers. There’s more discussion now on digital inclusion than there was in this room in the early days. There’s a recognition now that we need to build both supply and demand.

My notes are high level but should at least provide some outline of what was discussed and when if you want to check out the video. (At each break a new video starts.)

Welcome and Introductions • Commissioner Steve Grove, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

• Excited about digital equity work
  Have a opportunity to make a difference

Evan Feinman, BEAD Program Director, NTIA

• Nearly 250,000 families without adequate broadband
  We pledge to provide support for people who need federal help and we will be accessible

9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Broadband in Minnesota: A Look Back This session will look at broadband programs the state has developed to help its communities thrive and how they have overcome some of the unique challenges in the state. Past Governor’s Task Force on Broadband members:

Rick King, Chairman | Metropolitan Airports Commission Former Chair of the Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force

• A diverse group of people came up with a consensus report
• Speed level of 10-20 Mbps down and 5-10 up
• The goal may have seemed underwhelming for some but we set a goal
• Also set some world class goals

Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Director of Public Works | City of Minneapolis Former Chair of the Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband

• We are not just reporting – we followed up on federal money (ARRA)
• We created the OBD
• We created the MN Broadband grants – we knew part of MN would never get covered through market case scenarios

Teddy Bekele, Chief Technology Officer | Land O’Lakes Technology Chair of the Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband

• Creating a report for Governor and Legislators
• Focus on getting funding
• Only 23 percent of the state has gig access

9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Charting the Path to Connecting all Minnesotans This panel will include a variety of speakers talking about legislative and local efforts to ensure Minnesotans have access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet.

Moderator: Scott Marquardt, Senior Vice President, Southwest Initiative Foundation

• Tarryl Clark, Commissioner, Stearns County & Chair, NACo Telecommunications and Technology Policy Steering Committee
• Amanda Duerr, Vice President of Public Affairs, St. Paul Chamber of Commerce
• Jeff Lacher, CWA Representative, Communications Workers of America
• Randy Long, IT Director, Boise Forte Tribal Government
• Nathan Zacharius, Technology Policy Analyst, Association of MN Counties

Notes:

• We should hold grant recipients to higher standard, not simply meeting base requirements but striving to really get people connected.
• We need to train more technicians
• COVID has helped to make the case for broadband
• Funding is very helpful $400+million gap in federal funding and state need
• We need to update speed goals
• We need to increase match grant from $5 million; we have more funds now and it’s more expensive to reach the areas that aren’t served. The low density grants *with $10 million cap) may be a better model.
• Want to make a difference – contact your legislators. Individual voices brought together are powerful
• Which committees are you watching at the Legislature? House – Agriculture Finance and in Senate Agriculture, Broadband and Rural Development
• The message at the Legislature is that broadband is rural and the only need is infrastructure – we need to refocus that to think about more than just infrastructure. Adoption is important too. Let’s figure out their barrier and address those issues.
• We need to do education with legislators
• Question: What do you do if local match is too much?
  We need to figure that out with the OBD and NTIA – we are using county and township ARPA funds.
  With State applications – any amount of partnership investment helps with grant scoring.
  Partnering with the right provider is key
• Question: How can tribal government make match?
  Look at the low density grants.
• Question: Will we have enough time to deploy funded projects?
  That is a real concern. There is a state office that slows things down.
  We don’t want to wait on this.
  We could look at one-time funds but in large amount with a slow drip.
  Let’s give a thought to RDOF.

Question: We have 20 providers in our county with 25 percent satisfaction rate. We’re very piecemeal. We want to create a cooperative. Our local providers do not always get along. What do you think about starting a cooperative?
People have had good luck with it – for example Rock County.

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Overview of Federal Broadband Funding Opportunities Representatives from the federal government will provide in-depth overviews of and answer questions about current broadband programs.

Moderator: Julie Tesch, President & CEO, Center for Rural Policy and Development

• James Baltazar, Senior Analyst, Office of Field Policy and Management, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Andre Boening, General Field Representative, Minnesota & Wisconsin Telecommunications Program | Rural Development
• Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer for Minnesota, NTIA
• Alejandro Roark, Chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at FCC
• Theron Rutyna, Program Specialist, Tribal Broadband Connectivity and Nation-to-Nation Coordination Division, NTIA (Virtual)

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Why Digital Equity Matters This panel will feature cross-sector leaders discussing why digital equity matters to the communities and populations they work with and why their input is so critical to the state in the development of the Five[1]Year and Digital Equity Plans.

Moderator: Tuleah Palmer, Chief Executive Officer, Blandin Foundation

• Phil Essington, Director of Broadband and Digital Inclusion, Hennepin County
• Jay Haapala, Associate State Director – Community Engagement, AARP
• Jenny Larson, Executive Director, Three Rivers Community Action
• Linda Larson, Executive Committee Member, Minnesota Farmers Union
• Erik Sievers, MBA, MSW, LICSW, Executive Director, Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center (Virtual)
• Question: how do you collaborate?
  We need to challenge our assumptions. Barriers take all forms.
  There are older people in rural areas. At AARP we are focusing on training. 94 percent of members 45+ said broadband was very important.
  In MN 1 in 10 are living in poverty. We are looking for solutions we can implement. Broadband access is a critical need for our clients. 70+ percent don’t have access at home – part of that is access and part is affordability. We work with communities of color – we made an effort to go to them, to get translators, to figure out there needs and connect them with help.
  We get our members to tell their stories to the policymakers.
  We ask members and clients about their needs early and often.
• Question: Is there an oversight group that looks at digital red lining?
  There is a difference in services offered and prices charge depending on geography.
  We like to see new technologies. We’d like to see speeds get better everywhere.
• Question: I like in a rural area. There are no counselors. It seems like an opportunity to use telehealth.
  We have been able to open up jobs to folks who don’t live in the area. Another problem that telehealth can prevent long distance driving when the folks in need have access to broadband.
• Question: Housing – everyone in friend’s senior housing is paying for internet/cable than for rent.
  We are trying to get people signed up for ACP but in multi-dwelling units, sometimes the provider of choice does not accept ACP.
  We are starting to look at community space with wifi access.
• Question: How do you get people together to work on these issues?
  We are always talking to our partners and clients. We all know each other so we’re together often. Also we need to take the time to look around the table to see who is not here and find a way to get them to the table.
  It takes effort, time and cost. We use local advisory committees. We also use annual surveys.
  It’s part of the way we do service. Since the pandemic, we’ve been adding zoom to our ways of reaching folks/
• Question: Having access doesn’t mean you will access – especially with seniors.
  We need to get partners involved and meet people where they are
• Question: With low income housing – is there a way to work through the landlord rather than residents?
  We are working on that. If you live in public housing, you do qualify for ACP so it makes sense.

12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Networking Lunch Attendees are encouraged to network with each other and discuss ways they can work together to expand broadband access and digital equity in their communities.

1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Digital Equity in Best Practice This panel will feature speakers talking about their concrete work in the digital equity arena in terms of planning, programs, strategy, sustainability, and the impact the work has on communities.

Moderator: Julia Carlis, President, Minnesota Library Association and Senior Library Manager, Washington County Library

• Katy Armendariz, MSW, LICSW, Founder, Minnesota CarePartner
• Ling Becker, Director of Workforce Solutions, Ramsey County and Executive Director, Ramsey County Workforce Innovation Board
• Hussein Farah, Founder & Executive Director, New Vision Foundation
• Ann Hokanson, Executive Director, Traverse des Sioux Library Cooperative
• Allison Waukau, American Indian Community Liaison, Hennepin County
• Question: We have to think about accessible from all lenses.
  Is it on the bus line? Is there easy/free parking? Are there multiple languages available (including ASL)? Is “in home” possible?
  Technology should be predictable.
  Broadband speed goals needs to consider the needs of a family household.
  Teachers much have hard tech and soft communication skills.
  Partnerships are critical
  Each partner should bring a partner to grow the coalition.
  Have culturally appropriate programming.

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Industry Panel: Networking Design and Build This panel will feature industry representatives discussing conditions needed for design and build of broadband networks, funding challenges, what industry may be looking for in partners as well as workforce consideration needs.

Moderator: Carter Grupp, Broadband Coordinator, Otter Tail County – American Connection Corps

• Jill Huffman, CEO Harmony Telephone/MiBroadband/Spring Grove Communications
• Chris Konechne, Director of Client Services, Finley Engineering Company
• Jon Loeffen, Senior Director, Technology & Telecommunications at Northeast Service Cooperative
• Melissa Wolf, Government Relations Manager, Midco
• Question: Any tips or recommendations for the Border to Border grants?
  The $5 million cap makes it difficult to extend the network to new areas
  The low density pilot program ($10 million cap) is exciting.  With lower caps, it’s tough to make a business case for building broadband to some areas.
  The staff at OBD is amazing.
  The Line Extension program should help folks who are close to middle mile but not close enough.
• Question: What make a strong community for partnership?
  Minnesota is the gold standard
• Question: What about the challenge process?
  It’s getting more and more complex. Minnesota is ahead of the game – but getting a heads up on challenges early in the game.
  The border to border challenge comes down to getting relationships nailed down with providers.
• Q: There’s a lot of money coming in. Will labor be an issue for many large projects?
  A skilled workforce is a challenge. We’ve been engaging our local colleges more.
  It takes a year for our new hires to be self led.
  Managing expectations is a big deal.
• Question: what if you don’t have a local champion
  Reach out to incumbent provider
• Question: How can the state help keep broadband affordable?
  Need to balance cost with affordability. RDOF at least understood a formula for the balance.
  Grants help with build out but not maintenance.
  As a cooperative, we have a slower expectation for ROI but we need to make sure we are paying bills. We also help to maximize the use by our stakeholders.
• Question: How does county map fiber when providers don’t want to share the info?
  It adds to the delay in design and deployment.
  Develop the relationship to build trust. There are issues with publishing data on networks. State of MN has a map that works. Also need to work on awards.
• Questions: Are there barriers we have not yet addressed?
  High cost to get to some areas.
  Things can time and don’t always coincide with construction seasons.
  Staying on budget and on time is tough.
  Overlapping windows of grant application announcements and awards.
  Rights of way are an issue – access to poles and private easement
• Question: What about the solution? What new technologies can help?
  There’s more technology going into the networks everyday. Provider managed wifi is now standard. GIS mapping has helped with permitting but in the end, we’re still dealing with lack of connectivity to end user. Fixed Wireless is a rising star.
  Part of the solution is what we’re doing here today.
• Question: How can small companies work with large providers?
  Given them my name.
  We have a number of subcontractors; we like folks from the area. We’re always open.

2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Break

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Local Coordination: How to Get Involved The state’s broadband success will rely on strong stakeholder engagement and input. This session will feature speakers discussing how everyone can have a voice and share needs, challenges, and solutions to specific broadband access problems across the state.

Moderator: Scott Cole, CEO / Co-Founder, Collectivity

• Elliot Christensen, Planner and Grant Writer, Lower Sioux Indian Community
• Steve Fenske, General Counsel, MN Association of Townships
• Dawn Hegland, Executive Director, Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission
• Nancy Hoffman, Executive Director, Chisago County HRA-EDA
• Daniel Lightfoot, Intergovernmental Relations & Federal Relations Manager, League of Minnesota Cities
• Question: What starts/moves the movement for better broadband?
  The built a team.
  Someone had a specific need.
  They started by talking to the incumbent providers.
  They all invested local dollars.
  Survey residents.
• Q: Who are the right folks for a team?
  It depends on the community. It might be healthcare or workforce.
• Q: Who wasn’t at the table and how could you improve?
  There are two part of broadband: broadband and digital equity. We need to work on take rates.
• Q: Is each town different or are there commonalities?
  There are some models to choose from. Some will work some places and others won’t. But providers working with communities seems to work well most places.

3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Next Steps: Barriers and Tools to Break Them Down This session will focus on how community members can participate in the state’s broadband grant programs and provide input. It’ll also highlight resources that are available to communities at the state and federal level.

Moderator: Benya Kraus Beacom, VP of Civic Ventures, Lead for America – American Connection Corps

• Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer for Minnesota, NTIA
• Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Program Lead, Office of Broadband Development, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
• Diane Wells, Deputy Director, Office of Broadband Development, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

4:15 p.m. Closing and Thank You

• Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development

The American Library Association has created a report that places libraries in their role and potential role in providing digital equity serves in the midst of federal funding to help close to digital divide. The report is full of good info, tips and timelines….

This report highlights just some of the thousands of ways America’s 117,000 libraries of all types—including school, public, community college, college & research, tribal, and special—are instrumental in supporting and advancing digital equity.

Libraries:

■ Bring the internet to their community.

■ Aid their community in building digital skills.

■ Create informed internet users.

■ Support workforce development and entrepreneurship.

■ Support and connect their residents to social services and telehealth.

■ Lend or provide technology like computers, tablets, hotspots, etc., to users who do not have one.

■ Build coalitions of community partners to create digitally equitable communities.

Libraries have a proven track record over many decades of advancing these activities. Funding libraries will allow us to not only support these efforts in our community now but allow us to build and implement new approaches that can promote and support digital equity, literacy, and inclusion in the years to come.

Finally, ALA recommends that:

■ State broadband leaders and policymakers include state library agencies in statewide digital equity planning groups and leverage their unparalleled reach into all public libraries to strengthen communications and outreach statewide;

■ State and local education agencies include K-12 school librarians and college and university library leaders in digital equity planning and deployment;

■ Libraries increase awareness of their local technology assets to improve coordination across all levels of government and develop grant proposal ideas for the forthcoming funding programs;

■ Congress enable sustainable funding for digital equity through measures like the Digital Equity Foundation Act; and

■ Federal agencies continuously work to reduce administrative and record-keeping barriers that limit participation by small libraries and other community-based entities and increase incentives and streamlining for consortial applications. ALA will continue to synthesize and share policy information and best practices libraries and allies can use to build a digitally equitable future for all. Learn more online at ala.org/ advocacy/broadband.

Last week, I looked at how Minnesota Counties ranked for access to 100 Mbps down and 20 up, which is the state speed goal for 2026. Today I wanted to look at ranking for access to gig access. I’m always surprised at how the ranking goes, even though I look at it every year. Counties that consistently do well with other speeds are no where near the top. Urban counties are not necessarily in the top; in fact sometimes they are at the bottom. The folks who do well for gig access are in good shape for future broadband needs. The folks who do not do well, may feel like they are in a good position, but as more and more daily tasks and opportunities move online, they will hit bandwidth barriers. This is something to remember as folks vie for access to federal funds for broadband improvements. Gig should be the gold standard.

Here are the top 10 ranked counties:

Wadena and Steele counties are new to the top 10 list. Congrats to them. Steele bumped up one place from last year and Wadena actually bumped up 6. Lincoln county bumped up 7 spots to take the top ranking. Worth noting that the top 10 counties have more than 84 percent gig coverage. Statewide, that percentage is 23.36.

Here are the 10 bottom ranked counties:

There’s not much to say about the bottom counties. Clearly, they all have less than 4 percent gig coverage. And three of the ten counties are metro: Washington, Anoka and Ramsey. These counties aren’t entirely urban but certainly Ramsey county has a much higher population density that most other counties in the state.

What might be more interesting than digging into the lower ranked counties is to look at the 10 most improved:

I’ll take a deeper dive into why some counties improve and why some don’t later this year when I do the county profiles but quickly Faribault was part of almost $2 million in Border to Border grants in 2021; presumably that helped. They also looked at using CARES funding for broadband and again that would help.

Below is a list of how all of the counties rank; you can also get that in excel. Continue reading →