Legislative Update from MN Broadband Coalition

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News from the MN Broadband Coalition…

House and Senate Hear Broadband Bills; $1.5 billion Surplus
Saint Paul—It was a busy week at the Minnesota State Capitol, so let’s jump right into the big news items that are affecting broadband advocates and the Coalition.
Day on the Hill Registration Is Open
The online registration portal for our March 12 Broadband Day on the Hill is now open. Please click this link to register today! We will have a full day of speakers and legislative meetings.
Coalition Elects Vince Robinson as New Chair
During the full Coalition meeting on Tuesday February 25, members voted unanimously to elect Vince Robinson as the new Coalition Chair. He takes over for Nancy Hoffman who recently stepped down. We want to thank both Vince and Nancy for their years of hard work and dedication to broadband access and the Coalition!
MMB Announces $1.5 Billion Surplus
Legislators and citizens alike got the good news Thursday morning that the state’s economy remains strong. The state is projected to have a $1.5 billion surplus, according Minnesota Management and Budget’s February Revenue and Economic Forecast. This figure is $200 million more than the $1.3 billion that was projected in the November report.
Republicans and Democrats are already offering competing ideas for what the state should do with the additional dollars, while both parties agree the state should maintain a healthy “rainy-day” budget reserve account. Republican leaders Sen. Paul Gazelka and Rep. Kurt Daudt talked about using surplus dollars for tax relief plans that would target the social security tax. House Democrats have already put forward plans for paid family leave, early childhood, and education. Both parties are also beginning to talk about leaving some wiggle room to address the Coronavirus, should it become a local issue.
Now that we know exactly how much additional funding will be available, we will see a supplemental budget proposal from the governor, likely around March 10. The House and Senate will also release their initial budgets and give each committee a target for how much it can spend. After deciding which programs will receive funding, committees will assemble all new spending into a single bill which will become the state’s supplemental budget. Although we are still over two months away from the May 18 adjournment date, the roadmap to the end of session became a little clearer with today’s surplus announcement.
House and Senate Broadband Hearings
On Monday February 24, the Senate Agriculture, Rural Development, and Housing Finance Committee heard SF 3049 authored by Sen. Rich Draheim. The Committee received testimony from the Office of Broadband on the basics of the Border-to-Border Grant Program and how much it has improved rural broadband access in the last 7 years. Jane Leonard of Growth and Justice testified on behalf of the Coalition, asking committee members to provide a $30 million annual appropriation for broadband—thank you Jane! The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the committee’s supplemental budget.

On Wednesday, February 26, the House Greater Minnesota Jobs and Economic Development Finance Division heard Rep. Rob Ecklund’s HF 3029, the House version of SF 3049. There was a robust discussion between committee members and the Office of Broadband about access, program length, targeting grants, and matching funds. After that Vince Robinsion, newly elected Chair of the Coalition testified in favor of the bill alongside representatives from Minnesota Farmers Union, BEVCOMM, MN Rural Counties Caucus, and Woodstock Communications. The committee elected to not take action on the bill and will take it up when the committee receives a budget target from House leadership.

Vince Robinson addressing the House Committee

With a $1.5 billion surplus, the Coalition remains cautiously optimistic for additional broadband funding. Governor Walz has said he is in favor of at least $30 million in one-time funding and we have bipartisan support in both chambers for the program.  We will continue to work with legislative leadership as they develop budget targets and, eventually, a supplemental budget to make sure they know that additional broadband funding is required to stay on track to meeting our state speed goals.

Changes to Lifeline programs put onus on customer to reapply and may lead to lost access

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Duluth News Tribune reports…

State regulators worry changes to a federal assistance program could disrupt a discount phone and broadband service for some low-income Minnesotans.

Called Lifeline, the program launched in 1985 as a way to make landline telephone service more affordable for poorer households. It has since grown to offer broadband internet and wireless phone service as well.

Changes in the program require the customers to apply for access and prove eligibility, rather than allowing a provider to step in as proxy or support…

Under the old system, companies that offer Lifeline services in Minnesota could re-enroll their own customers for the program. Recipients of the five programs are automatically considered eligible.

Companies could then ask the Minnesota Department of Human Services to check their subscribers’ eligibility against their records of benefit recipients when it came time to re-enroll.

However, the new system requires Lifeline subscribers to enroll or register again for the program directly through the Universal Services Administrative Cooperative, or USAC, the nonprofit designated by the FCC to administer it. Some subscribers might already be familiar with the organization because it previously handled outreach and re-enrollment upon request for many of the companies that offer the program’s services.

But because the “the USAC is not a household name,” as a Minnesota Public Utilities Commission analysis put it, it tends to receive fewer responses from subscribers than companies do when contacting them on their own. The concern now is that the organization’s lack of brand recognition will persist even as it takes on new households to deal with.

Officials worry that, going forward, some Lifeline subscribers might simply dismiss mailings from the USAC or mistake its requests for personal information as a scam.

Not only would I worry about dismissing the request, I’d worry about scammers. It sounds as confusing as domain name renewals, which are ripe for fraud. Many of my clients worry every time they get a letter about a domain name and they are generally businesses, who at times have paid scammers money without realizing.

And the situation gets even more confusing…

And failure to reapply for the program could cause them to lose out on services for which they still qualify — at least temporarily. In an email, PUC executive secretary Will Seuffert said that de-enlisted subscribers will be able to re-apply for Lifeline immediately after they have been removed.

Complicating the transition is the fact that in Minnesota and several other states, the USAC has not yet connected to state databases of federal benefit recipients. Using the databases, the organization can automatically and electronically re-enroll qualifying Lifeline subscribers each year.

There is no official word on when the USAC will connect to Minnesota’s databases, which are maintained by the state Department of Human Services. A spokesperson for the organization said that its new application and re-enrollment system, called National Verifier, currently has access only to the federal Medicaid and Federal Public Housing program databases for automatic re-enrollment.

“For many consumers, recertification occurs without them knowing — if our electronic check finds you in a database, you’re recertified without any action from the consumer,” said USAC spokesperson Jaymie Gustafson. “For those who need to manually recertify, USAC will mail them the paper recertification form and follow up with up to three robocalls or reminder postcards.”

National Verifier, meanwhile, will launch in Minnesota in late March.

How many people will this impact and what’s the plan?

The PUC could not say how many Minnesotan’s subscriptions could be cancelled by mistake as a result of the switch. Only about 50,300 Minnesotans subscribed to the program as of January 2018, according to the PUC.

For most subscribers, the program provides a discount of $9.25 per month per household. Subscribers on tribal lands, however, can receive a monthly discount of up to about $34. Many of the companies that offer Lifeline in Minnesota, according to the PUC, also offer free voice, text and data services to their subscribers as well as a free cellphone.

Minnesota’s state Telephone Assistance Program, by contrast, offers landline phone discounts of up to $7.

At its meeting Thursday, the PUC considered a measure to direct companies that offer Lifeline to provide written notice to their customers about the transition to the USAC-managed enrollment system. Officials from other state agencies who were present for the meeting expressed support for the idea, which Gustafson said USAC recommends as well.

How can broadband help you prepare for coronavirus or other disasters?

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According to MPR  News, Minnesota Department of Health has been reaching out to schools and businesses to make sure they have plans in place in case of coronavirus-related closures or special precautions. I can’t help but think that communities with broadband are in a better position than those without.

As the MPR article, points out, Minnesota is in a better position than some states because we have plans for snow days, which is a good start but is that enough. Below are some ways that broadband can help. Read through and maybe plan a meeting with your people to brainstorm how technology could help you and what you need to do now to make it possible.

Work or study from home if you’re sick

Stay at home if you’re sick is one of the top three recommendations to prevent spread of illness (along with cover your cough and wash your hands). Places that have curriculum or work online will make it easier for people to stay at home without losing ground. Now is a good time for teachers and schools to find a way to make assignments and classwork available online. It might be as simple as livestreaming classes and making better use of the school portals.

Work can be different. Some jobs lend themselves to work from home (like writing a blog); some do not (working a production line). For businesses that don’t lend themselves to obvious remote work, management might want to think of any remote work that might benefit the business. Can employees work on documentation, support customers by phone or even remotely monitor and manage work? An option that allows employees to stay at home without losing revenue makes it easier to decide to stay home.

In case of closures

Schools may be able to build upon their snow day plans if they are required to close – again with online classwork and homework. If closures are extended, schools may want to work with students to find ways to continue learning. Students (certainly beyond age 10) will have found a way to hang out online – group chats, chatrooms, facetime – they will find a way. Teachers and schools may tap into how those tools can be used to recreate a virtual classroom. Now might be a good time to look into options – at least ask students what they use to hang out on their own and check those resources out.

Again businesses are different but it makes sense for owners and managers to consider now what if anything can be done remotely if they need to close. Is there a office intranet? Can it be accessed off site? Now would be a good time to make that possible. Do you provide services? If so, making sure that key employees can interact with clients remotely via video chat or other online tool. Have a yoga studio? Maybe you can livestream classes into members’ home homes, keeping you and them our of harm’s way. Who knows it may lead to innovation you can use regardless of what happens?

Another thing to consider is that while we may stay open in Minnesota, closures in other parts of the world may make work difficult or impossible. If that’s becomes the case, are there good house keeping tasks that can be planned. Is now the time to deploy LEAN procedures, research your competitors or make customer care phone calls to check in with folks who might be in the same boat and happy to give you feedback on your service?

For families

Yesterday my daughter suggested we buy actual ingredients (as opposed to prepared food), just in case and of course she’s right. But in terms of broadband, it can be used to keep in communication with loved one and make sure everyone it OK. So now is the time to make sure that your loved ones are connected, have a device and know how to use it. A great weekend activity might be visiting grandma and letting her soon-to-be favorite grandkid get her set up with one-click access to Facebook video messenger, email, Instagram or any other tool that the whole family can tap into. It will make checking in easier and minimize loneliness if public spaces start closing.

Of course, as with any of the suggestions I’ve made, broadband is required. In unserved areas that may mean tapping into cellular networks and getting a smartphone or tablet. Or here is where satellite might come into its own. It has its limitations, but it is available everywhere. So if you or a loved one have no other option, now is the time to consider what could work.

Minnesota projected budget surplus grows slightly to $1.5B

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MPR News reports…

The state of Minnesota is expected to have a budget surplus of $1.513 billion over the next two years, the state’s budget office predicted Thursday.

This is an increase from the $1.3 billion surplus that was predicted in December.

They include info on Governor’s expected plan for the surplus…

Walz intends to release a supplemental budget around March 10. Among other items, he has said his plan would include millions of dollars in spending recommendations for broadband expansion grants, disaster response, increased rape-kit testing and farm safety initiatives.

Things seems positive but the story also talks a lot about unpredictable impact of the coronavirus, which is the reminder of all of the moving pieces in the legislature.

Minnesota lifted as leaders in recent report: How States Are Expanding Broadband Access

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Today Pew Research released their latest report – How States Are Expanding Broadband Access. They looked at state to see what’s working and what’s not. They recognize that there are no magic bullets but found five practices that seemed to work well:

  • Stakeholder outreach and engagement.
  • Policy framework.
  • Planning and capacity building.
  • Funding and operations.
  • Program evaluation and evolution.

They also look at a few states that they found to be notable: Colorado, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. (Yay Minnesota!)

The pull our a few lessons that they attribute to Minnesota:

  • Key takeaway: Partners can be valuable advocates and sources of support for broadband programs.
  • Key takeaway: Setting a forward-looking goal and rallying everyone around it brings focus to a program and ensures that all stakeholders are working toward the same target.
  • Key takeaway: Setting a forward-looking goal focuses state investment on infrastructure that will continue to meet future needs.

And a little bit about what they say about Minnesota and partnership…

Strong, collaborative relationships between stakeholders are the cornerstone of Minnesota’s efforts to expand broadband access. “It is talking to people and understanding what they need … and trying to reflect their voice in the policy and programs,” said MacKenzie, the former executive director of the Office of Broadband Development.49 Minnesota has built these relationships through formal and informal engagement.

The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, formed in 2011, provides a forum for stakeholders to study and discuss issues related to broadband.50 Its 15 members represent communities, businesses, local governments, educational institutions, health care facilities, tribes, and ISPs.51 As former Chairwoman Margaret Anderson Kelliher noted, “There is value in having an outside group that is not exclusively elected and appointed officials but has more of a perspective of a public view.”52 The task force releases an annual report outlining policy recommendations for the governor and Legislature, and its work has helped to advance the state’s broadband policy. (For more on Minnesota’s broadband policy, see the “Policy framework” section below.)

The nonprofit Blandin Foundation has been an important partner for Minnesota’s broadband program. The group has worked on broadband efforts since 2007,53 including engaging communities across the state on connectivity issues. It also provides grants and technical assistance to support broadband planning and adoption efforts, including helping communities write successful applications for the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program.54 (For more on Minnesota’s grant program, see the “Funding and operations” section below.)

Blandin also amplifies the voice of rural communities through the Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition, which it formed with the Office of Broadband Development in 2015 to “strengthen rural people’s capacity to be their own voice.”55 The coalition brings together local governments and community groups, business and philanthropic partners, and others from rural areas across the state that are interested in broadband development.56 And it lobbies the Legislature to support broadband expansion efforts, including funding for the Office of Broadband Development and the Border-to-Border grant program.

Of course I like the nod to the Blandin Foundation but I also like the example of the public private partnerships that have really pushed Minnesota to leader position. Bernadine Joselyn always says, you have to do it yourself but you can’t do it alone. The Pew Report backs up that idea.

 

MN Equity Blueprint unveiled today including six broadband recommendations

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Today Growth & Justice unveiled their Minnesota Equity Blueprint            today with a multi-location online event, which gave an opportunity to hear from voices from around the state in their hometown setting emphasizing that Minnesotans have more that united us than divide us. (Best use of online meeting ever, which in turn is great use of broadband!)

The Minnesota Equity Blueprint is intended to serve as a comprehensive policy guidebook for the next decade, to address these demographic and geographic disparities, to build a more inclusive economy, to find more common cause between rural and urban Minnesotans and to restore our natural environment. It was created out of community and consensus in meetings around the state over the last 18 months. Attendees talked about what was important to them, ideas were grouped, interdepencies were mapped out and eventually everything was distilled into a document with four chapters:

  1. Human Capital
  2. Economic Development
  3. Infrastructure
  4. Environmental Resilience

Broadband plays highly in the Infrastructure chapter, on the highest end this is the recommendation…

Expand and increase funding for Broadband partnerships and the Border-to-Border Broadband Development program.

And here are the more detailed policy recommendations… Continue reading →

MN House Committee meets to discuss broadband bill HF3029

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Yesterday the Greater Minnesota Jobs and Economic Development Finance Division met to discussion HF3029. Unfortunately I was at another meeting and could attend but there is an audio archive. (Download Mp3)

Here are notes from the meeting:

HF3029 (Ecklund) – Broadband development grant program annual statutory appropriation provided, and money appropriated.
The meeting started with Rep Ecklund introducing the bill explain that the extra funds would help Minnesota get on track to making the Minnesota state speed goals by 2022.
They talked about this money being ongoing funds – not a one-time appropriation, which is different from last year. Representatives wondered how long it
They hear from:
Angie Dickison and Diane Wells spoke and their presentation was similar to what they talked about at an earlier Senate Committee. There were questions/comments:
  • How are the grants dispersed in terms of unserved/underserved areas?
    The grants can go to underserves areas. There are a number of criteria that go into scoring the applications.
  • How long will it take to get to ubiquitous coverage?
    The Task Force is looking at that issue. Their last report lead to the proposed funding.
  • How will you serve the very sparse areas and economically distressed areas?
    We will likely have to look at less than 50 percent match requirement.
  • The phone companies decide on the networks. They won’t pay for a network that won’t make money. If we help some companies and not others the others will be mad. We need a national roll out – like Nebraska.
  • Can wireless help?
    Yes. We are agnostic to technology type so long as the technology will scale to 100/100 speeds required.
  • How big a problem is gopher chewing on fiber?
    It’s an issue.

Bill Eckles, BEVCOMM

Working on getting all customers on FTTH in the next 9 years. They have received 12 grants for projects totally $9.5 million; grants have covered just less than half of that cost. On criticism of the grants is that it has been a year to year grant, which makes it hard to plan. We won’t need help forever but we need help to reach some areas.

Terry Nelson, Woodstock Communications

Have received several grants most for fiber but one for a fiber-wireless hybrid. One grant application this year was denied because of the challenge project.

  • Can consumers afford Gig access?
    Most gig customers are businesses.
  • Do we use taxpayer money to pay for business speeds?
    Yes.

Vince Robinson, Lincoln County Development Enterprises & MN Broadband Coalition

Representing more than 90 organizations all of walks of life. They support $30 million ongoing for broadband.

  • Are we leaving places orphaned that will be very expensive to serve?
    Yes. The program isn’t perfect but it’s very good. Right now we have a great demand for the program but there are areas that will be extremely difficult to serve and we may need to look at less than 50 percent match.
  • Will wireless help us reach areas?
    We are seeing technologies improve maybe in the future they will be able to help. Right now line of sight can be a problem in using wireless in some areas.

Mark Thell, Farmer’s Union in Carlton County

We have CenturyLink. Our local network helps us use video to see what’s happening on parts of the farm but right now we don’t have sufficient broadband to do precision ag.

Dan Larson, MN Rural Counties

His presentation was similar to what he talked about at an earlier Senate Committee. If we want to really reach the broadband goal, we should move the grants funds into the base budget of the Office of Broadband Development.

Brent Christensen, MTA

His presentation was similar to what he talked about at an earlier Senate Committee. Thank for passing Telecommuter Forward. There are 20 communities that have applied for Telecommuter Forward support.

We’re going to need to figure out whether this is for base funding.

Bill held until they get a budget target.

EVENT: Broadband Day on the Hill – March 12, 2020 Registration now open

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From the MN Broadband Coalition…

Registration Now Open!
Broadband Day on the Hill
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Join your fellow broadband advocates from across the state for our Day on the Hill event! The Day on the Hill provides you with a unique opportunity to travel to St. Paul for a day of broadband advocacy and networking with colleagues and legislators.
The Day on the Hill is a great chance for you to speak with legislators directly about why increased access to broadband will improve the lives of Minnesotans.
With the event just two weeks away, it’s important that you register and reserve your lodging today!

State budget expected tomorrow – Gov Walz clear on broadband support

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The State budget forecast is expected tomorrow morning. It will likely have a direct impact on the odds of funding for broadband this year, and perhaps into the future. MPR News reports…

The DFL-led House has proposed some one-time spending measures, including $500 million for preschool scholarships, child care assistance grants and other pre-kindergarten initiatives.

The Republican-controlled Senate has countered with a package of proposed tax cuts — a reduction in the lowest income tax rate, education and agricultural tax credits and an elimination of any state income tax on Social Security benefits.

Meanwhile, Walz has been hinting he’ll push to bolster state reserves in case of a downturn. But he’s made new spending proposals — from broadband expansion to disaster planning — that would consume tens of millions of dollars.

After the budget forecast is released Thursday, Walz will issue his plans for the money in the weeks to follow. Lawmakers will pass their own proposals before any negotiations can begin. If there is no movement toward a middle ground, that surplus money could just stack up for next year, when lawmakers need to put together another two-year budget.

Governor Walz was clear about his support of increase broadband spending when he announced the 2019 broadband grant winners. And there are bipartisan bills in the House and Senate requesting ongoing funds of $30 million a year for broadband – indicating that broadband may be a topic of consensus. It’s likely that both bills will become a part of a larger omnibus bill and again the budget tomorrow will determine the likelihood of any funding but the signs for broadband are positive.

CTC hosts open houses in Cherry Feb 27 & 28 to discuss new USDA supported network expansion

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I reported on CTC’s USDA $5.2 million investment in Cherry and Great Scott townships on the Iron Range. The Hibbing Daily News reports more…

“We’re thrilled to receive this award,” said Kristi Westbrock, CEO and General Manager at CTC, in a statement. “Residents and business owners in the Cherry Township area have made it very clear that they need high-speed internet in order to thrive. We look forward to partnering with NESC and to serving this area for years to come.”

To help spread the word and answer questions about their internet services, staff from CTC are set to host two open houses this week at Cherry Town Hall, located off Highway 37, just outside Hibbing. The first open house will be held 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, and the second will be held 9-11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 28. Refreshments will be provided.

CTC is a member-owned cooperative according to their website. Anyone in the new service area who signs up before Feb. 29 will have the installation fee waived plus the first two months free with a monthly charge of $50 with a two-year contract.

And contact info…

For more information about the ReConnect Pilot Program, visit www.usda.gov/reconnect.

For general inquiries about CTC or the upcoming service to the Cherry area, call 218-231-9100, or visit www.goctc.com/cherry.

For questions about business services, call 218-454-1166, or email business@goctc.com. For questions about residential services, call 218-454-1144, or email residential@goctc.com.

Minnesota Broadband Coalition Meeting notes – recommending $30 million for broadband

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There were about 15 people in the room and probably another 10 on the phone to talk about broadband. Nancy Hoffman is stepping down as Coalition Chair; Vince Robinson will be stepping in as new Coalition Chair. The mood was positive; people seem optimistic at the prospect of getting $30M for broadband moving forward. I took pretty loose notes:

MN Broadband Grant Recipients

Funding $23 million in last fund around. If there isn’t additional funding, we will have $20 million for projects this year. There were 80 applications requesting $70 million. The weighted :

  • Projects with more than 50 percent
  • Projects with a third leg of funding
  • Projects with letters of community support
  • Tribal areas
  • Looking for geographic diversity
  • Looking for areas without coverage

We are finding that some projects that don’t get funding go on to be deployed anyway. We are open to talking to applicants that don’t get funding.

Next round of applications will likely be open in mid-June 2020.

Legislative Update

Very optimistic about the session and chances for additional broadband funding.

House controlled by DFL. Senate controlled by GOP.

It is a bonding year. So will borrow money for infrastructure. Governor came out with a $2+ billion budget. We will likely see the budgets in the next month. Needs a super majority to pass.

There are two broadband bills HF3029/SF3049 for $30 million to be added to 2020 grant cycle – and then each year forward. So it’s for $30 million per year ongoing.

Bills in House and Senate are identical. Lots of support in the House.

A second Senate bill is coming up to show more support. The Senate limits the number of coauthors so this was a good was to show support.

The Senate met about the bill yesterday – no questions. Lots of support in the room. The House meeting in Wednesday (tomorrow).

There was a great press conference in January. The Governor said he supported a one time extension of $30 million for broadband this year.

Thursday at 9am is the release of the state budget. There was a $35 billion surplus announced in November.

Possible policy bills – none released yet. Not sure what they will look like. Some folks in the senate are interested in how the money would be divided up (underserved).

Let’s get a letter of support template on the website.

Day on the Hill – March 12

Registration will be open soon.

Holding it in the State Office Bldg in room 300. Angie will be there to speak. Rep Ecklund will speak.  Talking with Governor’s office as well as Senator Draheim.

Working on something (like beads) that would make broadband proponents stand out.

Registration starts at 8am.

Update on Paul Bunyan’s MN Broadband Grant for portions of Koochiching and St. Louis Counties

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Great news for portions of Koochiching and St. Louis Counties…

Paul Bunyan Communications has been awarded a Border to Border Broadband Grant from the state of Minnesota to expand its fiber optic services to portions of Koochiching County and St. Louis County.
As a result, the cooperative will begin expansion construction in late 2020 and continue into 2021. This all fiber optic project will pass a minimum of 1,100 locations in portions of Koochiching and St. Louis County. The project is estimated to cost $5.68 million, with the State of Minnesota Border to Border grant contributing $2.35, Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) grant contributing $802,700, and Paul Bunyan Communications investing $2.5 million. In support of the grant, Koochiching County will contribute $26,000 towards the portion of the project within the county and Morcom Township will contribute $10,000 towards the project within the township.
“This is huge for our region. Access to quality broadband service is vital to so many different facets of life including health care, education, business, and recreation. It is why I co-authored the bill to fund the Border to Border Grant Program in 2020 and introduced legislation to allocate another $30 million for the program in 2021. I applaud all those involved with supporting the effort to secure this grant so we can keep our rural communities thriving and vibrant.” said State 3A Representative Rob Ecklund.
“We are excited to continue our expansion efforts to provide access to broadband Internet speeds to those without it in our region. Our cooperative has a long history of expanding our network to underserved areas but it has become increasingly challenging to go it alone without grant support. The State of Minnesota Border to Border Grant Program, Koochiching County, Morcom Township, IRRRB, and the Koochiching Technology Initiative were instrumental in building community support for the grant application to make this project a reality. These areas will not only get Broadband access, they will go from slow satellite or dial up Internet to speeds of up to a Gigabit per second and become part of one of the largest rural Gigabit networks in the country!,” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.
Paul Bunyan Communications expects to develop the expansion plans later this year and will contact locations along the upcoming expansion routes either late this fall or next spring. The entire project will be completed by June 30, 2022. To see if your location is included in this expansion project go to https://paulbunyan.net/gigazone/availability-map/
“This project will have an incredible impact on people’s lives. Employees will be able to work from home, students will have access to educational resources, and seniors will be able to stay in their homes longer with telemedicine.” added Steve Howard, Paul Bunyan Communications Information Technology and Development Manager. “The leadership shown in supporting this project through local efforts of many at KTI and Morcom Township was impressive. It is that local support that is essential in getting our grant selected in a highly competitive process.” said Howard.
“Morcom’s township officials currently have difficulty conducting basic governmental functions like filing tax documents due to a lack of internet access, not to mention the difficulties students, businesses, and residents experience when they can’t get online. I’m excited to see this project move forward and am committed to meeting our broadband connectivity goals so all Minnesotans can access the fast, reliable internet service they deserve.” added State 6A Representative Julie Sandstede.
“I salute the hard work of our elected officials who championed the Border to Border Broadband Grant Program including Rep. Ecklund, Rep. Sandstede, Senator Bakk, Rep. Persell, Senator Tomassoni, and Rep. Layman. I also want to thank the Office of Broadband Development that oversees the program. This is going to make a world of difference in so many ways to a lot of people right here in northern Minnesota!” said Johnson.
Cooperative’s services will become available once the network is operational including GigaZone service options like unprecedented Broadband Internet speeds of up to 1000 Mbps – a Gigabit and low cost unlimited local and long distance GigaZone voice service. There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications, membership is included by subscribing to either local phone service or GigaZone Internet service.

Job Posting: Broadband Grants Administrator Job for MN Office of Broadband Development

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There is an opening at the MN Office of Broadband Development. Great job for the right person…

The purpose of this position is to develop, promote, implement, provide technical assistance for, evaluate and report on state and/or federally funded financing programs of the Office of Broadband Development.  The Office develops and administers programs designed to achieve high quality broadband access for all Minnesotans and to support and promote the skills necessary to adopt and use broadband tools for economic, educational, health, and institutional benefits.  Programs administered include the following:

1)  Border-to-Border Infrastructure Grant program which provides state financing for DEED approved broadband infrastructure expansion projects;

2)  Supporting and maximizing Minnesota entities participation in federally-funded broadband infrastructure programs.

3)  Digital literacy, broadband adoption and use programs.

Learn more

Broadband at Senate Committee on Ag, Rural Dev, and Housing Finance Notes & Video

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Today the MN Senate Committee on Ag, Rural Development, and Housing Finance heard about broadband. The Committee heard from Angie Dickison and Diane Wells from the Office of Broadband Development on the details of the Office, the grants and progress toward the state broadband speeds for 2022 and 2026. Then Senator Draheim introduced HF3049, recommending one time $30 million additional funds for the broadband grant program.

Finally the Committee heard  from Jane Leonard, Dan Larson and Brent Christensen in supportive of the bill. NO one voices any concerns and the bill way laid over for possible conclusion in the omnibus.

The video also include Senator Westrom on the Rural Finance Authority.

Broadband Overview from Minnesota Office of Broadband Development

– Angie Dickison, Broadband Development Manager
– Diane Wells, Telecommunications Manager

Here is the 4 element approach to the #MNBroadband model:

  • Statutory goals
  • Data (mapping program)
  • Broadband Office & Task Force
  • Grants

The Office of Development does more than grants. They coordinate and number of efforts to expand broadband.

Broadband mapping: We have snapshots of where we stand today. We can see improvement toward the 2022 speed goals. We can also see counties that need more progress – where less than 50 percent of households have access to 25/3. We also see the maps for 2026 – we have some counties that are there, more are not.

496 citi es where 25 percent of more have fiber.
62 cities with more than 50 percent lacking access to 25/ 3

How does federal funding impact state funding? We have a map of these areas. We have had some projects that have combined funds to bring higher speeds to those federal funded areas.

Senator Draheim: introduces: S.F. 3049: Broadband development grant program annual statutory appropriation establishment.

Asking for additional resources ($30 million) from general fund to supplement the #mnbroadbnad grant. Businesses, farmers, telehealth and online entertainment need better broadband to reach the 9 percent unserved areas.

Jane Leonard speaking for MN Broadband Coalition:
Thanks to everyone for their interest and attention. I’ve worked with broadband since out aim for a 56k in each community. More recently have worked with the Office of Broadband Development. Investment in broadband will touch every sector. IN 2018, the broadband Task Force recommended $70M per biennium – this increase of $30M will get us there.

Dan Larson for Rural Counties:
Here to support SF3049 and thank the Legislature for supporting it. Broadband is essential for rural communities

Brent Christensen MN Telecom Alliance:
If this bill passes and is signed into law, it does not mean we’re done but it gets us closer. We won’t need support forever, but we will need it for a while. The last people getting broadband will be the most expensive. We have 5 years of evidence indicating that this program works.

Laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus

NEO software will help collect user input for better served/unserved maps

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Earlier today I posted about the impact of broadband maps built from the top down (getting info from providers and/or government) versus maps built from the bottom, with actual households verifying the information. Broadband Now estimates that the FCC maps under-represented the unserved count in the US because of their top-down, high level approach.

Funny enough, just last week I got a demonstration of NEO’s latest iteration of their software that helps plan and deploy broadband networks. Here is what they do..

NEO is proud to introduce a turnkey crowdsource system suitable for smaller communities. The system is designed to manage township or county data, as the community chooses. The reporting from the system can be shown as a map, or all relevant data can be dumped to a csv file which can be presented to any grant issuing agency for review. The collection of crowdsourced data takes into account multiple factors to maximize accuracy and has provisions for reluctant citizens to still provide valuable location and performance data. We can provide you, or the grant agency, with academic research that validates what we do. Our approach is evidentiary, and factual, and devoid of politics or vendor bias.

The trick is then promoting the mapping to folks in your area and getting them to test their connection. But once created the maps and data are useful for grant applications and network planning. I’d say a map created with residential input that highlighted specific areas of underserved interest would be more appealing to a provider than going to them without a map.