West Central Tribune asks legislators to invest in infrastructure…

How bad is it on broadband access in Minnesota?

The Minnesota Broadband Task Force 2015 report said Minnesota needs to increase its broadband speed goal and likely needs $200 million to meet the objective.

Gov. Mark Dayton has proposed a $100 million investment on broadband, while the House Republicans have proposed $35 million.

Both are far short of the need.

The rural shortfall on broadband is hindering and harming Minnesota schools, colleges, residents and businesses. It is also limiting economic development through out rural Minnesota.

The time has come for Minnesota legislators — Democrat and Republican — to put up or shut up in transportation and broadband. These two infrastructure sectors are vital to the education and commerce of this state, and it is critical to many businesses, especially agriculture.

Bring Me the News wrote about the discrepancy in proposed state broadband funding…

Three budget targets have been unveiled, according to a statement. Governor Mark Dayton proposed investing $100 million, the Senate DFL has proposed $85 million, and House Republicans only want to spend $35 million. The final amount should be decided in May.

Lt. Governor Tina Smith criticized the Republicans’ proposal in a separate statement, pointing out that it would “barely make a dent in the need for high-speed, affordable broadband access in Greater Minnesota.”
However, the Republicans are the only group that has also outlined how their proposed money should be spent.

Their proposal focuses on helping students, said the Pioneer Press. $7 million would be allocated for school Internet grants, including wi-fi hot spots that students could bring home, and $28 million for rural broadband expansion.

I’m not sure it’s entirely correct to say that the Republicans are the only ones to outline how the money should be spent. There is an Office of Broadband Development. I think the assumption is that the OBD would manage the broadband border grants as they have for the past two years. The OBD takes their cue from the Legislature (such as the unserved/underserved direction) but the OBD is there to handle the process.

The Republicans have added a number of proposals that seem to get legislators more involved in the process (or at least inspection) of administering the grants. I think this is in reaction to the communities that didn’t get funded. Those communities were disappointed – but I think the bigger issue is that some deserving communities didn’t get funded because there simply was not enough money to fund all of the deserving projects. I’m not sure the more efficient or effective answer comb through criteria and weighting as much as to budget enough money to invest in more deserving projects.

Having talked to the folks in education, I’m not sure that the specificity of funds for education will help schools get what they really need. While wifi spots are a great idea – the school may be better served with funding that helps cover basic costs – and that would be $7 million a year to offset cost of broadband.

The Duluth News Tribune reports…

Minnesota House Republicans edged up their proposed broadband spending Monday as they worked to wrap up their budget plan.

The new figure of $40 million for two years is $5 million more than the GOP said it would push last week. It is short of $100 million sought by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and $85 million proposed by Democrats who control the state Senate.

The money would be used to expand high-speed Internet to unserved areas, mostly in rural Minnesota.

It’s great to see how many people are supporting the MN Broadband Vision…

Everyone in Minnesota will be able to use convenient, affordable world-class broadband networks that enable us to survive and thrive in our communities and across the globe.

The latest to show his support, in the Congressional Record no less, is Tom Emmer.

How can you show your support?

• Join the I Endorse the Minnesota Broadband Vision Facebook Page
• Not on Facebook? Just post your support in a comment below

Spread the word:

• Share on social media
• Part of a larger organization? Encourage them to endorse the vision and let us know when they do.

Yesterday I posted notes from the House Republicans press conference on their $35 million budget for broadband. Apparently the Senate came out with $85 million for broadband. (Still less than the MN Task Force Recommendation of $200 million or Governor Dayton’s suggestion of $100 million.) Today the papers are reacting.

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune…

However, the GOP spending plan is dwarfed by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s broadband proposal. Dayton wants $100 million this year for the broadband grant fund. Members of the House DFL criticized their GOP colleagues, saying $35 million over two years is insufficient.

“It’s unfortunate when we have the opportunity to invest in broadband that we’re missing it,” said Rep. Paul Marquart, DFL-Dilworth. “We have a $900 million surplus.”

From Minnesota Public Radio…

Now, the three budget blueprints floating around the Capitol propose considerable spending for high-speed internet expansion in rural Minnesota. However, the Democratic governor, the DFL-led Senate and the GOP-majority House disagree over what form the broadband would take, who would get it and how soon. …

Senate Democrats said Wednesday that they hope to come up with $85 million. That’s $50 million more than House Republicans are proposing. The final figure won’t come until a broader budget deal is struck — if one is at all — sometime in May.

Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said the Republican amount would barely make a dent. She readily acknowledges that even $100 million won’t get broadband to all 244,000 households without it.

“We’re trying to find a good balance, a balance between making real progress while also realizing that we can’t solve this problem all at once,” she said. “It’s like taking a big bite out of an apple. You take a big bite, you make progress and we come back to it next year and hope to make more progress.”

From St Paul Pioneer Press…

House Democrats criticized the majority’s proposal, saying it’s not enough money to effectively help rural communities. They support Dayton’s $100 million proposal and say Republicans aren’t putting forth enough funding in the current two-year budget.

The proposal from House Republicans would increase broadband spending by $20 million for this biennium, with an additional $15 million to be spent in the budget for the 2018-19 cycle. Lawmakers hope communities could pair state broadband funding with federal dollars from the Connect America Fund, which aims to help rural communities pay for the infrastructure needed to access high-speed Internet.

Rep. Tim Mahoney, a St. Paul Democrat, called the plan “just smoke and mirrors.”

“How about we actually put investments into greater Minnesota … and quit trying to baffle them with malarkey,” he said.

From FOX 9…

One of the biggest funding fights at the Minnesota Capitol this spring is something many people take for granted in the Twin Cities metro: internet access. In rural Minnesota, too many areas still don’t have enough coverage or high speeds.

Laying down hardline and fiber takes a lot of money, but it also takes a lot of time. That’s why Republicans are making the argument to use wireless as a quick way of getting broadband in the hands of rural residents, especially students.

From KADL 610..

House Republicans’ proposal unveiled on Wednesday would allot only about a third of the 100 million dollars Governor Mark Dayton wants to expand broadband Internet access in Greater Minnesota.

Little Falls Republican Ron Kresha says “the governor’s approach has always been a dollar amount, an aspiration — but we’ve had to actually put solutions together.” Kresha says Republicans’ plan targets dollars to help school districts purchase wi-fi hotspots for students and adult education classes.

Saint Paul Democrat Tim Mahoney responds Republicans should get honest that “they don’t really care about broadband in Greater Minnesota. They’re not willing to pay for it. They want to give tax breaks to billionaires.”

From West Central Tribune…

Rural Republicans who laid out the plan stopped short of saying they would reject more broadband money if it becomes available in negotiations before the May 23 session adjournment deadline. Kresha said that Dayton does not spell out how he would spend the $100 million he has targeted for broadband, and Dayton himself has said it might not be spent in a year.

“The governor’s approach has always been a dollar amount…” Kresha said. “We have put solutions together.” …
Rep. Paul Marquart, D-Dilworth, said Republicans want to spend too little, adding the GOP plan “will not level the economic playing field for greater Minnesota.”

In 29 counties, Marquart said, half of the homes do not have access to fast enough Internet. “That puts rural Minnesota at a huge economic disadvantage. … We are not second-class citizens out there.”

Rep. John Persell, D-Bemidji, said that the rural economy needs to be rebuilt. “This is part of it for rural Minnesota.”

If too little is spent, he added, “at the rate we are going … most of those kids will be out of school before we see it in my part of the state”

From the Brainerd Dispatch…

However, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said in a statement that the Republican broadband proposal wasn’t enough, and pointed out that Gov. Mark Dayton proposed $100 million in grant funding.

“The governor and I welcome the work of House Republicans on broadband,” Smith said. “Their proposals, however, barely make a dent in the need for high-speed, affordable broadband access in greater Minnesota. At the level of investment they are proposing, the 244,000 households in greater Minnesota without broadband connections will wait decades to get up to speed. This is bad for our economy, bad for greater Minnesota, and we need to do better.”
The Senate DFL’s budget target for broadband, among a broader list of supplementary budget targets unveiled Wednesday, was $85 million.

The House Republicans unveiled their broadband proposals today. I will post the press release and videos from the meeting below. Here’s the highest level look:

• $13 million for Border to Border grants in 2017
• $15 million for Border to Border grants in 2018
• $7 million for education

The amount they are looking at is much lower than the $100 million budget proposed by Governor Dayton, the Senate and the Minnesota Broadband Task Force (who suggested $200 million over two years). And the amount for schools is half of what they say they need to make broadband ends meet.

Representative Kresha says the House proposal is better than Governor Dayton’s because it is specific and Governor Dayton’s was not. I think it depends on how you view the role of the Office of Broadband Development.

Also he says this proposal is better because wireless will reach more people. Although I don’t know if you can count a home as served if their broadband relies on being able to check out a mobile hotspot from the library – unless they are able to budget for enough hotspots for everyone who needs them to have one permanently checked out.

It’s great to see money going to broadband – I’m just not sure that this proposal is what people in rural areas have in mind. Especially given the numbers suggested by the Senate and Governor, broadband proponents may be disappointed.

RELEASE: Republicans unveil broadband proposals

ST. PAUL, MN – On Wednesday, April 13, House Republicans unveiled a series of proposals to increase broadband access throughout Minnesota. The proposals total $35 million including $7 million dedicated to improving broadband access for Minnesota students through new, innovative grant programs. Rep. Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, has led the push for increased broadband support around the state.

“Because of innovation in education and health services, people in unserved and underserved areas in Minnesota are relying on adequate broadband speeds,” said Kresha. “Students, local governments, and main street businesses rely on increased broadband offerings to compete globally.”

Of the $7 million of broadband funding in the supplemental education proposal, $5 million would be used as grants for broadband wifi hotspots, while $2 million would be allocated to build broadband capacity. Inner city, suburban, and rural districts can use the grants to purchase mobile hotspots for student use or provide wifi hotspots to adult education classes and displaced workers. Education Finance Chair Jenifer Loon, R-Eden Prairie, supports the measures to bring broadband to underserved schools.

“School districts statewide can receive up to $100,000 for equipment and operating costs to improve broadband connectivity,” said Loon. “Giving disadvantaged children the ability to connect with the rest of the world is important for the future of our state.”

Along with broadband education funding, Republicans proposed an additional $28 million for rural broadband expansion. Combined with federal Connect America Funds, Minnesotans will see a historic broadband infrastructure investment. The funding focuses on unserved and underserved areas, as well as areas with larger numbers of low-income households.

“We cannot continue to let rural Minnesota slip further behind other parts of the state that already have fast, reliable internet access,” said Dave Baker, R-Willmar. “It is time to help Greater Minnesota gain the broadband access they desperately need.”

Almanac recently posted a video on broadband policy. In it, Chris Mitchell, from the Institute for Local Self Reliance, talks about the power of the Coop to get fiber to the home in rural areas – as demonstrated by Renville Sibley coop (RS Fiber). Brent Christensen, from the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, explains that RS Fiber  is a publicly funded coop, which means it is different than the traditional model. publicly funded coops compete with private providers.

Governor Dayton has promoted $100 million for broadband grants. ILSR and MTA both think the funds are a good idea. The big question is – who gets it? Does it go to the unserved communities (people with extremely limited access) or underserved communities (people with inadequate access)?

Tim Penny from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) supports broadband funding – as posted in the Mankato Free Press…

Broadband funding: There is a proposal to increase funding to Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development to lay more fiber networks across rural Minnesota. Historically, $10 million has been allocated in recent years ($20 million in 2014). This year’s proposal is $100 million.

Our partner Blandin Foundation has been instrumental in moving this issue forward on behalf of Greater Minnesota, and we support their goal of ensuring all Minnesotan’s have access to convenient, affordable world-class broadband networks.

Blandin’s CEO Kathleen Annette cited that nearly a quarter of Minnesota households don’t have sufficient Internet speeds for things like homework, online business operations, and more, and that Minnesota ranks 23rd in broadband access.

“This stark urban-rural divide hurts all Minnesotans,” Annette said. I agree.

SMIF is one of many organizations that have endorsed the Minnesota Broadband Vision…

Everyone in Minnesota will be able to use convenient, affordable world-class broadband networks that enable us to survive and thrive in our communities and across the globe.