Broadband 2.0 Manifesto

Thanks to Jim Baller (in his email newsletter) for pointing out the Broadband 2.0 Manifesto. In it from Heavy Reading, a research institute, outlines their manifesto for the next generation of broadband:

1. Abundant bandwidth (100 Mbit/s early on 1 Gbit/s later)
2. A two-way highway
3. Always available (aka always on)
4. Wireless and wireline
5. Open access
6. The channel for video
7. A new communications medium (greater convergence in service)
8. Safe and secure
9. Plug and play
10. Policy-enabled

I wanted to do a quick comparison to this list and the Blandin Foundation principles outlined in the Live at the Speed of Light reports published last year.

1. Ubiquity
2. Symmetry
3. Affordable
4. Competition
5. World Class
6. Collaboration
7. Neutrality
8. Interoperability

It’s not necessarily an apples to apples list. I think World Class could mean Abundant Bandwidth. Open Access could translate into competition. I like Heavy Reading’s addition of Safe and Secure. I like that Blandin has included is affordability.

Service that isn’t affordable really isn’t accessible. Heavy Reading is having a couple of conferences on the Future of the Internet – one was held in NY this week but I don’t see any mention of cost on the agenda.

FiberNet Monticello April 2008 Update

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall as a town funded, designed and implemented fiber into their community? Well thanks to Lynne Dahl-Flemming we got something even better – we’ve got the notes from the fly on the wall.

Monticello received funding from Blandin Foundation as part of the Get Broadband program. After an amazing referendum vote for fiber last fall, they are moving ahead in all direction. Read on to hear how it’s going. I think this account will be particularly interesting to anyone who is in a position to consider fiber in their area…

April eNews is on the Streets

We posted the April eNews yesterday. I wanted to share the parts of the eNews that aren’t on the blog already with the blgo readers…

Community News

Alexandria
All State Wireless a subsidiary of All State Satellite Depot Inc. opened a new Sprint store March 1 in Alexandria.

Crookston
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie visited Crookston, mentioning the possibility of allowing absentee votes via the Internet. It was a suggestion that Governor Pawlenty voted down last year, but will probably resurface. (http://tinyurl.com/3y4g34)

Eagan
Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire, reflecting on the last year, mentions efforts to bring broadband to the community. “Broadband is as vital to our wellbeing as good roads, electrical power and safe water,” he said. (http://tinyurl.com/324pch)  

Iron Range
The Iron Range Network Joint Powers Board is committed to a high speed network but they are at a crossroads and are considering their options for building and deploying the network. (http://tinyurl.com/2pdefq)  

Isanti
A conference for parents entitled, Youngsters and the Internet, draws 150 attendees in Isanti. Parents learn how to teach their children about the Internet and how to keep safe online. (http://tinyurl.com/2lr3bv)  

Marshall
Insight School of Minnesota, an online high school will open next fall. The school expects 200 students. Insight School opened in Washington in 2006 and has been popular and well regarded. (http://tinyurl.com/2jckuc)  

Minneapolis
Minneapolis Wireless network is set to be completed by the end of March, 2008. (http://tinyurl.com/27×5vz)  

Monticello
A columnist for the Monticello Times provides a rave review of YouTube and its religious brother God Tube. (http://tinyurl.com/3csclj)  

Red Wing
Senator Amy Klobuchar visited in March to discuss broadband in Red Wing, among other things. (http://tinyurl.com/394kqy)

Sebeka
CrossUSA recruits technology workers to rural areas to remotely manage networks and mainframes in such a way that keeps the jobs in the country rather than offshore. (http://tinyurl.com/39v2d5)  

St Cloud
St. Cloud Recreation Department will no longer be printing catalogs; program information will now be posted online only. Community members have concerns but the impact will be closely monitored. (http://tinyurl.com/2mzy7d)  

Thief River Falls
Police offer the old mantra – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is – as sage advice on the Internet. (http://tinyurl.com/2uj4tb)  

Todd County
Todd County started an FTTP program with a meeting with committee members, key stakeholders and Bill Coleman representing Blandin Foundation. They discussed the need for the community to invest in telecommunications to get the network they want and need for their future.

Twin Cities
The Twin Cities are beefing up their communications networks to support the GOP National Convention this September. Verizon Wireless expects a 150 percent rise in data transmissions on its broadband network. Qwest Communications International will add more than 100 miles of fiber-optic and copper lines in and around the Xcel Energy Center. (http://tinyurl.com/2uc2hx)  

Waseca
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Waseca County Sheriff’s Office are working out a new system that will allow residents to activate burning permits online. Online permits will be $5 but can be reactivated throughout the year. (http://tinyurl.com/2my9aj)  

Winona
Home and Community Options Inc is in the midst of wiring one of their residences. Once it is installed, the home will not need night staff on premises; it will be monitored remotely. (http://tinyurl.com/2pm8y5)  

Coleman’s Corner

Blandin Foundation’s broadband programs enable me to work with many communities throughout the state. My work this week was especially interesting. On one day, I met with leaders in a community that is just embarking on the journey to better understanding of their telecommunications services. They are asking the right questions - “What do we have? …What do we need? …. How do we get there?

Through the Community Broadband Resources program (http://www.blandinfoundation.com/html/public_bb_cbr.cfm), I will be helping them understand the current offerings from incumbent providers and the telecom needs of their business community and residents. While I work on getting information from the providers, the community leaders will be out visiting with the businesses. We will be able to pull this information together, have some informed meetings with the providers then talk about next steps.

The following day, I was able to participate in a consultant selection process for a community FTTP feasibility study. This community has been working for some time to get to this point. They have talked extensively with their incumbent providers and potential competitive providers. They have worked through the Blandin Foundation Get Broadband program (http://www.blandinfoundation.org/bsite/bbsite.html) to inform community members and businesses about the importance of broadband for economic development and quality of life. They have their local governments, school district and municipal utilities working together to identify future needs for bandwidth and technology applications. This community is seeking the definitive information necessary to make informed decisions about their next steps.

Each community is unique and has their own set of decision making factors and priorities. What is not unique is the need to bring community leaders together around the issue of broadband and technology. It is clear that communities that work aggressively on both sides of the equation – ensuring high quality services and building demand and technology sophistication – will emerge on the positive side of the digital divide and new economy. Community Broadband Resources (CBR) is designed to provide communities with the assistance they need when they need it. Go online to the Blandin website (www.blandinfoundation.org), find out the details and apply for the type of assistance that would move your community forward. While making progress is sometimes hard, the CBR online application process is quick and simple! I look forward to working with you!

Meet the Blandin Broadband Strategy Board - Steve Downer

I’m pleased this month to introduce Blandin Broadband Strategy Board member, Steve Downer. Steve is the Associate Executive Director at the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association. He has been there 18 years and enjoys the variety in his job. He works on member services, government relations, publications and more.

The Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) represents the interests of Minnesota’s municipal electric, gas, and water utilities and provides them with the support they need to be able to improve service to their customers and community.

Helping municipal utilities provide broadband services has been a good way to support local economic development. Municipal utilities are well positioned to provide broadband. They have a business structure in place, they have the infrastructure, they have the people and they are invested in viable communities. In deed, utilities have been instrumental in creating communities that are leaders in broadband, such as Windom, Chaska, Alexandria, Buffalo, and Detroit Lakes.

Comparisons have been made to broadband expansion today with the electric utility industry 100 years ago – who better to support that effort than the companies who successfully implemented the electrification? Municipal utilities are in position to help with broadband and more industry providers are willing to work with them.

Windom Update - Student PPTs on Cable

Thanks to Dan Olsen, Director of Operations from Windomnet for sending us a report from the Windomnet project:

The first item to be activated is an informational channel on the local city owned cable system. Students create a power point presentation and then FTP the presentation to the server located at the cable headend. This is then displayed on a local cable channel. Open source software was used to produce the power point. In the near future this server will be moved to the high school and used as part of the overall video learning and information system.

Fiber optic splicing has begun for the the interconnect from the Windom areas high school to the City Of Windom Network Operations Center (Noc) and the headend. This will allow for Ethernet transport to the Noc, and live video streaming to the headend.

ISPs Say the Broadband Glass if Half Full

The US Internet Industry Association (UIIA) recently published a study (by David McClure) that paints a pretty rosy picture of broadband in the US.

Here’s a quick view of the report from the UIIA themselves in a letter to Congresswomen Pelosi:

It is a status report on how well we cover the nation’s rural areas with broadband Internet services, and I believe it will surprise you, for three reasons:

1. Most of what we think we know about broadband deployment is based on old data, bad data or deliberate distortions of the data.
2. We now have broadband available in at least one form for virtually every household and business in America – and we have achieved this in the shortest deployment time of any new technology in human history.

It’s not the regulation of broadband networks that needs to be a national priority, but rather solving issues that keep people from subscribing to the services that are available to them.The big point they are making is that deployment isn’t the problem – adoption is the problem. I think I remember hearing this in the 1990’s when I worked for an ISP. The problem was always take rate.

Here is their quick take on public policy:

Lakewood Health System update

Our telemonitoring equipment project is going well!  Last week, we invited American Telecare Inc for a product demonstration.  American Telecare is a Minnesota company specializing in video-based home telemonitoring equipment.  Currently, Medical Assistance will reimburse for a skilled nurse visit completed by video.  The video equipment is similar to a webcam but the picture quality is amazingly clear even with regular POTS (regular telephone service).  In the future, with the expansion of broadband technology service areas, it will make the ability to communicate and assess the needs of our clients by video almost as easy as in person.  American Telecare has remote monitoring equipment (like BP cuff, scale, oximeter for assessing daily vital signs) and even a stethescope for the nurse to listen to the patient’s heart and lung sounds. 

This month, I will be scheduling the last two telemonitoring manufacturers we are interested in.  With this information, we will be able to make our purchase decision soon.

Lakewood Health System update

Telemedicine update: Our agency has had two equipment distributors visit in January to showcase their products.  We have found the research from other providers who have already incorporated telemonitoring into their health care system to be very encouraging.  The rates of re-hospitalizations for clients who had daily telemonitoring decreased by more than 50% for one Home Care agency.  The research indicates that patients have improved disease management with daily monitoring of vital signs.  Many of the vendors have designed disease specific questions a client can answer daily to assist the nurse in evaluating symptoms.  Any abnormal or problematic symptoms can be reported promptly to the client’s physician to see if there are any changes in care that would need to be made.  We have found that the vendors are incorporating video capabilities, interfacing their system with common Home Care documentation software as well as creating health monitoring equipment powered by Blue Tooth technology.   We have two more vendors scheduled to complete a site visit in February and hope to make a purchase decision by March.   

Notes from Blandin Broadband Strategy Board Meeting

Thanks to Bernadine Joselyn and Bill Coleman for passing on notes from the latest Blandin Broadband Strategy Board meeting. I think it’s helpful to see what’s being discussed at the meetings.

We wanted to update you on the discussion held at the Blandin Broadband Strategy Board meeting February 12. There was active discussion on a number of topics, especially on Connected Nation, the GIG legislation and the state broadband task force.

The Connected Nation program raised a number of concerns. A number of the task force members were at the Connected Nation presentation in St. Paul. While the Strategy Board did not take any formal action, the following ideas were expressed:

• There was concern that while valuable to some communities, that the mapping expense would not be a good use of state resources and that it would have either a limited shelf life or would be a considerable ongoing expense. Some felt that a relatively accurate picture of broadband availability could be developed in a shorter time period at much lower cost by those engaged in the issue and that the mapping exercise was simply a delaying tactic by providers.
• The value of Connected Nation’s countywide planning and market development activities was recognized. Through our Get Broadband Program, funded in part with $250,000 from DEED, we were able to help 29 communities/multi-community/countywide efforts, including Kandiyohi County. DEED special appropriation dollars were matched by the Foundation and the participating communities. More of this work will be enabled through our new Community Broadband Resources Program. The program will provide technical assistance and guidance, but no funding, for these self-help community initiatives.
• The GIG Group draft legislation was reviewed. There was some concern about the placement of any bandwidth number in the legislation, whether that goal was 1Gb, 250 Mb or something lower. There was some sentiment that replacing the number with a goal of statewide deployment of FTTP was a better approach. The consensus was that the use of a numeric goal provides an immediate target for debate and moves discussion from the real goal, a dynamic broadband economy. We recognize that some may not support the naming of a specific infrastructure, but only fiber can provide the bandwidth that we are all seeking in this type of goal.
• There was also concern that the use of the word “telecommunications” placed all of the responsibility on telephone companies, rather than the use of “communications” that would also impact cable television and other non-regulated providers. At least one board member proposed that a comprehensive rewrite of MN Statutes 237 and 238 was required in the face of technology and business dynamics.
• There was strong interest in the concept of a state-recognized broadband task force, whether created through legislation or executive order. State policies should ensure interconnections and collaborations between economic sectors, especially health care and education. (In our roundtable discussion, we heard of great challenges for both health care and education in meeting their bandwidth challenges, especially with school online testing.) There was also strong support for the concept that this task force should have a clear charge and be time limited. The work done by the Blandin Broadband Strategy Board and published in the “Live at the Speed of Light” Vision for Minnesota deserves consideration as a starting point for any task force charge. I have attached the document.

Blandin Foundation announces Community Broadband Resource Program

Thanks to Becky LaPlant for sending on the exciting news from Blandin Foundation on the Community Broadband Resource Program…

Blandin Foundation announces Community Broadband Resource Program Initiative will help rural communities connect to broadband’s worldwide advantages Grand Rapids, MN—(February 15, 200 Blandin Foundation is pleased to announce the Community Broadband Resource Program (CBR). This newly created program offers technical and business consulting services to rural communities interested in researching, developing or advancing broadband capacity. Participating communities receive services at no charge.

CBR is the most recent program addition to Blandin Foundation’s Broadband Initiative, which also includes the “Get Broadband” and “LightSpeed” grant programs, the Blandin on Broadband blog and the Open Networks Feasibility Fund. The initiative is guided by a 16-member Strategy Board representing a broad range of private and public perspectives.

In designing this program, Blandin Foundation has applied its broadband experience gained from working with leadership in 29 rural communities.

Customized approach

“Blandin Foundation’s Community Broadband Resource Program is unique in the state,” says Bill Coleman, project leader for the program. “This program will be customized for each community because when it comes to broadband decision-making, we know that no two communities have the same set of challenges or priorities.

“While some communities may already have committed resources and know what they want to do, others may not really understand broadband capabilities and don’t know where to start,” Coleman says.

“Our job is to facilitate the good work that community leaders are capable of doing. We help identify and clarify key community priorities, involve project stakeholders and assist community leaders in developing their plans and understanding their planning needs–whatever would help them move forward to the next step.”