Governor Pawlenty Signs Broadband Study Bill
On April 17, Governor Pawlenty signed the Broadband Study Bill (SF1918) into law. It calls for the Governor to convene an Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force to report on the condition of broadband (the speeds and areas covered) by November 2009. (http://tinyurl.com/65cchs) They are already looking for community leaders to apply to become Task Force members. (http://tinyurl.com/6nhrlz) If you are interested in being a member of the task force, go online to the MN Secretary of State’s office (www.sos.state.mn.us).  The application deadline is Tuesday, May 27; the Governor may appoint the members of the Task Force as early as June 6.

Communitywide Broadband Hits Speed Bumps
Comcast is trying to stop a fiber build-out in Chattanooga. Earthlink tries unsuccessfully to get someone to take over WiFi network in New Orleans. Take rates and profits in Utopia and Burlington (VT) are not meeting expectations of some. (http://tinyurl.com/6qlnbp) Others feel that Burlington is on track. (http://tinyurl.com/57gdat)

US Legislation Looks at Broadband Issues
The US Senate held a meeting to discuss the Future of the Internet, focusing mainly on Net Neutrality issues. (http://tinyurl.com/5agj8m) The US House is planning a meeting on May 6 to move forward with the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008. (http://tinyurl.com/59tmon) The House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee has been talking to the FCC and others about why most of the recent 700 Mhz Spectrum Auction was so successful except for the segment saved for building a public safety network. (http://tinyurl.com/6gpjfv)

Citizen Media Outreach Events in Rural Minnesota
E-Democracy is looking for partners to host citizen media outreach events in rural Minnesota to showcase some exciting projects and encourage the launch of similar projects in rural Minnesota. (http://tinyurl.com/696or8) The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published a list of high profile Citizen Journalism web sites. (http://tinyurl.com/6lb74v)

Blandin on Broadband is your source for up-to-date news and information about Broadband use, policy and trends especially in Minnesota. Subscribe today.

Clearwater
With support from the Blandin Foundation, the Clearwater Economic Development Authority is assessing their community’s telecommunications environment as they are not sure if their existing services are meeting the current and future needs of their community. (http://tinyurl.com/6k92zp)

Cook County
Cook County Higher Education and the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund held a class for business owners on Web Site Magic. (http://tinyurl.com/57hjp7)

Duluth
The Duluth Public Library is reopening with an expanded computer lab of 14 computers with Internet access. (http://tinyurl.com/5bmxwa)

Iron Range
Gary Fields (who has worked with the Blandin Foundation on broadband projects) and Tim Nulty (who led the lauded effort in Burlington VT) have been hired by Iron Range Community Fibernet to make presentations to the 11 FiberNet communities to talk about their plans to develop a financial plan and move forward to design and implement fiber to the home (FTTH). (http://tinyurl.com/6pokcp)

Itasca State Park
State parks across the nation are installing WiFi. In Minnesota the effort is starting in Itasca State Park. (http://tinyurl.com/5muaxd)

Marshall
Staff members at the Prairieland Genealogical Society and the History Center at Southwest Minnesota State University are embracing technology both as a way to store information on genealogy records and a way to reach patrons. (http://tinyurl.com/6k25a5)

Minneapolis
WiFi is up and running throughout Minneapolis but the speeds are not consistent. Buying a WiFi booster from US Internet will help users get better speeds. (http://tinyurl.com/5qxbcq)

Monticello
Progress continues on FTTH in Monticello as reported by the Monticello Fiber Optic Committee in Mid April. (http://tinyurl.com/6jx4e5)

New Ulm
A young entrepreneur in New Ulm makes a living by selling hand-sewn bags online using a web site called Etsy, which specializes in handmade items. (http://tinyurl.com/55qybx)

North Dakota
Candidates in North Dakota are already taking the campaigns to the Internet with Facebook and MySpace pages. (http://tinyurl.com/6coowe)

Red Wing
The Red Wing City Council and the Red Wing Port Authority approved Lookout Point Communications to conduct a FTTH feasibility study for Red Wing (a recipient of Blandin Foundation Get Broadband funds).

Staples
Lakewood Health Systems (a Blandin Foundation Light Speed funded program) is researching a telemonitoring purchase option. Their report on patients who currently avail of some remote monitoring services indicates that the advantages are clear. (http://tinyurl.com/6g9z2t)

Twin Cities
Comcast announces big broadband service in the Twin Cities. With the new service, subscribers will be able to download at speeds of up to 50 megabits per second and upload at speeds of 5 megabits per second. (http://tinyurl.com/5pnyqw)

Waseca
The Waseca County Public Library offered a free class called Senior Surf Day, designed to teach the ins and outs of modern technology. (http://tinyurl.com/5gvmsa)

Willmar
Kandiyohi County Economic Development Commission (a recipient of Blandin Foundation Get Broadband funds) recently approved payment to Bonnema Surveys Inc. to create a web-based mapping system for all the high-speed Internet coverage areas in Kandiyohi County (http://tinyurl.com/65sp79)

Winona
Home and Community Options Inc (a Blandin Foundation Light Speed funded program) is pleased with the response of care facility staff regarding training to use e-file system and with installation of remote monitoring systems. Unfortunately cold weather has slowed the actual installation of fiber. (http://tinyurl.com/5649h7)

May 9 – Living in a Changing World (Minneapolis, MN) – a talk and book signing by Thomas Freidman (http://tinyurl.com/2h7vnn)

May 12-22 – Intelligent Community Forum Immersion Lab (various locations) - see some of North America's Intelligent Communities. (http://tinyurl.com/39r8j9)

May 14 – Leveraging Success – Making Muni-Wireless a Reality (Bloomington, MN) – a free, one-day seminar with real-world testimonials from communities deploying broadband triple play networks. (http://tinyurl.com/3a56pe)

May 28 - Google I/O(tm) (San Francisco) - a two-day, in-depth gathering for developers to share knowledge about Google's own developer products and web application development in general. (http://tinyurl.com/2m6k58)

June 3-4 - Strategy to Reality: Don’t Look Back (Minneapolis, MN) - a comprehensive IT-IA Security seminar. (http://www.ip3seminars.com/security/register.php)

June 4-6 - Media Reform Conference (Minneapolis, MN) - one of the first national gatherings for local, online citizen journalists and entrepreneurs, sometimes called "placebloggers." (http://tinyurl.com/4vzagh)

June 18 - Online Community Unconference (Mountainview, CA) - a gathering of online community practitioners — managers, developers, strategists, tools providers, VCs — to discuss experience and strategies in the development and growth of online communities. (http://ocu2008.eventbrite.com/)

With the recently passed and signed legislation, Minnesota will finally have a state-sponsored task force to consider broadband.  I hope that they have the wisdom to use the great work of the Blandin Broadband Strategy Board, including the vision and principles adopted two years ago. That report is available at www.blandinfoundation.org/html/documents/Vision_Statement_FINAL_022806.pdf

Using this report as a starting point will save the task force valuable time that can be better used developing recommendations for bringing quality broadband throughout our state, including the high capacity bandwidth that is being widely deployed in other states and countries.

I would also encourage the task force to consider the "why" we need a robust telecommunications network, especially related to economic development, health care and education.  The Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org) provides a framework of 1) broadband infrastructure, 2) knowledge workers, 3) innovation, 4) digital inclusion, and 5) marketing that maybe an appropriate model for the new state task force to adopt.

Look elsewhere in this newsletter for information about the nomination process for task force membership.