NewsConnected Nation Previews Interactive Broadband Mapping Tool at Technology Policy Exhibition in Washington, D.C. January 27, 2010
Connected Nation, in conjunction with ESRI, a market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, showcased its jointly developed new interactive mapping tool for viewing, analyzing, and validating broadband data at a technology policy exhibition on Capitol Hill. At Tuesday’s technology policy kickoff reception, more than 100 people had the chance to view Connected Nation and ESRI’s BroadbandStat demonstration. Michael Ramage, Executive Director of Connected Tennessee, continued showcasing the technology well after the official end of the event.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) welcomes attendees to the Congressional Internet Caucus Kickoff Reception and Technology Policy Exhibition. Jon Gant, a professor at the University of Illinois at Champaign, stopped by to view the BroadbandStat demonstration on Tuesday. Gant, who teaches GIS classes and has used GIS data from more than 20 years, was impressed by the easy, user-friendly interface of BroadbandStat. “Look at how smooth the graphics transition from query to query,” he said, pointing to the screen of BroadbandStat. “And, the small things—like the menus—they are a lot better this way.” “This [GIS data] is really complicated stuff,” he said Tuesday after viewing BroadbandStat. “And, how you all use and represent this complicated data with this kind of interface is really interesting,” he said. Jim Geringer, director of Policy and Public Sector Strategies at ESRI and former governor of Wyoming, was on hand on Tuesday, prior to his participation in a Wednesday’s panel discussion, “Transforming Government Through Technology: The Real, The Possible, The Surprising.” “The common underpinning of all activities—economic, social or health—is people connecting with other people and that activity doesn’t happen without broadband,” he said. “You will never understand how much information is in the world until you can connect with broadband. Broadband mapping—or showing who is connecting and who is not—is just the first step.” The Technology Policy Exhibition is a free, educational event that briefs lawmakers and staff, reporters, and representatives from government agencies and private sector organizations on cutting-edge Internet technologies. It is the largest technology exhibition on Capitol Hill. Yesterday’s event served as the official kickoff of today’s 6th Annual State of the Net Conference, hosted by ICAC at the Hyatt Regency, Capitol Hill. ARTICLE: States Use ESRI's BroadbandStat Application for Broadband Initiatives GIS User Ten U.S. states and one U.S. territory will soon launch comprehensive broadband mapping and planning initiatives based on ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) technology. They will use BroadbandStat, an application developed by ESRI and Connected Nation, to organize and display broadband service and related data on the Internet. The BroadbandStat application hosts interactive Web maps that show broadband coverage across U.S. states and incorporates other relevant data. It includes tools that use service provider and demographics data to identify unserved and underserved broadband areas with optimum potential for new broadband infrastructure development. Its Web capabilities enable a shared picture of broadband data and support transparency by giving the public access to the information. The new state broadband mapping initiatives are supported by more than $20 million in State Broadband Data and Development Program grants recently announced by the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). "These grant dollars are an investment in the future of Texas," said Texas agricultural commissioner Todd Staples in a press release on NTIA's $2.5 million award to Texas. "Many communities do not have sufficient broadband service, which limits their abilities to attract new economic development opportunities. It is essential that families, schools, and businesses have high-speed Internet access that will open up the prospects for development." Funds were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). More than $7 billion in ARRA stimulus funds have been designated to help expand broadband access in unserved and underserved communities across the United States. The NTIA grants were awarded to each state's designated project entity, which in many cases is Connected Nation, a nonprofit corporation and leader in promoting broadband expansion. Awards include the following: •Florida: $2.5 million, to Florida Department of Management Services •Illinois: $1.8 million, to Partnership for a Connected Illinois •Iowa: $2.2 million, to Connected Nation •Michigan: $1.8 million, to Connected Nation •Minnesota: $1.7 million, to Connected Nation •Nevada: $1.4 million, to Connected Nation •Ohio: $1.8 million, to Ohio Office of Information Technology •Puerto Rico: $1.4 million, to Puerto Rico Office of the Chief Information Officer •South Carolina: $1.7 million, to Connected Nation •Tennessee: $1.8 million, to Connected Tennessee •Texas: $2.5 million, to Connected Nation For more information about ESRI's BroadbandStat application, visit www.esri.com/bbstat. ARTICLE: Stimulus funding gives boost to broadband January 4, 2010 by Britt Johnsen St. Cloud Times When Sandy Hansen's Watkins agriculture supply business swapped its dial-up Internet connection for a high-speed one almost five years ago, she and her employees helped more farmers make decisions about whether to buy feed. "It just made everything a lot easier and a lot quicker," said Hansen, owner of Ag Venture Feed & Seed Inc. "We were able to provide more customers with detailed information." Ag Venture is just the kind of rural business local and state officials say is helped by expanding access to broadband Internet. Minnesota is getting $1.7 million in federal stimulus funding for mapping high-speed Internet access and showing where gaps in coverage exist — which is often in rural areas. Local economic development officials and others say broadband access is a significant player in economic development and innovation. They argue that the state will need access to faster Internet connections as more businesses, schools and health clinics rely on online services. Still, local government agencies aren't poised to shell out funding for more access. But they plan to encourage providers to offer service in places where residents and businesses say they need it. The Legislature is expected to take up this issue in February as it considers recent recommendations made by a state task force advocating for high-speed Internet connections. Rick King, chairman of the Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force, said about 94 percent of the state has access to broadband. But that's given the current definition of broadband under the Federal Communications Commission. That definition is much slower than where the state should be if it wants to be economically competitive, King said. The current definition of high-speed Internet is 768,000 bits per second, which translates into a two-hour movie taking 23 hours to download, King said. The task force would like the speed to become as fast as 10 million bits per second, making it so the same movie would take less than two hours to download. If the FCC changed its broadband definition to the task force's recommended 10 million bits per second, 18 percent of the state would have access to high-speed Internet, King said. Local work Some local officials support more and better access to high-speed Internet. Tom Moore, president of the St. Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership, is one. "I think access to broadband is crucial to small businesses," he said. He said in the coming months a comprehensive economic development strategy will be created by local business leaders and elected officials. People from the four-county area — Benton, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright counties — will study local economic development needs. He said in 15 upcoming community forums throughout the four-county area, they will be asking residents about what they think community infrastructure priorities should be. That means they'll ask about access to high-speed Internet connectivity, Moore said. Private investment often follows new infrastructure, he said. "I think that's why broadband is such a great opportunity for businesspeople and entrepreneurs," he said. "It makes them able to compete globally." Nancy Hoffman, economic development director for Benton County, said she hopes providers can fill gaps where businesses and residents aren't getting access or do not find it affordable. She said she is working with a Blandin Foundation strategic advisory board to get more broadband access. The board recently applied for stimulus funding that could, if granted, make Benton County a demonstration community to use broadband in "new, creative ways," she said. The stimulus bill made $7.2 billion available for broadband initiatives. Hoffman said some holes exist in Benton County, particularly far east and some places in the north part of the county. More people need it, particularly businesses because it makes them more productive, she argued. "Productivity is everything," she said. "People don't have access or very good access. A couple people (that Hoffman talked to) are Web designers and it slows them down quite a bit," she said. "Dial-up just doesn't do it anymore." Fred Nolan, superintendent of Foley schools, said broadband has the potential to improve the way children learn, too. He pointed to a report he received last week that showed success in a program tested from summer 2008 to December 2009 in seven Central Minnesota school districts, including Foley schools, as well as St. Cloud Technical and Community College. The program was called Moodle. It allowed teachers to interact with students and parents online at any time and any place. Teachers created forums, homework assignment drop boxes, assessments and other tools for students to use. Administrators used it for teacher training and communication within and across districts. Needless to say, Nolan is a big fan of high-speed Internet. Foley schools and Benton Cooperative Telephone Co. even teamed up to offer parents a $25 rebate on this year's school fees if their family signed up for broadband services. He predicts more students will be taught online in the future. "To me, it's like the railroads of the 1900s," he said. "This is the railroad of the 21st century." Viability Some challenges persist in getting more broadband Internet access to communities with gaps. Nolan said even if Minnesota gets 100 percent access to high-speed Internet, that doesn't mean everyone will be able to afford it. "It's a huge equity issue for rural Minnesota," he said. That means even if more schools wanted to use high-speed Internet to replace classroom activity a couple days per week, they can't mandate it unless people can afford to use it, he said. And funding could be an issue. Just like every organization facing budget concerns after fallout from a historic recession, money will be key in getting new initiatives going. Benton County likely won't put up funding, Hoffman said. "Especially now," she said. "It's not a good time because of budget cutbacks. It's hard to think of implementing something new." King said it would cost about $160 million to get the kind of statewide coverage his task force is recommending. He said it would require public-private partnerships to pay for the access. He thinks private investment will continue as it has in the past several years and is confident the state can reach goals recommended by the task force. But Hoffman expressed doubt the task force could reach its aspiration of getting 100 percent high-speed Internet access in Minnesota by 2015. Despite potential hurdles, she predicted broadband access will become as essential and ubiquitous as electricity became. "I think it can be done eventually," she said.
ARTICLE: Minn. gets $1.7 million for broadband initiatives December 27, 2009 By The Associated Press (St. Paul Bureau) ST. PAUL, Minn.--Minnesota is getting $1.7 million from the federal stimulus to map broadband Internet access and plan for service improvements. ARTICLE: Minnesota gets $1.5M in stimulus cash for broadband mapping December 22, 2009 PRESS RELEASE: Connect Minnesota Receives Recovery Act Funding For Broadband Mapping St. Paul, MN – Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded Minnesota a $1.7 million grant to support a comprehensive broadband mapping and planning initiative through the Connect Minnesota program. Connect Minnesota (www.connectmn.org) is a partnership between the Minnesota Department of Commerce and Connected Nation to increase broadband Internet access throughout Minnesota. The grant is comprised of $1.2 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and almost $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five-year period in Minnesota, bringing the total grant award to approximately $1.7 million. The award provided through NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a matching grant and part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Download Press Release here. ARTICLE:
Minnesota Census Block Level Data on Connected's Broadband Maps
ARTICLE:
Minnesotans can apply for stimulus funds extending Internet access
PRESS RELEASE: Connect Minnesota Launches New Maps and Data Tools for Tapping Broadband Stimulus Dollars PRESS RELEASE: Connect Minnesota Updates Broadband Inventory Maps to Prepare for Federal Stimulus ARTICLE:
At Issue: Connecting the state PRESS RELEASE: Connect Minnesota Releases Broadband Inventory Map to Highlight Available Service and Identify Remaining Gaps
ARTICLE:
New map shows speeds of the information superhighway PRESS RELEASE: Connect Minnesota Launches Web Site to Promote Universal Broadband Access |
Andy Blair from George Washington University asks Connected Tennessee’s Michael Ramage for more detail about interactive broadband coverage maps while Sabrina Matteson, a representative from the American Farm Bureau Federation, observes the presentation.
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