Blandin Foundation Broadband Initiative

January 2006

Broadband enables all kinds of innovative interactions. Interaction requires action. And it’s up to us to help bring home the benefits of broadband to our communities. Send your comments and suggestions to broadband@blandinfoundation.org.

Each month e-News provides updates from Get Broadband community project coordinators, program information and technology news to keep you abreast of the progress being made to increase the use of broadband based technologies to make our communities, residents and institutions more productive, efficient and competitive.


Top 10 Digital Cities Revealed The most technology-advanced cities in America have been named by the Center for Digital Government based on its 2005 Digital Cities Survey. Minnesota did not fare well. St. Paul was the only Minnesota city mentioned in any of the population categories. The survey looks at how city governments use technology to better serve their citizens and streamline operations. Perhaps these are items that Minnesota cities need to focus on for 2006. See the top cities Funding Available for Telecom Facilities The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), is soliciting applications for planning and construction grants for public telecom facilities as part of the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP). $20 million is available and expected to be divided into 100 awards. The application deadline is February 7, 2006. Get the details With Broadband Comes Two-Way Commerce The Pew Internet & American Life Project recently reported that about 25 million people have used the Internet to sell something. That is about one in every six American adults online. Broadband users are more likely to sell; 22 percent of home broadband users and 23 percent of work broadband users had sold something online. Read the full report	Podcasting - Who, What, Where? A podcast is an audio file that is placed on the Internet for anyone to download. (Video podcasts, or vid-casts, are also available.) Listeners can download the file to a desktop computer, laptop, iPod or other handheld device to listen to immediately or save for later. Check out Frappr for a list of Minnesota podcasts if you want to give it a try. Podcasts range greatly in topic but wine, religion, sports and politics tend to be popular topics. Popular e-Government Service Returns to Minnesota After spending most of the year off-line to upgrade consumer security protections, Minnesota's Internet vehicle license-tab renewal service is back in operation and doing a brisk business. In their first 2.5 days online they processed 1,988 transactions. The security upgrade took 8 months and $1.1 million but lessons learned will be applicable to other e-government services such as registration for conferences and commercial licensing. Visit the license renewal site

Congratulations to the five newest communities recently accepted into the Get Broadband community grant program: Five Small Towns - a collaboration of Fertile, Macintosh, Mentor, Erskine, and Winger Fosston Hibbing Stevens County Wadena	Edge of Wilderness - Edge of the Wilderness has used their initial Get Broadband survey results to set their final project goals and objectives. Get Broadband projects will start up in January 2006; the first project will involve broadband related computer classes. Two Edge of Wilderness community representatives attended the "Growing with Gigabits" conference in St. Cloud in November.

NTCA Broadband Summit (Jan 11-13) explores technology options and advanced services carried over networks and how telephone companies can create an effective strategic plan.	Click here to access Get Broadband resource page with materials provided to support community efforts.

As we begin the New Year, I want to take this opportunity to recognize the great work that the Blandin Get Broadband community committees and project coordinators are doing across the state. You are breaking new ground in community and economic development and this can be incredibly challenging. It often seems that progress is too slow. I strongly encourage you to lead your committee in a discussion of the progress that has been made. One of the glories of living in a smaller community is that progress can be seen in the stories of individuals and small businesses rather than measured by statistical analysis. A small business receives orders through their web site from new customers, an older person communicates with friends and family via email, or someone completes their education online.	We need to remember that change does not occur at a consistent rate. Getting the ball rolling takes energy and dedication. We even have to avoid having the balling back on us when there is resistance; however once we reach the tipping point, the momentum of the change is impossible to stop. We think that the communities applying for another year of funding will begin to see the ball accelerating in the second year of activities. So my advice to you is to keep working hard, celebrate and share the success stories, and keep your eyes on the long term objective of an enhanced and competitive community. Let us know how we, the Blandin Team, can help you to succeed. Happy New Year!

eFolio Minnesota is a multimedia electronic portfolio designed to help you create a living showcase of your education, career and personal achievements. It's perfect if you're looking for a job, filling out college applications, or are interested in presenting your achievements online.	The Get Broadband Toolkit is designed to promote and facilitate community-led broadband market development and education efforts. To view the Toolkit online visit GetBroadband.us To request additional copies of the Toolkit email: broadband@blandinfoundation.org.