Broadband Presentation for MN PUC

4. “As the Internet becomes a gateway to democratic participation, economic opportunity and human expression, it is critical to the future of our country to ensure that everyone has broadband access to an open Internet.” ~Ford Fdn President Luis Ubiňas

5. 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.

7. • 237.012 BROADBAND GOALS. • Subdivision 1.Universal access and high-speed goal. • • It is a state goal that: • (1) no later than 2022, all Minnesota businesses and homes have access to high-speed broadband that provides minimum download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and minimum upload speeds of at least three megabits per second; and • (2) no later than 2026, all Minnesota businesses and homes have access to at least one provider of broadband with download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second.

8. as of April 2021: • 96.4% of the 140,000 unserved households in Minnesota are rural. • 96.5% of the 231,000 underserved households in Minnesota are rural.

9. Subd. 2.State broadband leadership position. It is a goal of the state that by 2022 and thereafter, the state be in: (1) the top five states for broadband speed universally accessible to residents and businesses; (2) the top five states for broadband access; and (3) the top 15 when compared globally for broadband penetration.

10. “Two gigabit symmetrical service should be the standard." "If it isn't fiber, it isn’t broadband."

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14. • Collaboration and coordination • Local broadband leadership teams • Accurate broadband maps • Encourage citizen-informed speed maps • Leadership from Legislature and Governor • Clarity on federal and state funding • Solve supply chain challenges • Allow ARPA funds as local match for Infrastructure Bill applications

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16. Challenges: • Supply shortages of key network components • Work force shortages across industries • RDOF confusion • Affordability

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18. Persistent inequities: • 250,000 Minnesota students still lack the tech devices and high-speed internet access essential for academic learning. • 24% of MN residents of color live below the poverty line (compared to 6% of whites). • 30% of MN’s African American students perform at grade level compared to 65% of whites.

19. Thank you! Bernadine Joselyn Director, Public Policy & Engagement 218/259-2962 brjoselyn@blandinfoundation.org

Editor's Notes

And while Access Denied is Opportunity Denied, the inverse is equally powerful: Everything is better with broadband. Evidence abounds that high-speed Internet access has loads of economic benefits, including: employment growth, and business growth. And for individual households, studies show that households with access to broadband reap an annual economic benefit - at a minimum - of $1,850. in increased access to goods and services Access to reliable, high-speed broadband is critical to many day-to-day essential services for rural communities: Health care, distance learning, government services, entertainment, commerce, marketing and sales, - everything is better with broadband – and “better’ often includes more cost effective. Some EXAMPLES: Healthcare: Telehealth is a well-proven solution to combatting rural healthcare needs: According to the American Telemedicine Association, “Studies have consistently shown that the quality of healthcare services delivered via telemedicine are as good those given in traditional in-person consultations.” A 2014 study concluded that telehealth had the potential to generate $6 billion in annual healthcare cost savings for US. employers. In MN, a pilot project that uses telehealth to help with opioid addiction has reduced patient pill use in a participating clinic by 724,000 pills per year. Agricultural Production: With a broadband connection, farmers and ranchers can benefit from the continuing innovation of smart or precision agriculture which increases yields in numerous ways: monitoring soil conditions to tailor the seeds for the soil type to yield the best harvest for certain crops; tailoring fertilizers for soil and crop type; and Automating watering. Moreover, connectivity supports logistics, which is an increasingly important aspect of farming. This enables producers to align prime harvest times with transportation to market. When farmers are able to deploy the latest technology to their fields, they are in a stronger position to grow and compete on a global stage – with a focus on productivity, profitability and natural resource stewardship fueled by insights and technology. Education: Broadband access gives students, no matter where they live, the opportunity to expand their horizons through distance learning. Broadband-based distance learning assists workers in acquiring new skills to advance their careers. Government services and civic participation: Some states with adequate broadband connectivity are testing blockchain voting to allow for safer, reliable absentee voting.
Access denied = Opportunity denied. We are not the Broadband Foundation. Our mission is to support healthy rural communities. Yet we focus on helping communities get and use broadband. Why? Because we have found that broadband is critical to everything we care about as a foundation. Broadband has become the indispensable infrastructure of our age. Today, access to broadband and the skills to use it are required to fully participate in society. Even McDonald’s requires an online application. The impact of lack of connectivity is real: COVID ripped of the blinders for all to see the long existing inequities – as schools shifted to distance learning.
Clearly, having formal broadband goals is a key part of the MN model. And key to the whole idea that MN should ADOPT broadband goals was the articulation and promulgation through an inclusive, iterative process involving hundreds of stakeholders – first at a Blandin statewide conference in 2015 and later in meetings and gatherings across the state -- of a broadband vision for Minnesota: 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. After it’s creation at the conference, the broadband vision was endorsed and adopted by local governments and other entities across the state. It helped create a groundswell of support for the creation of the first Governor’s Broadband Task Force. The Task Force, in turn, recommended the creation of an Office of Broadband Development inside the Department of Employment and Economic Development and the establishment of a state broadband grant program. And the vision became the organizing motivation and glue behind the now robust MN Rural Broadband Coalition
Broadband helps patients connect to remote healthcare resources. Broadband is needed for economic growth. Broadband connects me to the rest of the world.
What has happened in terms of our goal of … increased public attention and urgency to the issue of rural broadband? Today, the group of rural leaders Blandin first convened in 2015 around the broadband vision has become the MN Rural Broadband Coalition – a 141 member strong organization representing tens of thousands of rural Minnesotans . for the past three years the coalition has hosted a “Broadband Day at the Capitol” event that brings rural broadband advocates to St. Paul to support public investment in broadband infrastructure. The first year of Broadband Day at the Capitol, of the 140 rural MNs who participated, over 60 percent told us it was their FIRST VISIT to the capital..
Here is what some of our community partners say about how broadband helps them in their daily lives: My modem is too expensive and too slow… Broadband helps me stay in touch with my family. I need broadband for my home-based business.

Broadband Presentation for MN PUC

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Broadband Presentation for MN PUC

Editor's Notes