More Public-Private Partnerships Needed to Meet Minnesota’s 2015 Broadband Goals, Say State Legislators
More collaboration is needed to achieve the broadband speeds of 10 Mbps downstream/5 Mbps upstream across Minnesota by 2015, as mandated by a 2010 state statute, said those at a Connect Minnesota conference Wednesday. Officials of state telecom associations, state legislators and members of Gov. Mark Dayton’s task force on broadband debated the progress of broadband adoption in the state and the next steps to further its development. In taped video address, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said he will continue to ensure that any changes to the federal USF don’t harm small rural providers in the state, and will “protect the programs that provide broadband to all of Minnesota."
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Business has changed rapidly since the 1996 Telecom Act, with Minnesota phone companies now serving broadband over their pipes rather than strictly telephone services, said Minnesota Telecom Alliance President Brent Christensen. “We see ourselves as pipe providers,” said Christensen. “When you go home at night, you connect your device to the Wi-Fi, and it becomes part of the home network.” The emergence of video services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are also changing the way cable service providers work, said Minnesota Cable Association President Mike Martin: “As we build a faster pipe, more alternatives pop up to use the network.”
Video is also moving to mobile platforms, which means the cable industry needs to find new ways to innovate, said Martin. “The idea that the customer uses our services only in their family room is gone and it changes the order of the day.” AT&T will complete its 4G LTE buildout in the state by the end of 2014, said Andrew Sackreiter, AT&T radio access network director. “The progression of the ability of devices to do video in a high quality way is driving demand,” said Sackreiter. “When we do an upgrade at a site, we see sometimes see as much as a 10 time uptick in traffic in data."
More public-private partnerships are needed to get broadband buildout to areas where there may be little return on investment, said Minnesota state Sen. Matt Schmit, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. “The real differences are going to be made in communities, and we need think about how accessing the Internet can transform communities to become competitive in the 21st century.” The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill last session to create the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development in the state’s Department of Commerce, and Dayton last week announced Danna MacKenzie, information systems expert for Cook County, as the office’s first executive director. “I think that this office will break barriers and promote conversation to build out broadband in Minnesota,” said Schmit.
The newly created office will make someone accountable for the state’s broadband goals, said Minnesota High Tech Association President Margaret Kelliher, chairwoman of Dayton’s broadband task force. “We think of this office as a catalyst and an accelerator to meet our goals,” she said. “We are grateful that the legislators made this happen because having an accountable office where we can track our work and convene people is really important.” Kim Babine, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development director-government relations, said she also thinks a place should be created to convene the interests of the state. “We know that we can help to leverage financial resources from the federal government and philanthropic partners,” said Babine. (sfriedman@warren-news.com)