Broadband Communities

NOV-DEC 2013

BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.

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Refurbished computers, training and subscriptions for kids and families were distributed through Head Start. Temporary workers who participate in the digital literacy program upgrade their skills and qualify for higher pay. Temporary Employment Program student workers help learners in the computer labs, which is a great beneft to both trainers and learners. Janice, in her quietly passionate way, grins when she tells how many participants have been inspired to pursue their GED [certifcates of high school equivalency]. Multiply Kristin Fake and Janice Gale times hundreds. Te stories continue to roll in from communities all across rural Minnesota, where adoption is not just a policy imperative but also a community imperative. From [Blandin Foundation's] experience, realizing the promise of the Internet is as much about investing in human capacity as it about investing in technological capacity – maybe more. After a career in the Foreign Service, I became Blandin Foundation's frst-ever public policy director in 2003. When I looked out over the rural landscape, one issue stood out as having great potential to help rural communities thrive into the new century: access to high-speed Internet and the capability to take advantage of its many social and economic benefts. Today, the digital divide remains far too real for rural America, especially for those who face other types of barriers – poverty, language, isolation. Te work of bringing the promise of the lnternet to all Americans clearly is not done. We believed in 2003, and still do today, that 1. Broadband is the indispensable infrastructure of the 21st century. 2. Rural communities need broadband access, and the ability to use it, in order to thrive – and even survive – in an ever more globalized world. To this end, Blandin Foundation has invested in a body of work focused on strengthening community broadband leadership and adoption. One of these projects, the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities Initiative (MIRC), Participants in the MIRC digital literacy program upgrade their skills and qualify for higher pay. Many have been inspired to pursue certifcates of high school equivalency. had the support of the American people through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which connected our work to national goals. Blandin Foundation administered MIRC on behalf of a coalition of 19 statewide partners – regional development commissions, state workforce and educational institutions, etc. – and 11 rural demonstration communities. Our work was partially funded through the federal Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP), one of 44 sustainable adoption grants awarded nationwide. MIRC began in 2010 and was largely completed by the end of 2012, putting to work $4.8 million of federal grant dollars, $1.8 million in matching funds and countless hours of work by community leaders to create a network of resources and support to rural Minnesota communities, business owners, students, health care facilities, local governments, the poor and the un- and underemployed. We sought to • Support and encourage vibrant rural economies through broadband adoption as a strategy for job growth and wealth creation. • Increase "culture of use" of broadband services. • Improve efciency and efectiveness of digital literacy training service delivery. • Accelerate broadband adoption by 2 percent over its statistically anticipated growth (increasing broadband subscribers by 38,556 more than could otherwise be expected). In sum, helping rural communities keep up globally was our real task. Tanks to the federal funding we received, we were able to take on an ambitious, comprehensive, multisector efort that wove together work at the local community level all the way up to statewide engagement. MIRC set measurable goals. All were accomplished or exceeded. OUTCOME GOAL New households subscribed to broadband 38,556 (2 percent above statistically anticipated growth) 40,496 0 60 Number of people who participated in at least 16 hours of training/education 3,640 9,000 Reftted and licensed computers distributed to frst-time computer owners 1,000 2,067 Number of people reached through outreach and awareness 160,000 250,000 Number of public-access computer sites NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | ACCOMPLISHED BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 87

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