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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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT "I've gone back to school. Now I don't have to go to the library and fnd a sitter to do research. I can stay home with my kids." Overall, broadband adoption in participating communities grew close to 15 percent faster than in the rest of rural Minnesota, and communities that reported the highest rates of participation in MIRC activities also experienced the highest rates of broadband subscription growth. Dr. Jack Geller of the EDA Center at the University of Minnesota, Crookston and lead researcher for MIRC concluded in his fnal evaluation, "It's hard not to connect the MIRC project ... as a contributor to Minnesota's leading position in rural broadband adoption." Persuaded by the efectiveness and impact of these eforts, and mindful of the critical role that broadband access and adoption play in the economic and social life of rural places, Blandin Foundation's board of trustees has committed an additional $1.5 million to continue to support broadband adoption eforts in rural Minnesota in 2013 and 2014. THE CHALLENGE OF BROADBAND ADOPTION Blandin Foundation's strategies include • Ofering individuals training in computer literacy and knowledgeworker career development strategies. • Providing technical assistance and customized training to small businesses and entrepreneurs. • Distributing refurbished computers to low-income, rural Minnesota residents. • Partnering with Internet service providers to ofer subsidized subscriptions to connect those computers to the Internet. • Helping communities identify their unique goals and providing the technical assistance and grant 88 funding needed to turn those goals into accomplishments. At the heart of our approach is high-touch, multisector, sustained community engagement. Tis includes communitywide visioning and goal setting and a community-driven grant proposal solicitation process to generate project ideas and community commitment upfront. To help drive home the recognition that broadband is a necessary but not sufcient element of economic development and community vitality, MIRC used indicators developed by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) to help communities baseline and measure their competitiveness in the broadband economy. Tese indicators include ensuring broadband infrastructure, developing a "knowledge workforce," supporting innovation, redressing the digital divide and efectively using marketing and advocacy to tell a community's technology story. Community leaders used the ICF indicators to identify and select community projects that best ft local needs and focus their eforts on shortterm, achievable goals that would have meaningful impact over the long term. More than 100 community-identifed community projects have been funded so far. Here are a few examples. ENSURING THE AVAILABILITY AND USE OF BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE Tief River Falls launched Computers for Our Community, a collaboration between local broadband providers and MIRC partner PCs for People. Over 18 months, the project delivered 126 refurbished computers, 91 reducedrate broadband subscriptions and nine multiweek digital literacy courses for low-income families. Most recipients | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com (84 percent) continued their broadband subscriptions even after subsidies ended. Lac qui Parle County created a mobile computer lab that brings broadband access to one of Minnesota's most sparsely populated regions. A local partner testifed, "Te Computer Commuter connects patrons to people and places they had no idea they could connect to!" FOSTERING INNOVATION An immigrant resource center in Winona launched digital literacy training in Hmong and Spanish for more than 60 recent immigrants. Te project "built bridges among cultures and organizations" and led to the realization that a "connected city helps everyone." A consortium of nine school districts in Stevens County developed a broadband-based system to provide specialized distance learning services for students with disabilities. Teir takeaways: "[Realization] that the world is able to communicate and work cooperatively using technology and that the world is not limited to Stevens County." Benton County added new computers in libraries, schools and senior housing and created 13 new Wi-Fi access points in a variety of businesses and community sites, including an elder care facility. According to the county's economic director, "Our elected ofcials now see the importance of broadband for economic development and community vitality." DELETING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE Te nonproft MIRC partner PCs for People, in addition to surpassing its goal to refurbish 1,000 computers and redistribute them to low-income rural households, opened afliate storefronts in four rural Minnesota communities in each corner of the state. Said one computer recipient: "I've gone back to school; I have two kids, and now I don't have to go to the library and fnd a sitter to do research. ... I can stay home with my kids." When expressing her appreciation for receiving a computer | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

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