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Idea for: Telecommunications
Formulate a Rural Broadband Act Many of our small towns have yet to witness an affordable broadband (not just 128k high speed) options. The Rural Electrification Act provided an opportunity to fill in market gaps of electrical service, what will it take for telecommunications? From Ben Winchester of Hancock, MN on 05/09/05
Rating:  Lorraine and Michelle, great ideas! I am curious, though, how is broadband going to help the small towns thrive? I understand and use it myslef, but can't see the implications for a whole community. From Lisa Cary of Duluth, MN on 06/10/05 Rating:  Wireless internet is the way to go. My cellular phone company gives (well, doesn't "give" but you get my point) me great wireless internet access covering 85% of the southern Minnesota geography southward of a line (minus the Metro area) from Ortonville-Benson-Paynesville-St.Michael-Redwing all the way to the Iowa border. I love it, as I can use it for my insurance job in Montevideo where I live, as well as at my family's very rural farm 20 miles northwest of Willmar. From Randy Olson of Sunburg, MN on 06/05/05 Rating: This is all fine and good, but I also think it¿¿¿s important for the Farmers and Ranchers who live a few miles away from the towns as well. Viable wireless or wired broadband options for them and their families connected could potentially help us keep what little there is left of small family farms or ranches. From Adam Wagner of Fisher, MN on 05/26/05 Rating: From Ann Higgins of Eden Prairie, MN on 05/20/05 Rating: We already have a hodgepodge of federal funding sources for rural telecommunications and technology innovation, but much of it is being cut. Minnesota has tried over the last dozen years to work out a comprehensive statewide policy and funding mechanism for strategy and investments in this arena but it gets bottled up at the Legislature. It will take a lot of market education and development, from programs such as Blandin Foundations, "Get Broadband" and other local and regional efforts. From Jane Leonard of St. Paul, MN on 05/13/05 Rating: Local govt. need to create and administer their own broadband and fiber optic networks. This would attract businesses because the cost could be kept lower than what corporate owned broadband costs. It would also keep revenue in the locality. It could be like a cooperative From Lorraine Oslin of Brook Park, MN on 05/12/05 Rating: Keep the money in the community by having a local government built broadband instead of sending the money to big corps. From Michele Flynn of Sturgeon Lake, MN on 05/12/05 Rating: A locally administered/created broadband would keep money in the community and bring in jobs. It would also be cheaper. Why send the money to big corps., keep it in the communities. From Sanda Oslin of Sturgeon Lake, MN on 05/12/05 Rating: By the way, because most of these rural towns are currently communications lite with the Telco's, it would be much preferable if any expansion by the Telco's to support DSL, T1, or D3's or whatever were done using fiber and not copper. Just because to string a cable is to string a cable, and fiber in the long run is much better. Cooperation from the Telco's, which usually means money to build local exchanges that could supply DSL, or a wireless bandwidth strong enough to handle the traffic. Or enough of an incentive (enough clients or revenue of some kind) to put in cable. From Richard Johnson of St. Cloud, MN on 05/11/05 Rating: From Carol Ford of Milan, MN on 05/10/05
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