‘Google and friends’ coming to Minnesota

A couple of weeks after Google Inc. joined the Minnesota High Tech Association, the company has announced it will host an event in St. Paul for businesses seeking an online presence.

As part of a program called Minnesota Get Your Business Online, “Google and friends” will help companies set up a website and establish a listing with Google Places.

To read more click here.

Need Blazing Fast Internet? Gig.U Is Now in Session

A consortium of more than 30 universities plans to invest in the infrastructure to improve Internet speeds 1,000-fold

In the not-too-distant future broadband speeds will be measured in gigabits per second rather than megabits per second, the former being 1,000 times faster than the latter. Such blazing fast data transmission will vastly improve the quality of streaming high-definition video, playing online video games, participating in video conferences and using voice over IP, all of which struggle with latency at today's average data transfer rates, which range from less than one megabit per second (Mbps) to 10 Mbps (pdf). The sticking point over gigabit-per-second broadband: who will pay for it?

Telecommunications companies, still stinging from the financial beating they took a decade ago after hastily building up capacity for Internet companies that soon went out of business, have been leery ever since of investing in infrastructure unless they are certain there is a demand for it. Most customers, many of them still exploring the wonders of YouTube and for the most part content to simply use e-mail and social networks, are not demanding, nor are they willing to pay a premium for, service that moves information at 1 billion bits per second.

To read more click here.

$24 Million Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project Launches

By Wil Payton, Communications Specialist, Connected Nation

Enventis Telecom, a subsidiary of HickoryTech, is kicking off a $24 million Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project on Aug. 25 that will improve high-speed Internet access in rural Minnesota communities.

Project Impact:

• Statewide network will connect 36 rural Minnesota communities in 23 counties

• The fiber network will deliver a minimum of 100 MB broadband Ethernet services to 74 Community Anchor Institutions, including: healthcare facilities, schools, libraries, higher education facilities, and public offices

• More than 886,000 people living in 315,000 households will have access to these low-cost, high-capacity broadband services

• More than 74,000 small and medium size businesses in Minnesota will also have access to this network

This bodes well for the economic future of the communities impacted by this project. The 2010 Connect Minnesota Business Technology Survey indicated that businesses with broadband Internet connections reported having median annual revenues $300,000 more than the state average.

In July, Enventis started construction of the 430-mile fiber optic project, scheduled for completion in 2013. The network will provide affordable, high-capacity broadband services across northern Minnesota. Enventis estimates that the project will create more than 250 jobs.

“I’ve seen first hand around our state the problems with Internet access,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (R-MN) speaking this month at another broadband project — the Carver County groundbreaking celebrating the beginning of its new fiber optic ring, which will be over 122 miles long and will connect 86 entities at 56 sites throughout Carver County, Minnesota.

In addressing the economic potential of improved broadband access in the state, Sen. Klobuchar stated that, “…whether you are a gift shop, or a restaurant, or a family farm, or a little start-up company, broadband is the ticket to reaching new customers, selling more products, and growing your business.”

As part of the National Telecommunication and Information Administration’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, Enventis was awarded a $16.8 million grant last August. Over the next two years, an additional $7.2 million will be contributed by the company to the project.

Follow us on Twitter @ConnectMN for updates on broadband projects going on across the state.

American Red Cross Using Technology to Prepare People for Hurricane Season

Posted: May 20, 2011

American Red Cross will be adding technology to help people and prepare them for an above-average 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that 12-18 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes will occur this year. The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1. Red Cross’ officials said that families can take steps now to create a family emergency plan.

Red Cross has developed a free iPhone app that gives the location of all open Red Cross shelters. In addition to mapping the location of a shelter, this app also shows current capacity and population. Users can download the app by visiting the Apple store and “American Red Cross shelters,” said organization’s officials.

In case families do not have an iphone, the shelter information can be obtained from

Red Cross Website by clicking on the option “Find a Shelter.”

Additionally, the Red Cross Safe and Well Web site now allows users to update their Facebook and Twitter status when they register on the site.

To read more click here.

Project to Bring Broadband to Rural Minnesota Communities

Minnesota Business

Published August 16, 2011

The construction of a 428 fiber optic network miles will begin next week in Duluth. The network is equipped with 10GB Dense Wave Division Multiplex (DWDM) to provide economy of scale to deliver high bandwidth at a low cost per bit.

Statewide the network will connect 36 rural Minnesota communities in 23 counties; nine of these counties rated as ‘economically distressed,’ and six in Wisconsin. Network will deliver a minimum of 100 MB broadband Ethernet services to 80 community anchor institutions. More than 886,000 people living in 315,000 households will have access to these high-capacity broadband services including more than 74,000 small and medium businesses in Minnesota.

To read more click here.

Groundbreaking kicks off new broadband project

By Ana Anthony | Worthington Globe

Published July 22, 2011

LAKEFIELD — Humidity and intermittent showers did not deter a group from gathering at Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SWMBS) Operations Center Friday afternoon for a groundbreaking ceremony.

After much anticipation, construction will kick off Monday for fiber-optic cables, which will provide high-speed Internet to eight surrounding communities: Jackson, Lakefield, Round Lake, Bingham Lake, Brewster, Wilder, Heron Lake and Okabena.

“Broadband Internet levels out the playing field across the nation, the world,” said Colleen Landkamer of U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, during the ceremony.

To read more click here.