By Ann Treacy, Blandin on Broadband
“Senator Klobuchar’s Broadband Summit was a far cry from the Public FCC Hearing last week. There were a lot more suits today, although about 250 people as opposed to 700 last week. There were a number of the same people – but certainly not a complete overlap by any means. I recognized more faces today, which means these were people who have been involved with and/or have been following broadband for a while.”
By Justin Horwath, TIME
“It’s not often that the faces behind the federal government show up at places like South High School in the Corcoran neighborhood of Minneapolis, one of the city’s poorest and most racially diverse sections. Especially to talk about the Internet, of all things. But this is where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held its first public hearing on Net neutrality, the idea that all legal online data should be treated equally by service providers.”
By Matthew Lasar, Ars Technica
“I believe that net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time,” declared Democratic Senator Al Franken at Thursday’s public hearing on the Internet, held in his home state of Minnesota.
“Unless it’s freedom of religion,” he added, “which, until last week, I thought we had kind of worked out.”
The UpTake has an archived copy of last weeks town hall FCC hearing, at which Ann Treacy took some great notes.
From the BitTorrent-Comcast debacle and the FCC’s courtroom conflicts to Google’s talks with Verizon, public awareness around the principles of network neutrality has been on the upswing lately – and for all the right reasons.
One of Minnesota’s own public figures, Senator Al Franken, recently launched an online petition to “stop the corporate media takeover” and defend “the first amendment issue of our time.” Update (8/17 11:00pm): The Uptake has posted an interview with Al Franken titled: “Why Net Nuetrality is Important.”
At a steady speed of around 4,000 electronic signatures per day, over 91,000 people have endorsed the legislators stance over the past three weeks.
By Sheldon Johnson, Bemidji Pioneer
“Take a moment and picture a high school student at his home or local library in rural Minnesota taking online courses from a technical college in the Twin Cities. Imagine a doctor in Rochester advising a patient in Grand Rapids via a video-conference about the best treatment options available for a serious illness or performing tele-surgery from thousands of miles away using robotics. Envision a farmer in southern Minnesota buying his cattle in an online livestock auction.
All these can and will be realized — as long as we have the appropriate broadband speeds and infrastructure. While Minnesota and the Unites States were once leaders in broadband penetration and speed, we have fallen behind.”
Recent Links:
Blandin on Broadband -Minnesota BTOP/BIP Round One awards compiled
Blandin on Broadband -New Connect Minnesota Maps Webinar
via Minnesota High Tech Association
Bright (hot) and early Monday morning, hundreds gathered at the ADC auditorium in Eden Prairie for a comprehensive panel discussion centered around the recent passage of the Angel Investor Tax Credit.
Commissioned by MHTA and moderated by Joy Lindsay, this insightful event featured personal appearances from Senator Kathy Saltzman and Representative Tim Mahony – two congressional forces that helped shape and pass this monumental legislation. The panelists, all well-versed on the topic, included: Dan McElroy, John Alexander, Dan Mallin and Jay Hare.
Kudos to the tech entrepreneurs who took advantage of the free admission to gain firsthand knowledge into this beneficial new tool for startups.
By Steve Borsch, Minnov8
“Join the Minnesota High Tech Association on Monday, May 24 at the ADC Auditorium for MHTA’s Angel Tax Credit Panel.
Registration: 7:30 a.m.; Program: 8:00 – 9:30 a.m.
The Angel Tax Credit Panel will feature an outstanding line-up of panelists who will discuss the recently enacted 25% tax credit for angel investors who invest in Minnesota high tech start-up companies.”
by Kate Rubin, MHTA President, via Finance and Commerce
“The 2010 legislative session, while not complete, has already resulted in a great deal of progress for Minnesota’s technology-based economy, and the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) is proud to be at the table helping make it happen alongside a cadre of state government leaders.
For instance:”
By Ann Treacy, BlandinonBroadband.org
“Near the end of March the Minnesota Broadband Bill passed in the House. It has just passed in the Senate. It may go into conference – but since it has passed in both the House and the Senate it may not. I’ll keep an eye on it.
In some ways the speeds specified (10Mbps down and 5Mbps up) is a little anti-climatic after the National Broadband Plan calls for 100Mbps down/50Mbps up – but the secondary goal saves it…”
Christopher Mitchell is Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative, part of the New Rules Project from the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR). The ILSR is a non-profit organization, started in Washington D.C. in 1974, with a mission to:
“…provide innovative strategies, working models and timely information to support environmentally sound and equitable community development. To this end, ILSR works with citizens, activists, policymakers and entrepreneurs to design systems, policies and enterprises that meet local or regional needs; to maximize human, material, natural and financial resources; and to ensure that the benefits of these systems and resources accrue to all local citizens.”
Mr. Mitchell blogs regularly about modern data networks, public vs. private broadband initiatives and telecommunications infrastructure at muninetworks.org. Together with TECHdotMN Networks Correspondent Peter Fleck, join us for a chat with a local expert about Minnesota’s current telecommunications challenges and future opportunities.
See an archived time line of Minnesota Broadband events/links discussed throughout our conversation.
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