TECHdotMN: News about Minnesota Startups

April 23, 2010 | sourced Comments

Via Fastcompany

“Most municipal Wi-Fi initiatives end in the graveyard, but cemeteries are among the few spots not covered by Minneapolis’s new $20 million wireless network, which blankets 95% of its 59 square miles. As an anchor tenant of the system, the city lowered many of its own costs, while capping resident rates at $20 a month. But the Wi-Fi blanket is also a powerful tool to narrow the digital divide for low-income residents.”

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Ramsey County ranks 23rd on national list of 25 counties with the fastest Internet connections

March 3, 2010 | by Mike Bollinger Comments

ID Insight, a Minnesota-based startup providing enterprise-level identity fraud solutions, today released a "Fastest 25" broadband list.  Minnesota’s Ramsey County is #23 of 25 on the list of  counties with the country’s 25 fastest Internet connections.  The "Fastest 25" list was generated using BroadBand Scout, a new national broadband connectivity and usage database. The top county, Nassau County, N.Y., boasts a median download speed of 15.0 megabits per second and a median upload speed of 4.4 megabits per second.

The counties on ID Insight’s Fastest 25 list include:

1. Nassau County, N.Y.
2. Kent County, R.I.
3. Putnam County, N.Y.
4. Benton County, Ore.
5. Mercer County, N.J.
6. Richmond County, N.Y.
7. Delaware County, Ind.
8. Snohomish County, Wash.
9. Thurston County, Wash.
10. Frederick County, Va.
11. Washington County, R.I.
12. Arlington County, Va.
13. Yamhill County, Ore.
14. Providence County, R.I.
15. Calvert County, Md.
16. Bristol County, R.I.
17. Multnomah County, Ore.
18. Chester County, Pa.
19. Washington County, Ore.
20. Salem County, N.J.
21. Allen County, Ind.
22. Suffolk County, N.Y.
23. Ramsey County, Minn.
24. Island County, Wash.
25. Howard County, Md.

Read the full press release.

February 26, 2010 | sourced Comments

by Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio

“Duluth, Minn. — Just days after Google pitched its nationwide offer to bring super-fast broadband to a winning community, Duluth Mayor Don Ness was elbowing for his city to be first in line.

The youthful Ness quickly formed a core team, and on Feb. 18 threw a community organizational meeting. About 50 of the city’s leading business people mingled with an equal number of largely unshaven geeks to hear the mayor’s pitch. ” (emphasis added)

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