From: sally fineday <<email obscured>>
Date: Wed, Aug 16, 2017 at 12:24 PM
Subject: [CassLeech] Please join me in responding to the Statewide
Broadband to let them know we need high speed too
To: e democracy <<email obscured>>
The Governors MN Broadband Taskforce will hear a presentation from
Satellite providers on the merits of wireless internet including satellite
systems on Wednesday August 16th 2017.
Quoting Ms. Janet Keough from North Star Township
“ The Minnesota Legislature has invested in rural broadband for three
years. They are considering additional funding; however recent speed
increases in satellite internet have caused legislators to say that rural
areas in the state no longer need additional broadband infrastructure” and
“I urge you and the Task Force to listen to wireless and satellite
subscribers, not just to the providers. And include subscribers from the
hilly and conifer forested parts of Minnesota, not just the open
agricultural areas, as wireless behaves quite differently “up north” than
it does in southern Minnesota.”
If you are a satellite internet user, you might be interested in sharing
your views around cost, reliability and/or how satellite internet impacts
your business development with the Chairperson of this taskforce Ms.
Margaret Anderson-Kelliher.
Residents and business owners can email Ms. Kelliher at <email obscured><mailto:
<email obscured>><mailto:MAK@mhta.org<mailto:MAK@mhta.org?>> and are encouraged
to cc staff of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development – Office of Broadband, Ms. Danna Mackenzie
<email obscured><mailto:Danna.Mackenzie@state.mn.us><mailto:
<email obscured><mailto:Danna.Mackenzie@state.mn.us?>>,
and Ms. Diane Wells at <email obscured><mailto:
<email obscured>><mailto:Diane.wells@state.mn.us<mailto:
<email obscured>?>>
Please offer the email below as an example and inspiration.
Cheryal Lee Hills
Executive Director
Region Five Development Commission [e943ecc8-5be2-4768-a17e-1b829b908afe] <
https://www.facebook.com/regionfivedevelopmentcommission/>
& affiliate 501c3 North Central Economic Development Association
200 1st Street NE, Suite 2
Staples, MN 56479
Office: 218-894-3233 x1
<email obscured><mailto:chills@regionfive.org><mailto:c
<email obscured><mailto:chills@regionfive.org?>>
Cell: 218-270-0188
[R5DC logo]<http://www.regionfive.org/>[NCEDA<http://www.
regionfive.org/%3e%5bNCEDA> LOGO]<http://www.northcentraleda.org/>[good<htt
p://www.northcentraleda.org/%3e%5bgood> life]<http://www.
thegoodlifenorthcentralmn.com/>[RR<http://www.thegoodlifenorthcentralmn.com/
%3e%5bRR> Logo]<http://www.resilientregion.org/>
Begin forwarded message:
From: Janet Keough <<email obscured><mailto:lemmus52@gmail.com><mailto:
<email obscured><mailto:lemmus52@gmail.com?>>>
Date: August 15, 2017 at 10:04:55 AM CDT
To: <email obscured><mailto:deed.broadband@state.mn.us><mailto:
<email obscured><mailto:deed.broadband@state.mn.us?>>,
<email obscured><mailto:MAK@mhta.org><mailto:MAK@mhta.org<mailto:MAK@mhta.org?>>
Subject: Comments on satellite and wireless internet
Dear Ms. Kelliher,
The Minnesota Broadband Task Force will be discussing the merits of
wireless internet including satellite systems this week. I wanted to give
you some first hand experience with satellite internet. Here is a letter to
the Duluth News Tribune that I submitted this spring and it was ultimately
published, shortly after the MN Broadband Day at the Capital.
While current satellite internet systems can deliver up to 25Mbps down, as
I point out here, they are very expensive, with cost increasing as data
plans are exceeded with a necessity to purchase additional data to get
through the month.
Once people have access to fast internet, they find more and more ways to
use it, with multiple family members or home based businesses all trying to
use the internet at once from multiple devices. And the internet of things,
such as home monitoring systems, also tap internet data. Data plan- based
systems are generally much more expensive than comparable non-data plan
offerings. This includes mobile wireless and satellite systems.
We currently have wireless internet from a set of towers established by our
electric cooperative. The speed is up to 7Mbps down, with no data caps, and
the cost is $60 per month. The electric coop says that the technology they
have and the spectrum they use does not allow them to increase the speed
beyond 7Mbps. While fairly reliable (although they are currently having
difficulties with their service provider and the system is very erratic
(off and on), the speed provided is quickly becoming frustrating. And the
distance of service from each tower is 1.5 miles, so this system cannot
cover all the residents in my township, approximately half of them cannot
get service. We are located at the very margin of Century Links CAF map and
they have told us that they may not be able to reach us by the end of the
CAF2 program. There are still many many rural areas in Minnesota that are
caught between very slow vs very expensive internet access.
I urge you and the Task Force to listen to wireless and satellite
subscribers, not just to the providers. And include subscribers from the
hilly and conifer forested parts of Minnesota, not just the open
agricultural areas, as wireless behaves quite differently “up north” than
it does in southern Minnesota.
Sally Fineday
Cass Lake, Cass Lake
About/contact Sally Fineday: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/sallyfineday
Date: Wed, Aug 16, 2017 at 12:24 PM
Subject: [CassLeech] Please join me in responding to the Statewide
Broadband to let them know we need high speed too
To: e democracy <<email obscured>>
The Governors MN Broadband Taskforce will hear a presentation from
Satellite providers on the merits of wireless internet including satellite
systems on Wednesday August 16th 2017.
Quoting Ms. Janet Keough from North Star Township
“ The Minnesota Legislature has invested in rural broadband for three
years. They are considering additional funding; however recent speed
increases in satellite internet have caused legislators to say that rural
areas in the state no longer need additional broadband infrastructure” and
“I urge you and the Task Force to listen to wireless and satellite
subscribers, not just to the providers. And include subscribers from the
hilly and conifer forested parts of Minnesota, not just the open
agricultural areas, as wireless behaves quite differently “up north” than
it does in southern Minnesota.”
If you are a satellite internet user, you might be interested in sharing
your views around cost, reliability and/or how satellite internet impacts
your business development with the Chairperson of this taskforce Ms.
Margaret Anderson-Kelliher.
Residents and business owners can email Ms. Kelliher at <email obscured><mailto:
<email obscured>><mailto:MAK@mhta.org<mailto:MAK@mhta.org?>> and are encouraged
to cc staff of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development – Office of Broadband, Ms. Danna Mackenzie
<email obscured><mailto:Danna.Mackenzie@state.mn.us><mailto:
<email obscured><mailto:Danna.Mackenzie@state.mn.us?>>,
and Ms. Diane Wells at <email obscured><mailto:
<email obscured>><mailto:Diane.wells@state.mn.us<mailto:
<email obscured>?>>
Please offer the email below as an example and inspiration.
Cheryal Lee Hills
Executive Director
Region Five Development Commission [e943ecc8-5be2-4768-a17e-1b829b908afe] <
https://www.facebook.com/regionfivedevelopmentcommission/>
& affiliate 501c3 North Central Economic Development Association
200 1st Street NE, Suite 2
Staples, MN 56479
Office: 218-894-3233 x1
<email obscured><mailto:chills@regionfive.org><mailto:c
<email obscured><mailto:chills@regionfive.org?>>
Cell: 218-270-0188
[R5DC logo]<http://www.regionfive.org/>[NCEDA<http://www.
regionfive.org/%3e%5bNCEDA> LOGO]<http://www.northcentraleda.org/>[good<htt
p://www.northcentraleda.org/%3e%5bgood> life]<http://www.
thegoodlifenorthcentralmn.com/>[RR<http://www.thegoodlifenorthcentralmn.com/
%3e%5bRR> Logo]<http://www.resilientregion.org/>
Begin forwarded message:
From: Janet Keough <<email obscured><mailto:lemmus52@gmail.com><mailto:
<email obscured><mailto:lemmus52@gmail.com?>>>
Date: August 15, 2017 at 10:04:55 AM CDT
To: <email obscured><mailto:deed.broadband@state.mn.us><mailto:
<email obscured><mailto:deed.broadband@state.mn.us?>>,
<email obscured><mailto:MAK@mhta.org><mailto:MAK@mhta.org<mailto:MAK@mhta.org?>>
Subject: Comments on satellite and wireless internet
Dear Ms. Kelliher,
The Minnesota Broadband Task Force will be discussing the merits of
wireless internet including satellite systems this week. I wanted to give
you some first hand experience with satellite internet. Here is a letter to
the Duluth News Tribune that I submitted this spring and it was ultimately
published, shortly after the MN Broadband Day at the Capital.
While current satellite internet systems can deliver up to 25Mbps down, as
I point out here, they are very expensive, with cost increasing as data
plans are exceeded with a necessity to purchase additional data to get
through the month.
Once people have access to fast internet, they find more and more ways to
use it, with multiple family members or home based businesses all trying to
use the internet at once from multiple devices. And the internet of things,
such as home monitoring systems, also tap internet data. Data plan- based
systems are generally much more expensive than comparable non-data plan
offerings. This includes mobile wireless and satellite systems.
We currently have wireless internet from a set of towers established by our
electric cooperative. The speed is up to 7Mbps down, with no data caps, and
the cost is $60 per month. The electric coop says that the technology they
have and the spectrum they use does not allow them to increase the speed
beyond 7Mbps. While fairly reliable (although they are currently having
difficulties with their service provider and the system is very erratic
(off and on), the speed provided is quickly becoming frustrating. And the
distance of service from each tower is 1.5 miles, so this system cannot
cover all the residents in my township, approximately half of them cannot
get service. We are located at the very margin of Century Links CAF map and
they have told us that they may not be able to reach us by the end of the
CAF2 program. There are still many many rural areas in Minnesota that are
caught between very slow vs very expensive internet access.
I urge you and the Task Force to listen to wireless and satellite
subscribers, not just to the providers. And include subscribers from the
hilly and conifer forested parts of Minnesota, not just the open
agricultural areas, as wireless behaves quite differently “up north” than
it does in southern Minnesota.
Sally Fineday
Cass Lake, Cass Lake
About/contact Sally Fineday: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/sallyfineday
