The Importance of Broadband for Northwest Minnesota

A century ago, communities that thrived were located along the railroad. Rail was a powerful economic driver, connecting small and often remote communities with the rest of the world. Whether transporting goods, services, or people, the presence of the railroad was one of the most important factors in determining the economic health of a community.

In our 21st century world, broadband is the modern-day equivalent of yesterday's rail system. Like the rail, it is a conduit by which goods and services reach their destination, but more than that, it carries information at cyberspeeds unimaginable a decade ago.

Telecom providers are now pushing 100 gigabit connectivity. These speeds sound incredible, especially to businesses and residents in Northwest Minnesota, where speeds may be as low as 0.4 Mbps.

Affordable high-speed internet access in Northwest Minnesota is no longer an option - it is a necessity. For the small manufacturer located in Red Lake Falls, for the tele-commuter working from her home on Maple Lake near Mentor, for the 72-year old retiree living in rural Ada, communicating with his health provider via a tele-health service, or for the home-based business owner, living in the woods north of Blackduck and conducting e-Commerce via the worldwide web - affordable high-speed broadband access makes it possible to live in Northwest Minnesota and enjoy the quality of life and economic opportunities available to urban counterparts.

Should rural populations have access to identical speeds as those in urban areas? That is a difficult question, and one which remains without an answer at the present time. One thing we do know: Northwest Minnesotans need and deserve higher speeds of broadband service than what is currently available. While some people have a slow connection, some have no connection at all, nor is one available to them. In fact, there are 1,553 households in Northwest Minnesota without any available broadband connection. Within that number are areas of greater distress, with one county reporting 31 percent of households with no available broadband connection. (Source: U.S. Census Track Data, April 30, 2010)

IMPACT 20/20 is a dedicated group of Northwest Minnesota leaders representing diverse interests and working together for the region's economic success. These leaders agree that high-speed broadband is one of the most important components of the rural economy, now and into the future.

IMPACT 20/20 Taskforce for Broadband has two goals:

1. All communities in the region of 500 residents or more will have business-grade broadband access of speeds greater than 20/10 (20 Mb download and 10 Mb upload) within five years.

2. All residents of the region will have access to broadband speeds of 10/5 (10 Mb download and 5 Mb upload) within that same time period.

It is imperative that national policies support development and deployment of broadband service in rural, sparsely populated and high-cost regions such as ours. Without these policies, we fear that Northwest Minnesota and other rural areas of our nation will be increasingly at an economic disadvantage.