The fast Internet speeds available to most Twin Cities residents should be made available throughout Minnesota, and the state should help make it happen, a state task force will recommend today.
At stake is the economic future of rural Minnesota, where broadband access is either slower or unavailable, the task force's report says. It calls on the state to turn things around, in part, with tax incentives to encourage broadband companies to expand.
The far-reaching plan for extending the reach of high-speed Internet access will be shown to state legislators today, but already some critics say it lacks specifics about financing and is too timid in setting goals.
The report says high-speed Internet service will be vital for economic development and delivering community services, such as education and medical visits.
The report will be submitted to a joint meeting of the Minnesota House and Senate telecommunications committees at the State Capitol today. The task force hopes the Legislature will accept the report's findings when it returns in February, said Rick King, chairman of the Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force, created by the Legislature. While the report is expected to influence future state spending, it probably won't affect national distribution of $7.2 billion in federal stimulus money for broadband, he said.
How much of the state lacks broadband is a matter of dispute. A state-sponsored survey said 94 percent of state residents had access to broadband, but King said there are "arguments about the methodology that was used." (Fewer people actually subscribe to broadband. A Pew Internet and American Life Project study quoted in the report says 57 percent of Minnesota urban residents and 39.4 percent of rural residents subscribe.)
The state speed survey also defined broadband as a download speed of 768,000 bits per second, not fast enough for downloading video. King said experts agree that 768,000 bits per second shouldn't be considered broadband.
The report urges the state to set a statewide goal of providing download speeds of 10 million to 20 million bits per second by 2015 -- speeds that today are limited mostly to the Twin Cities metro area. The report also recommends upload speeds of 5 million to 10 million bits per second that are rare today.