Pawlenty envisions broadband access statewide

"MN Governor"

02/23/2006

Star Tribune
Last update: February 22, 2006 – 9:42 PM

Hoping to close the “broadband gap,” Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Wednesday said he’ll support a plan to make Minnesota a world leader in high-speed Internet access.

We’ve got a long way to go.

The United States trails many Asian and European nations in the speed and price of its high-speed broadband connections, with countries such as Japan and South Korea offering Internet connections as much as 100 times faster than those available here.

In some rural Minnesota communities, consumers and businesses have access only to slow dial-up connections.

Pawlenty is backing a plan developed by a group of business, government and rural community leaders, led by the Blandin Foundation, based in Grand Rapids. It aims to develop Japan-style broadband service throughout the state, including the Twin Cities metro area.

What is the plan?

• Ultra-high-speed broadband will be available to every Minnesota resident, business and institution “at rates people can afford.”

• Competition among service providers should be encouraged, to increase customer choice and promote innovation.

• The public and private sector should work together to achieve this “challenging goal.”

Who will pay?

Probably not the state, said Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung. Although many foreign governments have invested billions of dollars in building high-speed fiber optic networks, he said Minnesota is likelier to use “incentives and other techniques” to encourage private investment.

Pawlenty’s goal right now, McClung said, “is just to get behind the vision for bringing broadband to rural residents and businesses. It’s not yet about the specifics of getting into the budget.”