Connecting leaders to leaders

October 29, 2013 by Blandin Foundation Posted in Broadband, Vibrant Rural

In many conversations about rural broadband, speed and distance take center stage: uploads, downloads, middle-mile, last-mile, how technology “deletes the distance barrier” for folks who choose rural.

Today, the conversation is face-to-face on the national stage.

Blandin Foundation has the privilege to bring insights about rural broadband to Congress — specifically to a hearing of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. The topic: Broadband Adoption: The Next Mile.

Other voices at today’s discussion will bring provider, research and other perspectives, as national leaders explore broadband across the country, and how people are plugging into the power and potential it brings.

We are glad to be the messenger. But the successes and lessons that have caught Washington’s eye were accomplished by countless rural Minnesota leaders in communities from border to border. Folks who translate hope for a vibrant future into vision. And into action: spearheading feasibility studies, setting up learning labs, creating wi-fi hot spots. Building new connections within and among communities, so everyone – students and job-seekers, older folks and new immigrants — can connect with online solutions to meet a wide range of needs in their lives.