A $43.5M Middle Mile project funded by USDA RUS through a 50% grant / 50% loan BIP program was awarded to the Northeast Service Coop’s Middle Mile initiative code name “NE Middle Mile Fiber Project”, under the Obama era 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It was one of the largest and most successful USDA BIP investments. After the project funding was secured, the NEMMFP went on to develop unique and rare partnership models between the private and public sectors. It was the next generation network to replace the aging NE Network which was based on ATM, OC3 core, and T1/DS3 last mile connections. The new design brought Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (40 channel) core that provide 1 Terabit per second switching through fifteen central offices. At the time of completion in mid-2014, over 330 public sector connections (schools, libraries, state and local agencies) were connected with 1Gbps and up to 10Gbps connectivity.
The following is from the Project Purpose Statement submitted at the time of the application.
“The purpose of the project is to provide a low-cost fiber backbone into rural areas and communities that have little or no broadband access, using current or potential infrastructure. The Northeast Minnesota Middle Mile Project will effectively shrink deployment costs, and update interconnection networks. The Project will provide a mechanism for companies that did not previously offer Internet service to residential and commercial customers to be able to offer services in the futue. Additionally, as a result of the Project, current customers will be able to see improved services without additional costs. The Project offers an effective solution to the problem of limited broadband access for the rural and wilderness communities of northeastern Minnesota. Most of Minnesota’s telehealth and education networks have migrated to converged Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Converged IP networks integrate data, voice and video applications across a single network architecture. Converged IP networks bring economies of scale to network procurement, operations and support. This in turn enables high-speed, high capacity broadband connections across great distances to support the real-time or asynchronous exchange of complex data – audio, video, documents and images across a private and secure IP infrastructure. The project will create the infrastructure needed to connect COs, POP, hubs or data centers to each other. The NESC Middle Mile project will offer a solution for unserved or underserved areas. The purpose is other than providing broadband service to end users or to end-user devices but rather Internet connectivity. The project is designed to be technically feasible, sustainable and scalable and will offer substantial benefits to unserved and underserved areas relative to the costs of providing service.
The proposed solution demonstrates broad significance and includes development that can be replicated to improve future projects. The broader goal of the NESC Middle Mile Project is to create the infrastructure needed to enable existing rural telehealthcare, education, and public service networks in northeastern Minnesota interconnect with other provider networks in neighboring states and beyond. For example, health care providers in Minnesota and its bordering states have been active in providing telehealth and related services for more than a decade. With the current federal and state emphasis on electronic health records expansion and other information technologies supporting health care, Minnesota is poised to engage its separate but growing telehealth initiatives into a coordinated telehealth system. The broad significance will be to integrate established telecommunications networks serving multiple public service network providers in Minnesota into a seamless broadband enabled delivery services infrastructure dedicated to providing access to health care, education, libraries, and other public services across rural Minnesota. Our solution will be accomplished by 1) Building relationships among participating Project networks; 2) Creating new relationships and connections with additional networks, providers, and supporting sectors such as social services, public health, emergency preparedness and corrections to further leverage current resources and expand services; 3) Promoting technical standards and operational best practices to reduce costs, boost performance, and improve user-friendliness application; 4) Identifying gaps in services in rural communities to help establish network services and relationships; 5) Building a comprehensive statewide system of health care, education, library services for northeastern Minnesota.
The proposed service area meets all the criteria for unserved and underserved areas.
The NESC Middle Mile Project addresses more than one statutory purpose by providing access to broadband service to consumers residing in unserved and underserved areas of Minnesota; Providing broadband education, awareness, training, access, equipment, and support to schools, libraries, medical and healthcare providers, and other community support organizations by or through these organizations; and, Improve access to, and use of, broadband service by public safety agencies. The Project will also stimulate the demand for broadband, economic growth, and job creation.
BTOP Enhanced Services for Health Care Delivery, Education, and Children:
The depth and breadth of the project will enhance broadband service for health care delivery, and education. The goal of the Project is to strengthen and expand existing rural institutional networks, such as telehealth networks and allow them to interconnect with other provider networks. This will be accomplished by integrating established telecommunications networks serving multiple telehealth and education network providers in Minnesota and bordering states into a seamless broadband enabled delivery services infrastructure dedicated to providing access to health care and education across rural Minnesota. The long term vision of the Project is to strengthen the foundation for a statewide, coordinated telehealth and distance education system encompassing the broad spectrum of service delivery, including but not limited to rural and urban hospitals, physician clinics, community clinics, community mental health centers, local and county public health and social service agencies, home health care agencies, long term care facilities, correctional facilities, tribal health facilities, K-12 and higher education, and patients’ homes. This Broadband Infrastructure Project will integrate established telecommunication networks serving various healthcare and education systems into a seamless broadband enabled delivery service infrastructure dedicated to improving access to health care and higher education across northeastern rural Minnesota. It will promote technical standards and operational best practices to reduce costs, boost performance, and improve user-friendliness of health and education applications. Most of Minnesota’s telehealth networks have migrated to converged Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Converged IP networks integrate data, voice and video applications across a single network architecture. Converged IP networks bring economies of scale to network procurement, operations and support. This in turn enables high-speed, high capacity broadband connections across great distances to support the real-time or asynchronous exchange of complex data – audio, video, documents and images across a private and secure IP infrastructure. This project goes beyond providing broadband access to include a more robust health care, educational or related broadband service delivery by enabling our strategic healthcare and education partners to build broadband bridges and gateways between current organizational and regional telecommunications, educational and telehealth networks to establish a virtual network dedicated to delivering telehealth and educational applications to all rural areas of northeast Minnesota with connections to neighboring states. The Broadband Infrastructure Project will be an effort to focus resources on linking health care providers, patients and programs to create sustainable telehealth practices in multiple health disciplines and settings, including rural and urban hospitals, clinics, mental health centers, community clinics, public health, long term care, prisons, tribal health, and home care. The project will leverage and build upon existing linkages between health care industry and public health, emergency preparedness, social services, education, and government. In addition the project will evaluate performance, issues, and lessons learned, including security, emergency response enhancement, and exchange of electronic health information as a result of the infrastructure enhancements. Our partner, SISU Medical Systems, is a non-profit consortium of fourteen medical centers in Northern Minnesota working together to share information technology resources and telehealth applications. The consortium includes Cook Hospital, Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center, Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital, Cloquet Community Hospital, Mercy Hospital and Healthcare Center, St. Lukes, SMDC Health System, and Rainy Lake Medical Center. The Duluth Health Department is also a strategic partner.”