Broadband task force gears up

The indefatigable Ann Treacy of Blandin on Broadband has quickly chronicled this morning's first meeting of Gov. Mark Dayton's task force on broadband.

You can get all the details from Ann's blog, but one thing that strikes me is the conversation about including the question of Internet adoption in the task force's purview.

Minnesota has some lofty goals written into law -- getting into the top 5 states in access and in speed, for example. Not included in them is the notion of simply getting more people to see value in and use the Internet, but that in fact is where a lot of the conversation around broadband is heading.

Increasingly, people who don't use the Internet even when it's available are isolated from job searches, education opportunities, health care improvements and more. And people who tend not to use high-speed Internet access even when it's available are older, poorer and more likely to be minorities. Interest and perceived relevance play a bigger part than cost, according to some studies.

Once the task force gets past some fast-approaching deadlines to generate a couple reports, it will be interesting how they turn their attention to something a little less tangible than speeds and coverage areas.

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