Uncategorized

RED WING, Minn. – Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc. (HBC), this summer will extend its fiber-optic network from Wabasha to Red Wing. That was the message delivered to a group in Red Wing City Hall this morning by Gary Evans, HBC president and CEO.
The first step in the process, said HBC Vice President for Technology Dan Pecarina, is to extend fiber from the current terminus of the HBC network north of Wabasha through Red Wing. “That is a key step,” said Pecarina, “because it is the foundation for everything that Red Wing residents have been trying to make happen for nearly a decade.”
Extending fiber from Wabasha through Red Wing and into Dakota County involves the cooperation of many entities, said Pecarina, including the City of Red Wing, Red Wing Port Authority, Red Wing Area Chamber of Commerce, Goodhue County and State of Minnesota, to name a few.
The fiber extension was engineered as part of HBC’s application for a first-round American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 broadband grant. The grant request was denied in January. But business opportunities in Red Wing and Lake City prompted the HBC Board to approve the extension of the network.
It is expected, Pecarina said, that construction will begin in August, with completion scheduled for November, assuming normal weather patterns. When complete, the network will serve customers along the route with voice and data services.
“It’s not the full FTTH project that we want,” said Evans, “but it is a huge first step in that direction. We know that the Red Wing residents won’t rest until the full project is done, and HBC has the same resolve.”
HBC History
Created in 1997 as a successor to a not-for-profit education initiative called Luminet, Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc., provides high-speed and dial-up Internet connections, telephone, and cable television services to the greater Winona, St. Charles, Wabasha, Rollingstone, Lewiston and Stockton areas in Minnesota. Currently work is being completed on a fiber to the home network in Minneiska, with the construction of a Utica network to follow.
More than 40 percent of the stock in HBC is owned by Winona area not-for-profit institutions. The stock was purchased for the community’s schools by anonymous benefactors as the new company was organized to build upon the history of Luminet. Begun in 1992, Luminet utilized a leased fiber-optic network to connect the community’s educational institutions for the purpose of extending the reach of teaching and learning.
HBCI is a privately held for-profit corporation. It employs 68 people.
(For additional information contact Gary Evans (507-458-5211), Dan Pecarina (507-206-7745) of HBC, or Myron White (651-385-3697) of the Red Wing Port Authority)

Broadband to the Boat: $19.95/mo.

HBC is now offering wireless internet service to the Winona Marina.Upload and Download Speeds up-to 5 Mbps!
* A one time activation fee of $10.00 is required.
* Price does not include any applicable taxes and/or surcharges.

Click the map to view a large scale version in another window.
Click here to download a PDF version.

CNN to visit Southeastern Minnesota, HBC
For Immediate Release (Sunday, February 14, 2010)
CNN will visit Southeastern Minnesota this week to examine the region’s need for advanced telecommunications connectivity and to look closely at Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc., and its failed application for first-round funding from the broadband component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). HBC recently was informed that its request for funds was denied by both the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
HBC applied for funds with which to extend its services to five currently unserved areas in the region (Minneiska, Miesville, New Trier, the Prairie Island Dakota Indian Reservation at Red Wing, and Wacouta, an unincorporated area southeast of Red Wing), in addition to extending its services to Lake City and Red Wing.
The ARRA broadband program set aside $7.2 billion to be used to build out more broadband throughout America, particularly in places without broadband, with very slow broadband speeds or where Internet penetration fell beneath 40 percent.
As CNN began to examine the ARRA and its impacts, HBC was identified by a number of sources as a firm whose application would have provided the benefits (new jobs, new commerce and new applications) the program is seeking to achieve. Conversations between HBC officials and CNN resulted in the visit that will take place Tuesday and Wednesday.
While in Southeastern Minnesota, the CNN team will visit with residents in Red Wing, Lake City, Minneiska and Winona, in addition to viewing applications the ARRA funding would have created and spending time at HBC’s corporate headquarters at 58 Johnson St., Winona.
Of special interest to the team is the lack of connectivity on the Prairie Island reservation, Minneiska’s desperate need for an emergency warning system and the A-VU Media project to aid seniors and special needs people, scheduled for development in Winona, that would have been jump-started by a successful grant request.
HBC President and CEO Gary Evans said, “It’s satisfying to be identified by CNN as a worthy applicant. We were exceedingly disappointed that our request was rejected. And even though we know the government was buried in applications, we hoped there would be some information available as to why our request failed.”
Evans noted that the deadline for ARRA second-round grant requests is March 15. “We are undecided about another application,” Evans said. “Perhaps CNN will help us uncover reasons behind the rejection that will help facilitate a decision. But regardless of that, it will be nice to have a leading national information source see our beautiful area of the world and meet some of its residents.”
The CNN report will be produced by Emily Probst. CNN was created in June 1980 and has expanded its reach to a number of cable and satellite television networks. CNN has launched many regional and foreign-language networks around the word. CNN is owned by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

For additional information, please contact HBC CEO and President, Gary Evans, at 507.474.4000.

HBC Mobile has the plans and features you want from the company you already know and trust!

A few reasons to switch to HBC Mobile:

• Customize your plan with the features you want!
• Enjoy convenient bundled services all on 1 bill!
• Nationwide coverage (Click here to view our coverage area.)
• Easy payment options include: E-Pay, Auto-Pay, Credit Card and Monthly Billing!
• Friendly LOCAL customer service and technical support!
• Environmentally conscious company because it's our community too...

Want to know more? Click on the type of service you are interested in below.

• Residential Service
• Business Service

Click here to download specs and pricing on our current phone offers.

* Add up to 5 additional lines to your plan selection for just $12.95 each per month and share your minutes with the whole family. Add unlimited text messaging for just $39.95 per month.

Mobile Features Include:

• Unlimited Nights and Weekends Starting at 7pm
• Nationwide and International Calling
• Unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile Calling
• Free nationwide long distance!
• Bundled Discount Pricing for Multi-Service Customers
• Convenient All-In-One Billing
• Local Customer Service
• Voicemail, Caller ID, Caller ID Blocking, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, No Answer/Busy Transfer and 3-Way Calling

Optional Add-on Features & Services

Enhanced Voicemail, International Long Distance, Data Plans(Internet Access), Learn more

Mobile Features Include:

• Unlimited Nights and Weekends Starting at 7pm
• Nationwide and International Calling
• Unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile Calling*
• Free nationwide long distance!
• Bundled Discount Pricing for Multi-Service Customers
• Convenient All-In-One Billing
• Local Customer Service
• Voicemail, Caller ID, Caller ID Blocking, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, No Answer/Busy Transfer and 3-Way Calling
* Individual 300 plan does not include free mobile to mobile calling.

Optional Add-on Features & Services

Enhanced Voicemail, International Long Distance, Data Plans(Internet Access), Learn more

*A $14.95 per month charge is applied to any account using Data when no monthly plan is present on the account. All Data usage is charged at the no plan overage rate if no data plan is present on the account. Pricing does not include any applicable roaming charges.

*A $15.95 per month charge is applied to any account using RIM Relay when no monthly plan is present on the account. All RIM Relay usage is charged at the no plan overage rate if no RIM Relay plan is present. Pricing does not include any applicable roaming charges.

* Above pricing does not include airtime or any applicable roaming charges.

Enhanced Voicemail

$5.00 per month
Enhanced Voicemail allows for increased message capacity, pager notification and personal operator services.

Publish Date: August 24, 2009

Hiawatha Broadband Communications’ Justin Barrientos was nominated for a 2009 Emmy for his play-by-play sports announcing on HBC TV25 by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, announced HBC TV25 general manager, Mary Malloy.
“Barrientos is an exceptional talent,” said Malloy. “He has a phenomenal recall of team and individual athlete statistics, be it local, regional or national teams, with an obvious ease in front of the camera. We are very fortunate to have him on our team.”
“I am personally very honored to be nominated for my play-by-play announcing,” Barrientos commented, “but it also reflects on the work we all do at HBC TV25 and the company overall. This is HBC’s first Emmy nomination, so that is really exciting!”
Barrientos competes against Fox Sports Net announcer Anthony La Pante and Timberwolves announcer Tom Hanneman for the Emmy distinction. Awards will be announced September 26, 2009 at the Emmy presentation, to be held at Pantages Theater, Minneapolis.
This is, with a doubt, one of the greatest honors received by HBC," said Gary Evans, president and CEO, "and in my opinion it is totally deserved. Justin is one of the premiere play-by-play announcers in the country."
Barrientos, an all-sports enthusiast, has been employed by HBC for eight years.
The Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is a membership organization dedicated to advancing excellence in television by honoring exceptional work, past and present; providing professional development and outreach; and nurturing the next generation of television professionals.

For more information call: 474-5883 or email mmalloy@hbci.com