A PowerPoint presentation applying the Community TeleCenter Network Concept to Minnesota. POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW conversion by PPT2HTML

The Community TeleCenter Network evolved from a project developed using funds provided by the Minnesota Legislature in a declining rural trade center. That project demonstrated that a Community TeleCenter would be viable IF all groups within the community came together to support it. Bringing the technology into the community and staffing the facility was proven to be self-funding. The project secured 50% of its proposed budget from Minneapolis corporations who saw the opportunity to demonstrate a very powerful concept; it was a win-win situation. The project did not move forward for several reasons:

• Minnesota State Agencies refused to become part of the collaborative (they represented about 40% of the community's telecom services),
• the Community feared they would not have a broader system into which to "plug",
• funding from the government and foundations was not available, and
• several key leaders left the community.

Regardless, the concept made tremendous economic and social sense. TCR analyzed the state to determine what it would take to implement such a network. The DCM report proved it economically feasible but politically, the concept has remained a concept. The PowerPoint presentation on this page demonstrates how the state could radically and positively impact the viability of rural communities. Ideally this analysis should be performed throughout those areas of the five-state area that constitutes the economic region of Minneapolis St. Paul.

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