5.5. ERMUSR 03-19-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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0 i Position Statement Telecommunications and Broadband Law The Minnesota Governor's Task Force on Broadband recently released its Annual Report and Broadband Plan, including recommendations for the 2013 legislative session. The Report noted that Minnesota is lagging in meeting its goals. Unfortunately, the recommendations made in this report are unlikely to lead to the meeting of those goals. The idea of re- writing state telecom law was a priority of the Ventura administration but, even with agreement among various parties that state law was antiquated, the discussion never gained much steam, largely because the telecom companies decided the law was just fine after all. Efforts have been made over the years to remove or reduce the super- majority referendum requirement to build a municipal telephone exchange, but have withered in the face of vociferous opposition. Municipal involvement in the telecommunications field has been a hot - button topic over the years. The recent report mentioned "public- private broadband projects" but makes no specific mention of how to foster such projects. The state needs to 12/ 2013 State Position Statements be more open to helping local government develop partnerships, if it is ever to reach its broadband goals. Cities have proven capable of providing a full range of telecommunications services over the years. Counties are providing cutting - edge communications services. The Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services project (a consortium of eight cities) shows how ordinary people, working through their local governments, can provide high - quality voice, video and data service at reasonable prices. After much work, a similar project in Renville and Sibley counties has recently been stymied due to concerns over the ability of city- county partnerships to issue bonds. The project itself has been enthusiastically supported by rural and city interests and was well on its way to construction before last- minute legal concerns were voiced. This is just the type of project the state should be fostering. A perfect example of public - private partnerships exists in the electric utility industry. Despite animosities, largely in the formative years, municipal, investor -owned and cooperative utilities jointly invest in capital- intensive projects on a regular basis. Utilities do this because they recognize the level of capital needed to improve service to their customers, and realize an effective way to raise the needed capital is to partner with others willing to invest, regardless of philosophical differences. MMUA Position The Legislature should expand the ability of local governments to partner with others in providing telecommunications services. Enacting guidelines to allow public - private investment in our broadband infrastructure would similarly benefit citizens of Minnesota.