01-08-2025 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

HED-18 BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY Metro Cities supports additional legislation that includes tools to help enhance and facilitate economic development and job creation. Metro Cities supports increased flexibility for meeting business subsidy agreements during a state of emergency. Where many traditional economic development tools have focused on managing the costs and availability of traditional infrastructure – roads, rail, and utilities – the 21st century economy is dependent on reliable, cost effective, high bandwidth communications capabilities. This includes voice, video, data, and other services delivered over cable, telephone, fiber-optic, wireless, and other platforms. The state has increased its role in expanding broadband infrastructure across the state by funding broadband access for residents and businesses. The Governor’s Broadband Task Force regularly recommends updates to state broadband speed goals and funding levels to expand statewide broadband access. The Office of Broadband Development in the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) supports the role of broadband in economic development. The Office coordinates broadband mapping and administers state broadband grant funds. Cities play a vital role in achieving significantly higher broadband speeds. Local units of government are contributing to increasing broadband capacity and ensuring internet connectivity, reliability, and availability. However, attempts have been made in Minnesota and other states to restrict or stop cities from facilitating the deployment of broadband services or forming partnerships with private sector companies to provide broadband services to unserved or underserved residents or businesses. Restricting municipal authority is contrary to existing state law on electric utility service, telecommunications, and economic development. Metro Cities opposes the adoption of state policies that further restrict a city’s ability to finance, construct or operate broadband telecommunications networks. Metro Cities supports: •State policies and support programs that substantially increase speed and capacity of broadband services statewide, including facilitating solutions at the local level. The state should offer incentives to private sector service providers to respond to local or regional needs and to collaborate with cities and other public entities to deploy broadband infrastructure capable of delivering sufficient bandwidth and capacity to meet immediate and future local needs as well as policies which seek to position Minnesota as a state of choice for testing next- generation broadband; •Metro eligibility for broadband funds, including increased capacity for areas with existing levels of service; •Testing and review of street-level broadband speeds and updating of comprehensive statewide street-level mapping of broadband services to identify underserved areas and connectivity issues. 57