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No municipality shall grant an additional franchise for cable <br />service for an area included in an existing franchise on terms and <br />conditions more favorable or less burdensome than those in the <br />existing franchise pertaining to: <br />(1) the area served; <br />(2) public, educational, or governmental access requirements; <br />or <br />(3) franchise fees. <br />Nothing in this paragraph prevents a municipality from imposing <br />additional terms and conditions on any additional franchises. <br />Minn. Stat. § 238.08, subd. 1(b) (emphasis added). This language does not mean that the <br />language or terms of a franchise must be the same between competitors. See WH Link, LLC v. <br />City of Otsego, 664 N.W.2d 390, 396 (Minn. Ct. App. 2003) (more favorable or less burdensome <br />interpreted as "substantially similar"). <br />B. The 5 -Year Build Statute <br />The Minnesota Cable Act also has a section that addresses franchise requirements for all <br />local franchises. One of those provisions requires: <br />(m) a provision in initial franchises identifying the system capacity <br />and technical design and a schedule showing: <br />(1) that construction of the cable communications system must <br />commence no later than 240 days after the granting of the <br />franchise; <br />(2) that construction of the cable communications system must <br />proceed at a reasonable rate of not less than 50 plant miles <br />constructed per year of the franchise term; <br />(3) that construction throughout the authorized franchise area <br />must be substantially completed within five years of the granting <br />of the franchise; and <br />(4) that the requirement of this section be waived by the <br />franchising authority only upon occurrence of unforeseen events or <br />acts of God; <br />See 238.084, Subd. 1(m) (emphasis added). It is the position of CenturyLink that the 5 -Year <br />Build Statue is a barrier to entry and is preempted by the Federal Cable Act. See Exhibit 3 at ¶¶ <br />28-31 and Section 11(C) below. <br />10 <br />