Kara Sears
Minnesota has recently repealed its preemption laws that prevented cities and towns in the state from providing municipal broadband services. This change in legislation means that Minnesota is making it easier for its municipalities to offer their own broadband services by eliminating restrictive laws that blocked municipal broadband networks. This move comes at a critical moment as states will soon select grant recipients under a $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which requires that states receiving funds cannot exclude local governments from applying to use them for building public broadband networks.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Previous laws | Prevented cities and towns from providing municipal broadband services |
| Protected large monopoly telecommunications providers from competition | |
| Required municipalities to secure a supermajority vote in a local referendum to buy or construct "telephone exchanges" | |
| Restricted municipalities from offering broadband services in areas with private providers | |
| New laws | Cities and towns may "not discriminate in favor of the municipality's own communications facilities" |
| Municipalities can “improve, construct, extend, and maintain facilities for Internet access and other communications purposes" | |
| Any municipality has the right to "own and operate a telephone exchange within its own borders" | |
| Municipalities can construct new plants, purchase existing ones by agreement, or acquire them by condemnation if an agreement on price cannot be reached |
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What You'll Learn
Minnesota repeals laws that prevented municipally-owned broadband networks
Minnesota has repealed two laws that prevented municipally-owned broadband networks. The repeal of these laws means that Minnesota cities and towns can now offer their own broadband services.
The first of these laws was older than the internet. It required municipalities to secure a supermajority vote in a local referendum to buy or construct "telephone exchanges". While this law was originally intended to regulate telephone services, it had been interpreted differently after the invention of the internet. The internet's arrival meant that broadband was lumped in with telephone services, and municipalities were forced to meet the supermajority threshold to build broadband networks. The new law now states that ""any municipality shall have the right to own and operate a telephone exchange within its own borders".
The second law barred municipalities from offering broadband services in places where a private provider already offered some level of service. This law has now been amended to allow municipalities to ""improve, construct, extend, and maintain facilities for internet access and other communications purposes". However, municipalities cannot discriminate in favour of their own communications facilities by offering more favourable or less burdensome terms compared to non-municipal service providers.
The repeal of these laws is a significant win for the people of Minnesota and highlights a positive trend of states dropping barriers to deploying public broadband. With the removal of these laws, Minnesota has paved the way for any municipality in the state to have the option of building networks to offer municipal broadband services.
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Minnesota's preemption laws blocking municipal broadband
Minnesota has recently repealed its preemption laws that blocked municipal broadband. The repeal of these laws is a significant victory for community broadband advocates, as it removes barriers that previously prevented cities and towns from providing municipal broadband services.
The state's preemption laws had been interpreted to include broadband in the same category as telephone services. This interpretation imposed a supermajority requirement for the construction of broadband networks, requiring municipal telecommunications networks to be approved by 65% of voters in an election. The laws also only allowed municipalities to "'improve, construct, extend, and maintain facilities for internet access" if no private provider was offering services in that area.
The repeal of these preemption laws was enacted through an omnibus commerce policy bill, SF 4097, signed by Governor Tim Walz. This bill amended the "telephone exchange" language, granting any municipality the right to "own and operate a telephone exchange within its borders." It also allows municipalities to construct or purchase plants for broadband infrastructure.
With this change, Minnesota joins other states like Arkansas, Colorado, and Washington, which have also repealed similar laws hindering municipal broadband development. The repeal of Minnesota's preemption laws comes at a critical time, as states will soon select grant recipients under a $42.45 billion BEAD grant program, ensuring local governments can participate.
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Minnesota's new law amends telephone exchange language
Minnesota has recently amended its laws to remove restrictions on the creation of municipal broadband networks. The state has repealed two laws, including one that was older than the internet, that prevented cities and towns from providing municipal broadband services. This change has been hailed as a significant win for the people of Minnesota and a positive trend towards dropping barriers to deploying public broadband.
The new law amends the "telephone exchange" language, granting municipalities the right to own and operate telephone exchanges within their borders. It allows municipalities to construct new plants, purchase existing ones by agreement, or acquire them by condemnation if an agreement on price cannot be reached. The updated law states that any municipality "may construct such a plant, or purchase an existing plant by agreement with the owner, or where it cannot agree with the owner on price, it may acquire an existing plant by condemnation."
The previous law, Minn. Stat. Ann. § 237.19, allowed municipalities to buy or construct "telephone exchanges" only if they secured a supermajority vote in a local referendum election. While it was originally intended to regulate telephone service, the law was interpreted after the invention of the internet to include broadband service as well, imposing a supermajority threshold for building broadband networks.
The new legislation also includes language to ensure a level playing field between government-operated and private networks. It states that cities and towns may "not discriminate in favor of the municipality's own communications facilities by granting the municipality more favorable or less burdensome terms and conditions than a nonmunicipal service provider" regarding the use of public rights-of-way, publicly owned equipment, and permitting fees. This language aims to separate the municipality's role as a regulator and its role as a competitive provider of services.
With these changes, Minnesota joins a growing trend of states removing barriers to deploying public broadband and empowering communities to choose the network that best serves their residents.
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Minnesota's repeal of laws blocking municipal broadband
Minnesota has repealed two laws that prevented municipal broadband networks from being created or operated by cities and towns within the state. The repeal of these laws is a significant win for the people of Minnesota, as it gives them the freedom to choose the network that best serves their needs.
The first of these laws was over a century old and required municipalities to secure a supermajority vote in a local referendum election to buy or construct "telephone exchanges". While this law was initially intended to regulate telephone services, after the invention of the internet, it was interpreted to include broadband services, making it difficult for municipalities to build broadband networks. The new legislation changes the language around "telephone exchanges" to now say that "any municipality shall have the right to own and operate a telephone exchange within its own borders".
The second law, enacted in 2020, only let municipalities build their own networks if no private providers offered service or had plans to offer service "in the reasonably foreseeable future". This law gave municipalities the express authority to “improve, construct, extend, and maintain facilities for Internet access” but only if a private provider was not offering service in that municipality. The new legislation now says that municipalities can “improve, construct, extend, and maintain facilities for Internet access and other communications purposes” as long as they do not discriminate in favor of their own communications facilities.
With the repeal of these laws, Minnesota joins a growing trend of states dropping barriers to deploying public broadband. There are now only 16 states that restrict municipal broadband in various ways, down from 19 states in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States. It is expected that this number will continue to decrease as more communities demand the freedom to choose their own networks.
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Minnesota's anti-municipal broadband laws
Minnesota recently repealed its anti-municipal broadband laws, which prevented cities and towns in the state from providing municipal broadband services. The repeal is a significant win for the people of Minnesota, highlighting a positive trend of states dropping barriers to deploying public broadband.
Previously, Minnesota had imposed significant restrictions on municipal broadband, with two laws in place that hindered the creation of municipal broadband networks. One of these laws was older than the internet. The first law, Minn. Stat. Ann. § 237.19, allowed municipalities to buy or construct "telephone exchanges" only if they secured a supermajority vote in a local referendum election. While this law was intended to regulate telephone service, it was interpreted after the invention of the internet to include broadband in with telephone service, requiring a supermajority threshold for the building of broadband networks. The second law, enacted in 2020, only let municipalities build their own networks if no private providers offered service or had plans to offer service "in the reasonably foreseeable future".
The new legislation, signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, repeals these two statutes, which had sought to protect large monopoly telecommunications providers from competition. The updated law states that any municipality "shall have the right to own and operate a telephone exchange within its own borders" and may "construct such a plant, or purchase an existing plant by agreement with the owner, or where it cannot agree on a price, it may acquire an existing plant by condemnation". The new law also includes language to keep government-operated and private networks on a level playing field and requires a separation between the municipality's role as a regulator and as a competitive provider of services.
With Minnesota's repeal, the number of states restricting public broadband has fallen to 16. This change aligns with a broader trend of states removing barriers to public broadband as successful community-owned networks become more prevalent across the country.
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Frequently asked questions
Minnesota had two laws that prevented cities and towns from creating their own broadband services. One of these laws was older than the internet and required municipalities to secure a supermajority vote in a local referendum to buy or construct "telephone exchanges". The other law barred municipalities from offering broadband services in places where a private provider offered some level of service.
Minnesota has repealed its preemption laws that prevented cities and towns from providing municipal broadband services. The new law grants any municipality the right to own and operate a telephone exchange within its borders. It also allows municipalities to construct new plants, purchase existing ones by agreement, or acquire them by condemnation if an agreement on price cannot be reached.
The repeal of these laws is a significant win for the people of Minnesota as it highlights a positive trend of states dropping barriers to deploying public broadband. This change ensures that local governments in Minnesota can participate in the upcoming $42.45 billion BEAD grant program, which will provide funds for building public broadband networks.
