Agenda - Council - 02/08/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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affordable prices. High fixed costs, low density, and short-term return -on -investment thresholds for private sector providers contribute to the lack of broadband across the state. Investing in universal broadband access has substantial local and regional economic benefits for communities of all sizes. Cities and other local units of government are facilitating the deployment of broadband services to increase connectivity, reliability, availability, and affordability for residents and businesses through a variety of models, including municipal broadband and public -private partnerships. However, attempts have been made to restrict cities from providing telecommunications services, particularly in unserved or underserved areas. Recent court cases have overturned interpretation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that states may not limit the extension of municipal broadband services from one city to another. Due to the high costs of broadband infrastructure, the state has expanded its role to identify and formulate tools to expand broadband access. The Office of Broadband Development within the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) created in 2013 formally established a partnership between the state and local communities to deploy high-speed Internet in unserved and underserved areas. The Office supports broadband expansion through broadband mapping and managing the state's broadband grant program. Additional state action occurred during the 2016 legislative session when the legislature reestablished state speed and adoption goals under Minn. Stat. § 237.012. In addition to the state's focus on extending broadband to unserved areas, Minnesota must also be on the cutting edge for next -generation broadband investments. 83 Response: To promote economic development and achieve state broadband goals, the Legislature, Governor's office, and state agencies should: a) Identify and implement actions for the state to reach and maintain a position in the top five states for broadband speed that is universally accessible to residents and businesses; b) Make significant investments to the Border -to -Border Broadband Grant Program and continue to encourage public/private sector collaboration including options that use technologies such as wireless that are scalable to meet statutory speed goals and are consistent with LE-19 to cost- effectively expand broadband service access; c) Support measures to authorize and encourage cities and other local units of government to play a direct role in providing broadband infrastructure and/or services; d) Remove barriers to the exercise of local authority to provide such services, including repeal of Minn. Stat. § 237.19, that requires a supermajority voter approval for the provision of local phone service by a local unit of government; e) 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; f) Adopt policies which seek to position Minnesota as a state of choice for testing next -generation broadband technologies; Affirm that cities have the authority to partner with private entities to finance g)