D.C. Memo: Gov. Walz Just Signed Muni Broadband Bill

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris's pick as her VP running mate at the top of the Democratic Party ticket, signed a bill in May that opened the door for local governments to build and acquire broadband networks — an approach opposed by Internet Service Providers funded with private capital.

By signing the bill, Walz ensured that local governments in his state can compete directly with Comcast and Mediacom for subscribers and federal broadband grant money supplied by the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to connect unserved and underserved households.

Walz signed a bill to enhance the roll out of Government Owned Networks or GONs. One bill repealed a law that required municipalities to secure a supermajority vote in a local referendum to buy or construct "telephone exchanges." Although originally intended to regulate telephone service, the law had been interpreted to impose the same supermajority requirement for building of municipal broadband networks.

The second bill repealed a statute that allowed municipalities to improve, construct, extend, and maintain facilities for Internet access only if no private provider was offering service in that municipality — a change in law that set up direct competition between GONs and privately backed ISPs.

Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband, praised Walz’s support for municipal participation in broadband.

"It's heartening that Gov. Walz understands the value of public broadband and local control, enough so that he signed a law repealing restrictions on community broadband in Minnesota," Sohn said.

Under federal rules, Minnesota is to receive $652 million from BEAD run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. But Brent Christensen, president and CEO of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, and Melissa Wolf, executive director of the Minnesota Cable Communications Association, have complained that federal BEAD rules -- such as a price-regulated tier for low-income households -- have blunted private ISP interest in the program despite the availability of big dollars. Minnesota and NTIA officials have yet to reach a final agreement.

In March, Walz announced the availability of $53 Million in grants to connect 8,900 Minnesota homes and businesses, with awards going to Arvig, Bevcomm, and others. According to the Senate Commerce Committee, Minnesota had 244,916 households in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) before funding for the low-income broadband subsidy effort ran out of money on May 31.