D.C. Memo: Minnesota to Lutnick: Don't Give Us the West Virginia Treatment
◾ Newsmax's Stunning IPO ◾ Quebec Signs Starlink Deal ◾ Charter Pays $49.5M for Kentucky Muni ◾ NAB Show: Simington, Yes; Carr, No ◾ AM Radio Bill Filibuster Proof ◾ Nebraska Unveils BEAD ISPs
BEAD: Minnesota to Trump Administration: Don’t give us the West Virginia treatment. That was the message to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a March 27 letter from Bree Maki Executive Director of Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development. “We respectfully request that NTIA continue to allow states to make choices that will best allow their residents to get online quickly,” said Maki, whose letter landed about the same time Lutnick effectively told West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) his state’s BEAD plan – probably because it had too many expensive fiber builds – needed to be revised. Maki indicated her state did not favor funding low Earth orbit satellite Internet access services like Starlink. “Minnesota would like to retain its choice to prioritize fiber in subgrantee selection Round 1 and Round 2,” she said. Minnesota, she added, wants the right to “to maintain its expertise and use of historical data to set its Extremely High-Cost Threshold.” Adjustments to the EHCT can make or break a fiber project. If Lutnick insists on an EHCT of a few thousand dollars per location, fiber ISPs would likely lose out to Starlink. “To ensure expedient progress, we respectfully urge you not to make any changes that will slow down the program,” Maki said. “Any changes enacted by NTIA should be optional and states should have the flexibility to make the changes they need to be successful in their state.”
