I wanted to share the following invitation from Senator Schmit. I will be there to take notes…
Senate colleagues, broadband stakeholders and I will be holding a press conference this Wednesday, April 27, to voice support for the Senate broadband proposal outlined below. The event will take place at 10AM in Room 2237 of the Senate Building, located at 95 University Avenue in St Paul.
Please let me know if you’re interested in joining us. Otherwise the next month will be a critical time for negotiations with the House regarding the level of funding for our ‘Border-to-Border Broadband Competitive Grant Fund’ and related policy. If you have not done so already, now would be a good time to contact your local legislators and/or newspaper and urge support for this important legislation.
As previously outlined below, the Senate broadband proposal would:
- Per Broadband Task Force recommendations, set state speed goals at 25/3 by 2022 and 100/20 by 2026
- Apply the goals to our definition of “underserved” areas as we did in 2014 when the broadband fund was created
- Fund the fund at an appropriate level of $85M to inspire collaborative planning, applications, and deployment across the state
Thanks for your continued interest and engagement in this important issue. Please let me know if you’re interested in joining us tomorrow — or if you have any questions or concerns regarding the broadband discussion taking place at the State Capitol.
Best,
Matt Schmit
State Senator / District 21
sen.matt.schmit@senate.mn
