I’ve written about the legislation last session that requires the Office of Broadband Development to preference broadband projects with providers who adhere to prevailing wages and training for broadband installers for State funding but not federal. The Minneapolis Star Tribune published an article that focuses on the debate around the bill between labor unions and broadband providers…

The industry is under a microscope now, and the rift between unions and telecom providers came with high stakes.

Minnesota is in line for an unprecedented $652 million windfall from the federal government’s 2021 infrastructure bill to subsidize a broadband boom. Those telecom groups loudly warned that the state would lose the funding if DFL lawmakers approved the new standards, tanking a priority of President Joe Biden in the process.

“It’s not a question of whether it will cause damage, it’s how much damage is it going to cause,” said Brent Christensen, CEO of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, an industry group that represents many rural providers.

The article details both sides and the eventual outcome…

After complicated negotiations, and input from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Legislature cut much of the original bill.

Internet providers that offer prevailing wage or other benefits to construction workers will be prioritized in any future state funding, but those rules won’t apply to federal grant applicants.

The new law requires bigger providers to report pay and benefits data on grant-funded projects, along with information about underrepresented workers.

The state will also create a 40-hour safety certification program required for broadband construction workers that drill underground near utility infrastructure or find and expose that infrastructure. The training program applies to privately funded work as well.

And a last comment on the law and federal funding…

Minnesota’s $652 million is part of a federal initiative meant to provide universal access to high-speed internet across the country.

Whether it actually will do that in Minnesota is a matter of interpretation. The state would need hundreds of millions more to hit its own goals.

Bree Maki, who runs Walz’s Office of Broadband Development, said internet providers will likely not start building with federal money until early 2026.