InForum posts an opinion piece from Melissa Wolf (Executive Director of the Minnesota Cable Communications Association) and Brent Christensen, (President & CEO of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance) on HF47: Provisions governing the certification of underground telecommunications installers modified…

Minnesota is ready to get millions of dollars in federal broadband funds out the door and get broadband access to all Minnesotans regardless of where they live, but the legislature has put a significant barrier in our way. Unless lawmakers act fast, a misguided and ill-conceived state law will bring new high-speed internet projects to a screeching halt.

Last year, the legislature passed a law that could single-handedly stall broadband expansion across the state. This new law specifically and unfairly targets broadband installers and imposes requirements not required of any other similar installation. It forces every trained, experienced, expert broadband worker to stop working unless they take an additional 40 hours of unnecessary training and pass a new state-mandated test — training that no other state requires and that does nothing to improve safety or efficiency. For comparison, that is 10 times more training than what’s required for laying underground stormwater, sewer or water pipes.

Despite the fact the 2024 legislature gave broadband companies an impossible deadline of July 1, 2025, providers have been working in good faith with the state to develop approved training curriculums.

Without a reasonable legislative fix that includes pushing out the effective date, however, numerous broadband projects will grind to a stop, leaving hundreds of Minnesotans waiting even longer for reliable high-speed internet.