Duluth News Tribune post an Opinion by Sen. Jennifer A. McEwen and Rep. Pete Johnson on HF47: Provisions governing the certification of underground telecommunications installers modified…

Before last year, the broadband industry was an outlier in the utilities world, with almost no worker-training requirements. Statistics tell the story: In 2023, telecommunications construction like broadband caused seven in 10 drilling-related damages to underground infrastructure in Minnesota. Over half these incidents were mistakes by people operating drilling machinery. By comparison, natural gas and electrical work damage overwhelmingly resulted from people improperly marking the places for drilling to avoid — not mistakes operating machinery.

Telecommunications infrastructure workers made five times more excavator drilling errors than those doing natural gas and electrical work.

Moreover, these trends were increasing: Damage to natural gas infrastructure caused by telecommunications and broadband installation jumped 62% from 2022 to 2023, according to industry leader Common Ground Alliance.

To address these concerns, the Minnesota Legislature passed the 2024 Broadband Safety Bill. Still in implementation, it already is making Minnesotans safer. A leading telecommunications contractor admitted to legislators that “most of the issues brought to the industry last year were based on out-of-state contractors and their out-of-state subcontractors.” Now, they already see increases in the use of “local Minnesota contractors, which will show great improvement for the new construction season.”

However, in his March 2 commentary in the News Tribune (Lawmaker’s View: “ Minnesota must not squander opportunity to close digital divide ”), Rep. Isaac Schultz argued that the basic safety regulations passed in 2024 will hurt broadband rollout in Minnesota.

Nonsense. We do not have to sacrifice safety to build out our broadband system. In fact, as written now, Schultz’s new broadband bill would reject the public-safety advancements we’re making in favor of helping Twin Cities cable companies maximize profits, by allowing them to use underhanded, out-of-state contractors for the 2025 construction season and beyond. It would also undercut skilled Minnesota workers by watering down and postponing training requirements, which could further increase reliance on unskilled, out-of-state workforces.