MN House to hold Hearing Today on Broadband Easement

Today, Cooperators will provide testimony to the Minnesota House on existing easements held by rural electric cooperative allowed to be used to provide broadband service. This bill helps to clear a hurdle that broadband deployment faces as it continues to stretch to more communities in Minnesota. The legislation presented before you would use a common-sense method of utilizing existing electric easements to connect unserved and underserved communities to the internet.

The alternative to this bill would force our electric cooperatives to enter into new easement agreements, which are both expensive and time-consuming. This would delay the state’s goal of border-to-border broadband, and add to the overall price tag for its consumers.

The hearing will take place today, February 24, at 3:00 p.m., and you can tune in live here.