Minn. Republicans Slam Broadband Regulation Bill
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission could set broadband service standards, under a bill considered Wednesday by the state's House Commerce Committee. The panel heard testimony but didn’t vote on HF-4455 at a webcast hearing. Republicans said the market is competitive and disagreed with increasing regulation. Communications Workers of America, which is pushing a model bill in multiple states to give utility commissions more authority, supported the bill (see 2104120051).
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HF-4455 would require the Minnesota PUC to set standards on “reliability; resiliency; quality; emergency preparedness; postemergency network restoration, including minimum power-backup requirements; and equitability of deployment of broadband availability to low-income areas and communities whose residents are predominantly from racial, ethnic, cultural, or linguistic communities.” Starting Dec. 31, 2024, the bill would require ISPs to report on compliance with those standards and progress toward Minnesota’s statutory universal broadband access goals.
Sponsor Rep. Andrew Carlson (D) sees a "serious gap in consumer protection" for broadband, he told the panel. "We need to have a serious conversation about how to restore some balance in broadband and IP-enabled telecommunications." Legislators "need to recalibrate how to protect consumers … while ensuring we are keeping up with technology and not stifling innovation and consumer choice." The market isn’t “a sufficient regulator ... to protect consumers from unfair terms and conditions" and "inadequate and unreliable service," he added.
Rep. Eric Lucero (R) slammed the bill, saying broadband shouldn’t be regulated like other utilities. Only one pipe can provide natural gas to a house, but broadband can be provided by multiple competitors through cable, wireless or fiber, he said. "We'd be roping in multiple different mediums, which would have unintended consequences." Minnesota consumer complaints are about telephone service, so it’s “way overkill” to respond by letting the PUC regulate broadband and the internet, Lucero said. And the Republican accused supporters of manufacturing a “false idea” that lower-income communities lack access.
Carlson said it’s “inappropriate” to call testimony false. Broadband is an “essential” service, said the Democrat: The bill isn’t "talking about the mechanics of it all" but the "key functions.”
"I don't see the need for this new, added regulatory structure that I believe would just add cost and delays and actually discourage continued investment into expanding broadband services in the communities that I represent,” said Rep. Jordan Rasmusson (R). There’s “more access to broadband than ever before,” with faster speeds and reliability, and the market has “never been more competitive,” said the legislator, citing wireless and fiber providers. Rep. Tim O’Driscoll asked to hear from the state broadband office on the bill. Noting the PUC regulates many utilities, the committee’s lead Republican said giving the agency broadband jurisdiction could have unintended consequences.
"Competition has not worked to ensure reliable, universal and affordable service,” despite industry arguments to the contrary, testified Hooman Hedayati, CWA strategic research associate-telecom policy. Decades of deregulation have left customers unprotected, he said. The bill would cover wireline but not wireless, which is regulated differently, Hedayati said. VoIP has largely replaced regulated plain old telephone services, he added.
State legislators introduced similar bills in New York, Georgia, Arizona, Tennessee and Louisiana. A Kentucky bill is likely to be “filed during the next session in addition to several additional states,” Hedayati told us after the hearing. “This is part of CWA's push to establish state PUC oversight of broadband.”