Municipal broadband restrictions in Minnesota dropped

And then there were 16.

​States remaining with significant barriers to municipal broadband networks in America, that is. The latest state to entrust its citizens with their own broadband solutions is the Gopher State - Minnesota.

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This week Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the bill overturning two legacy laws last Tuesday. The bill had passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the legislature. As outlined in this article by Sean Gonsalves at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, communities in Minnesota that formerly faced major hurdles to community broadband networks are freed from those major restrictions. By ILSR's count, there are 16 states remaining where municipal broadband has been made difficult, almost always at the behest of big telecom companies seeking to block competition. 

Despite industry efforts to continue blocking municipal broadband, the momentum has swung the right direction in recent years. Restrictions have also been lifted in Washington, Arkansas, and Colorado. The Minnesota move is also a win for the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB), which advocates for community-focused broadband across the nation. In a statement, AAPB Executive Director said "While 16 states still restrict these networks in various ways, we’re confident this number will continue to decrease as more communities demand the freedom to choose the network that best serves their residents."