Minnesota fiber networks on the rise -- and telcos continue to fight them

Few telecom topics today can generate more heated debate than municipal fiber networks, as a report by Minnesota Public Radio last week illustrates.

The story highlights municipal projects in the state, including two that are up and running (WindomNet in Windom and FiberNet in Monticello), as well as several that are still emerging, including one in Lac qui Parle county, one in Sibley county and one in Lake county. Some say the long-term viability of these networks is uncertain. Others say they’re the only way to bring broadband to remote rural areas. But moving forward, two things are certain. We’re going to see more of these projects, now that a substantial number of them have won broadband stimulus funding. And established telcos will fight as hard as ever against them -- sometimes in the marketplace (as TDS Telecom did when it built a network in Monticello to compete with FiberNet) but more often on the public relations and policy fronts.