TDS muni-broadband lawsuit dismissed

A Minnesota district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a subsidiary of telco TDS Telecom against the City of Monticello, Minn., over the city's plans to build a broadband network slated to compete against the private fiber build.

TDS's Bridgewater Telephone contends that the city's network, which is being financed with public infrastructure revenue bonds, was a misuse of such funds.

The city reportedly started building the network when Bridgewater hesitated to do so, but now the telco is in the process of upgrading its own network in the area. We're in an age when municipalities feel they can take fiber matters into their own hands if the local broadband service provider is not passing muster. However, such municipal ambitions don't always pan out. Just ask residents of Provo, Utah.

For more:
- check out this coverage at The Minneapolis Star-Tribune

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