TDS disappointed in court decision

By Drew Petersen

TDS Telecommunications Corp.

The Minnesota Supreme Court denied the expedited petition for review between Bridgewater Telephone Co./TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDSTM) and the City of Monticello last week.

TDS is extremely disappointed with the inaction demonstrated by the Minnesota Supreme Court’s determination not to grant the petition for review. We feel our expedited petition for review, filed in a mere six days time, had merit as indicated by the thoughtful dissenting opinion issued by Judge Hudson in the MN Court of Appeals one week ago.

Additionally, five national and state telecommunication associations and coalitions of state legislators filed “friends of the court” letters urging the Minnesota Supreme Court’s consideration of this important case with statewide importance.

TDS is a job-producing, tax-paying corporate citizen of Monticello with millions of dollars invested in the state of Minnesota and the community of Monticello. The lack of judicial action on the part of the Minnesota Supreme Court will likely discourage other private enterprises from doing or expanding their business in Minnesota. Further, the lack of Supreme Court review, which leaves in place a ruling allowing municipalities tax-free financing to enter into competition with tax-paying businesses, endangers the appropriate relationship between municipalities and private enterprise.

Throughout the legal debate, TDS has been honest in discussions with City of Monticello leaders and the public. TDS has also invested millions of dollars and, in less than a year, placed 74 miles of fiber in protective conduit to build a complete fiber network covering the entire city. Our project was built for one-fourth the cost of the proposed municipal system being contemplated by the City of Monticello’s leaders.

The TDS fiber network is of super reliability and speed. Every resident in the city presently can receive TDS’ Internet service, via fiber, at speeds of 25 Mbps at value-based prices. The neighboring townships also enjoy speeds above 10 Mbps.

Make no mistake, Monticello is one of the most broadband-connected cities, not only in Minnesota, but in the nation.

When the city first conceived its fiber project, its feasibility was questionable given the series of unreasonably optimistic assumptions underlying the project. Now, in view of TDS’ installation and operation of a robust broadband platform in Monticello during the past year, it is even more doubtful that the City’s project is financially feasible.

Certainly, the now-obsolete feasibility study – on which the revenue bond purchasers relied when they purchased the city’s bonds more than a year ago – can no longer justify the project, as that study assumed the absence of any broadband competitor, as well as the city’s ability to charge for service at higher rates than presently offered by TDS.

While disappointed with the courts’ decision, TDS remains proud to offer Monticello blazing-fast speeds, reliable communications products, and great customer service backed by TDS’ 40-plus years of experience in operating numerous telecommunications systems in Minnesota and other areas of the United States.