Freedom Foundation of Minnesota

Broadband

Monticello Stops Bond Payments on Troubled Municipal Telecom

      Is city headed toward default of $26 million in bonds?     The City of Monticello has notified bondholders that it plans to stop repayment of $26 million in bonds for the troubled FiberNet Monticello telecom system, due to a shortfall in operating revenue from telecom subscribers. This development marks the most dramatic step yet in the downturn for what was once a …

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FiberNet Management Company Parts Ways with Troubled Monticello City Telecom Network

     Hiawatha Broadband Communications pulls out amidst a range of concerns-- The news just keeps getting worse for the troubled Monticello publicly financed telecom system.  Recent news reports and events continue to confirm that Mayor Clint Herbst was right when he admitted “we shouldn’t be in the telecommunications business at all”. Following up on the heels of …

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Winthrop Resident and Businesses Start Petition Drive to Force Vote On $70 Million Network

When Dale Malheim retired from the Army last year, he never planned to be on the front lines in his new hometown of Winthrop, Minnesota.  But the more he learned about the $70 million proposed RS Fiber telecom network, the more he felt duty calling again. So Malheim began a petition drive to force a referendum, thus allowing  Winthrop residents a chance to overturn the city council’s …

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