The following are state goals that should be considered as the commission executes its regulatory duties with respect to telecommunication services:

Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 237.011

  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
  • Telecommunications service: means the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public or to such classes of users as to be effectively available to the public regardless of the facilities used. See Minnesota Statutes 237.01

(1) supporting universal service;

(2) maintaining just and reasonable rates;

(3) encouraging economically efficient deployment of infrastructure for higher speed telecommunication services and greater capacity for voice, video, and data transmission;

(4) encouraging fair and reasonable competition for local exchange telephone service in a competitively neutral regulatory manner;

(5) maintaining or improving quality of service;

(6) promoting customer choice;

(7) ensuring consumer protections are maintained in the transition to a competitive market for local telecommunications service; and

(8) encouraging voluntary resolution of issues between and among competing providers and discouraging litigation.