Telecom

Upcoming hearings

Telephone Service Providers

There are two categories of local telephone service companies under Minnesota law:

• Large telephone companies serving 50,000 subscribers or more (there are four in Minnesota - Qwest, Sprint, Frontier and GTE) that are rate-regulated and subject to the most comprehensive oversight by the Commission;
• Small telephone companies serving less than 50,000 subscribers (there are approximately 90 small telephone companies in Minnesota) that are not rate-regulated unless the Commission finds that the rates are not "fair and reasonable."

The vast majority of small telephone companies fall into one of three sub-categories:

• Cooperative telephone associations (not-for-profit organizations);
• Municipal telephone associations (publicly owned and operated); and
• Independent telephone companies with less than 30,000 subscribers.

 The provision of local long distance service in Minnesota is subject to the Commission's jurisidction.