Faster broadband suggested as some rural areas remain behind

ST. PAUL -- A Minnesota broadband task force recommends increasing state Internet speed guidelines even as many rural Minnesotans lack service at current, slower standards.

A governor-appointed broadband task force suggests the state Legislature increase high-speed Internet goals by 2022, which could double some speed standards, while increasing them more than four-fold by 2026. The new speeds would jive with what the Federal Communications Commission considers high-speed service.

The panel also recommended that the state up its spending to expand broadband into more rural areas to $200 million, twice what Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton recommended last month.

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