A bill that will change the oversight structure of state telecom programs passed the House in a nearly unanimous voice vote Tuesday.
H.117 forms a new Division of Telecommunications and Connectivity under the Department of Public Service.
Rep. Steve Carr, D-Brandon, of the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, was the lead sponsor of the bill with Rep. Sam Young, D-Glover.
Carr said one of the most important provisions of the bill is a requirement that the Division of Telecommunications and Connectivity submit a report to the Legislature by Jan. 15 of every year that maps Internet speed availability across the state. Many rural areas are still without adequate broadband service.
Under the bill, the division would submit a report with maps of areas of the state without three different speed thresholds — 4 mbps (megabits per second) downloading and 1 mbps uploading; 25/3, which is the FCC’s updated definition of broadband; and 100/100 mbps synchronous, which requires fiber-optic technology.
The report would include cost estimates for providing the three different Internet speeds to those areas. The department’s 2014 Telecommunications Plan set an aggressive goal to have fiber to every home by 2024, which the department pegs around $1 billion.
Carr said download speeds are most important for residential customers, and upload speeds helps businesses teleconference and send materials quickly.
“If you get the 25 [mbps], say, you’ll get a movie in clearer,” Carr said. “100 is, you’ll have it like it’s in your DVD player. Fiber is the gold standard. Fiber is what lets you talk to someone in Taiwan.”
Under the bill, a 10-person Telecommunications and Connectivity Board would advise the commissioner of Public Service on how to award grants to companies from the Connectivity Initiative.
The bill directs authorities to consider appointing Vermonters with considerable expertise in telecommunications technology, rights-of-way, and telecom service in rural areas.
The state treasurer, secretary of Commerce and Community Development, speaker of the House, Senate Committee on Committees, and the governor would all make appointments. The secretary of Transportation would appoint a non-voting board member.
The Agency of Transportation is unique because it owns and maintains fiber along Interstate 89 in order to facilitate intelligent transportation systems. Robert T. White, the agency’s senior manager, said the agency owns six separate conduits along Interstate 89 from Sharon to Hartford.
White said the agency only uses one conduit, containing 144 strands of fiber totaling 14 miles. Another is leased, and four more could be leased, White said, but the agency is not in the fiber-selling business.
The Vermont Telecommunications Authority, which will be disbanded as part of the bill, also owns fiber. Executive Director Chris Campbell said the independent authority has more than 200 miles of fiber in the Northeast Kingdom. It has fiber in Orange, Windsor and Addison counties, and is building more in Putney.
The Vermont Electric Power Co., or VELCO, also owns 1,300 miles of fiber, according to Carr.
One of the goals of the Division of Telecommunications and Connectivity would be to work with entities that own fiber infrastructure, in order to ensure “access to affordable broadband service to all residences and businesses in the state.”
Jim Porter, the senior policy and telecommunications director at the Department of Public Service, testified in February to the Legislature that adequate high-speed Internet connectivity in rural areas is crucial for the state’s economy.
Porter said Tuesday he supports the expanded division as a way to increase efficiency. Porter said he does not expect states to formally regulate broadband services anytime soon, despite a recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission to classify broadband Internet service as a public utility.
