The Latest: Broadband on Jones St.

As we move into June, there is now a somewhat clearer picture of how North Carolina’s current connectivity-related bills are moving and shaking within the General Assembly. Much remains to be seen, but we understand that about half of the legislation related to connectivity made the crossover deadline on May 14. Baby steps, right?

So, what is crossover, you ask? This is the deadline for when legislation that does not involve money must be passed by one chamber (read: the House or the Senate) and been tossed to the other chamber. If legislation doesn’t pass in one chamber by this deadline, it’s essentially dead-in-the-water for this year. Some exceptions can exist for this rule, but that’s usually only the case if the legislation is being sent to appropriations or revenue committees. Bills that did not meet the crossover deadline can still be considered in some type of study committee after this year’s session. If they are in a study committee, then they can roll their decisions into bills that can be considered next year. All appropriations- and revenue-related bills are still under consideration for this session.

Here are the connectivity-related bills that met the crossover deadline, and still up for consideration by the N.C. General Assembly. (HB refers to House Bill, SB refers to Senate Bill.)

HB135 – Broadband Service Providers
This just passed the Senate Commerce committee, and would allow broadband service providers to also sell voice service in their area.

HB136 – DOT/Fiber-Optic Cable
This legislation is now in the Senate Finance committee. It would allow the N.C. Department of Transportation to acquire right-of-way for fiber optic cable enabling broadband communications.

HB530 / SB889 – Utilities/Carrier of Last Resort
The House version of the bill is now in the Senate Commerce committee and the Senate version is now in the House Public Utilities committee. This legislation would further authorize the N.C. Utilities Commission to designate carriers of last resort.

SB357 – Utilities/Regulation of Pole Attachments by Communications Service Providers
This is now in the House Ways & Means/Broadband Connectivity committee. This bill would require municipalities and membership corporations to allow the use of their poles, ducts and conduits by communications service providers and would also change the handling of related disputes between entities.

SB1004 – Level Playing Field
This is now in the House Public Utilities committee, and authorizes the Revenue Laws Study Committee to research local government owned and operated communications services. The original bill proposed adding restrictions to municipalities providing broadband service to their community. The e-NC Authority’s position on this issue is that local governments should have the right to offer broadband services when the service available does not meet the needs of the local community.

HB1180 – Consumer Choice and Investment Act of 2009
This just passed the Senate Commerce committee, and would decrease regulation on local exchange companies in their provision of voice service.

The e-NC Authority’s funding legislation – HB532 and SB697 – are in appropriations committees, so they are still up for consideration in this session. During the first week of June, the appropriations subcommittees will likely make their funding recommendations to the chairs of the full appropriations committees. At that point, the House budget will quickly take shape. Ultimately, a conference committee will be appointed to work out the differences between the Senate and House budgets.

As everyone knows, there continues to be a budget shortfall for the current fiscal year, and low projected revenues for the upcoming year. In fact, experts are saying that it could be as late as 2013-2014 before the state can expect to generate enough revenue for a $20.8 billion state budget again (this was the initial budget for 2008-2009).

So – for all the broadband advocates in North Carolina, we still need you to talk to your representatives about the need to make such a critical investment, and to continue to provide financial support for the e-NC Authority. Always remember that, for better or worse, legislators are expected to understand and track thousands of bills and different policy issues, so please help with continuing to educate them about the importance of broadband for economic competitiveness through job creation in our state – for every dollar invested in broadband is expected to return ten-fold to North Carolina’s economy.

Broadband on Jones Street?

Well, things are moving quickly on Jones Street. For those of you trying to follow broadband issues in the legislature, here are a few references for you.

As you may already know, there was a House select committee called High-Speed Internet in Rural Areas. This committee submitted its final report to the N.C. General Assembly in January. That same month, the e-NC Authority also submitted its Internet Action Plan to the state’s legislators. Take some time to read it – we think you’ll find it to be overwhelmingly progressive.

Once the House select committee wrapped, we were pleasantly surprised to find that a House standing committee was created to look at broadband. The name of this group is the House Ways & Means / Broadband Connectivity committee.

Funding for the e-NC Authority
As far as the e-NC Authority, our priority is to obtain operating funds for the upcoming year so that we are still here to advocate for access on behalf of the citizens. As of June 30, 2009, the e-NC Authority will have depleted almost all of its original private monies. The e-NC Authority cannot continue to operate as it currently does without additional state funding support for the upcoming year. In her version of the budget, Gov. Beverly Perdue has recommended $495,000 recurring for the e-NC Authority’s operations. However, our operating budget is approximately $1 million – this means that the governor’s proposal alone would only cover half of our ability to operate. Of course, we are also requesting funds for connectivity incentive grants, public access/digital literacy training and two new telecenters. Some of these funds could also serve as match for federal stimulus dollars.

Take some time to look over our entire funding request to the N.C. General Assembly. There are bills both in the House (H532) and the Senate (S697) that appropriate funds to the e-NC Authority, in the amounts we have requested. The Senate will put the budget together first this year, likely coming out this week. Then the House will compile their version before both bodies meet in conference committees to negotiate and resolve the differences.

Other Broadband Bills
On our Web site, we have a page that will allow you to track federal and state legislation that affects connectivity. Note in particular, N.C. Senate bill S1004. This legislation is a resurgence of a bill from a few years ago that sought to put restrictions on the ability of local governments to offer telecommunications services. Here is one take on the bill, from a blog that ran last week. The e-NC Authority’s position on this issue is that local governments should have the right to offer broadband services when the service available does not meet the needs of the local community.

In closing, keep in mind that while there are certainly a lot of lobbyists floating around the legislature, it is the constituents around the state that ultimately impact the legislators. So, share your opinions with your delegates. Remind them of who they really work for.

Lacking broadband infrastructure in Halifax County

Florine Bell, a community organizer in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., explains the value of high-speed Internet services to her area and its ability to impact economic improvement.

Lacking broadband infrastructure for Alleghany County (N.C.) school children

Dr. Jeff Cox, superintendent of schools for Alleghany County, N.C., discusses the "digital divide" that he sees for area students and why broadband deployment must be a priority for state government in terms of educational advancement.

Broadband in Rural N.C. - Looking at the 2007 numbers

In North Carolina, there are nine telephone membership cooperatives, six privately-held telephone companies, six publicly-held telephone companies and one municipal telephone company. Here’s how their Internet service breaks down:

The telephone membership cooperatives serve approximately 4 percent of the access lines in North Carolina and have made DSL service available to 98 percent of their subscribers (note: a number of them make service available to 100 percent of their subscribers).

The six privately-held companies serve approximately 6 percent of the access lines in North Carolina and make DSL service available to 98 percent of their subscribers.

The one municipal group serves approximately 0.05 percent of the state’s access lines and has made DSL service available to 100 percent of subscribers.

But here’s the real story…

The six publicly-held companies serve approximately 90 percent of the access lines in North Carolina (and actually, two significant companies in that mix serve 88 percent of the lines). Combined, the six publicly-held companies make DSL service available to approximately 80 percent of the access lines in the state. These companies are now headquartered outside of the state and financial decisions on deployment of specific telecommunications services are now mostly made at that corporate level.

There are approximately 600,000 households in North Carolina that do not have access to any type of high-speed Internet service, and most of these households are in rural communities. As an economy, we’ve long-since passed the point where Internet is a luxurious or insignificant pastime for people with disposable income. It is a utility and a basic infrastructure – no different from water, sewer, roads and electricity.

So, how do citizens solve the problem of not having service?

Call customer service?
Many citizens tell us that this doesn’t work, even when they are armed with community petitions that beg and plead for service.

Escalate the issue to someone higher up in the company?
Again, many citizens tell us that this also does not work, but we always suggest that they continue to try.

Call the Utilities Commission?
By law, they don’t regulate Internet services.

What’s left?
Contact your state and federal representatives. They are the only ones that can bring about a change in the way companies operate. (For example, they can provide incentives to nonprofit, private and public sector providers to encourage deployment to homes and businesses.) Always remember that your elected officials are in a position of power – but only by virtue of your vote.