ISP Privacy, Broadband Deployment at Stake in State Elections

The Democrat leading the race to be New Jersey governor by a wide margin supports ISP privacy rules. The position, which seems to counter President Donald Trump’s repeal of FCC broadband privacy rules, raised ISP eyebrows and Free Press praise. Meanwhile, gubernatorial candidates in Virginia laid out detailed plans to expand broadband, with the Democrat urging better data and the Republican seeking deregulation to spur private sector deployment. A state cable association said both Virginia candidates need to study, and a municipal advocate said he’s not excited by either’s broadband platform.

New Jersey and Virginia are this year’s only gubernatorial races. New Jersey Democrat Phil Murphy leads Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R) by 15.9 points to replace termed-out GOP Gov. Chris Christie, according to a poll average by RealClearPolitics for Sept. 19 to Oct. 24. Democrats already have majorities in both houses of the state legislature, so a Murphy win could give them a trifecta.

In Virginia, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) leads former Republican National Committee Chair Ed Gillespie, 47 percent to 43.1 percent, to replace incumbent Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), according to the website's poll average for Oct. 5-22. Republicans control both houses of the Virginia legislature, so a Gillespie win could mean a GOP trifecta.

Also Nov. 7, more Colorado communities will vote on allowing their local governments to deploy municipal broadband (see 1611090024). Colorado Counties Inc. expects Boulder and Eagle counties to opt out of a 2005 state restriction on municipal broadband, said CCI Policy Director Eric Bergman. Of 64 Colorado counties, 28 voted to opt out, he said. A dozen municipalities also will vote on the question, the Institute for Local-Self Reliance blogged Monday. Nearly 100 Colorado communities total have voted to opt out, ILSR said.

New Jersey

Murphy’s innovation agenda includes “requiring telecom providers and ISPs to seek permission before collecting personal information,” said his website.

Murphy would appoint an attorney general “who will enforce consumer protections around data privacy,” and the Democrat would convene government, industry and academia to share cybersecurity best practices, it said. Murphy pledged to “provide affordable, high-speed internet for all New Jerseyans and configure public spaces to be digitally and universally accessible.” A spokesman didn’t say how. Murphy was finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee in the mid-to-late 2000s under Howard Dean and earlier worked 23 years at Goldman Sachs.

Free Press, which opposed repeal of the FCC broadband privacy rules, finds it “encouraging when local politicians step in and attempt to ensure these online protections are enforceable at a local level,” a spokesman said. USTelecom supports enhancing cybersecurity and protecting consumer privacy, but the policy should be that “all parts of the Internet ecosystem -- social media, apps, search, not just ISPs -- abide by regulatory obligations equally,” CEO Jonathan Spalter said in a statement. “Consumers want their information protected by all companies.” The New Jersey Cable Telecommunications Association said the internet is "inherently interstate" and "not restricted by state boundaries," so a "state by state patchwork of differing regulations won’t work." NJCTA said its cable members support a federal privacy rule "that leaves no consumer, provider, or state behind."

Guadagno’s views on telecom and internet issues are less clear. The GOP candidate’s website doesn’t prominently list views on broadband or other internet issues. Her spokesman didn’t comment.

Virginia

Northam and Gillespie laid out relatively detailed broadband policies for Virginia, which had a contentious debate over municipal broadband earlier this year (see 1702210037). Gillespie produced a five-point plan to close the digital divide that would “remove regulatory barriers and fund broadband deployment,” said his website.

“A Northam administration will look for additional ways to partner with industry through a series of requests for information (RFIs) to define options for broadband buildout -- which will lead to a statewide plan for broadband deployment in rural Virginia,” said his website. Northam wants to expand across the state a public-private partnership in Southside that includes Microsoft, the Virginia Tobacco Commission and Mid-Atlantic Broadband Co. using unused TV broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband, it said. As part of a rural-economy plan, Northam also would order more broadband data and bring various state broadband efforts under a single cabinet official, the website said: “Virginia needs a clear set of metrics in order to evaluate broadband access, upload and download speeds, as well as Virginia’s rank among our neighbors.”

Gillespie seeks a deregulatory and tech-neutral approach to expand broadband to more than half of those who are now unserved, his website said: He does not "want to slow broadband deployment by supporting one technology over another. ... Funding will be focused on local needs for coverage, bandwidth speed, cost, and time to deploy.” Gillespie would direct his technology secretary to review existing state assets, including towers and land that could be used to expand private broadband projects.

It's encouraging to hear Virginia candidates talking about broadband for the unserved, but they need to study the topic more, said Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association President Ray La Mura. The potential governors are learning broadband isn’t “an elevator speech topic,” he said. VCTA -- which includes Charter Communications, Comcast and Cox Communications -- hasn’t taken a position on the election, he said.

Neither candidate impressed municipal broadband advocate Christopher Mitchell, ILSR director-community broadband networks. Northam “doesn't have a plan except for being ready to take credit for any investment that happens, whereas Gillespie has a multi-point plan to double down on the failed policies that have left Virginia behind,” he emailed.

The communications and technology industry donated $1.13 million to Northam and $319,660 to the Gillespie campaign, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. Northam contributions included more than $705,000 from internet, software and hardware and other IT companies, $77,730 from phone companies and $40,700 from cable, VPAP said. Gillespie got $181,610 from the IT companies, $58,710 from phone companies and $15,775 from cable, it said.