Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed a broadband bill (SB-214) Thursday to set up a commission of legislators, executive branch and other public sector officials to advise the Utah Broadband Center as it develops plans required by the federal infrastructure law. Cox also signed HB-217, which would prevent unsolicited phone calls to cellphones among other changes to state telemarketing laws, plus a comprehensive privacy bill (see 2203240052) by Sen. Kirk Cullimore (R). Cullimore said he hopes his SB-227 “will serve as a model for other states.” TechNet Executive Director-Southwest Dylan Hoffman said Utah’s bill is clear for consumers and businesses, but “with yet another state enacting their own privacy legislation, it only highlights how the need for a federal privacy law has never been greater.”
Gov. Kate Brown (D) approved an Oregon broadband bill to prepare the state for federal broadband funding, as expected (2203040049). Brown signed HB-4092 Wednesday, so the law will take effect June 22.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission got 194 applications seeking more than $495 million in grants to expand broadband, Gov. Tony Evers (D) said Thursday. The PSC expects to award $100 million this summer, the governor’s office said. The commission’s broadband office posted a list and map of applications. In Colorado, the Broadband Deployment Board postponed application review meetings for the winter grant cycle that were scheduled for March 29 and 31, the Colorado Broadband Office said Wednesday. “This postponement is due to a number of factors, including pending legislation before the Colorado General Assembly and the impact of new federal regulations on the Board’s ability to distribute funding,” said CBO: Staff is “working diligently to establish alternate timelines to ensure there is ample time for all reviews to take place this year.”
Fiber is “more expensive” than other technologies and “often not going to be the right answer,” said Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten during a Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy webinar Wednesday. “The push for fiber is way overblown,” Wallsten said: “In many places, it is not justified.” Wallsten said more households will need to be served through federal broadband investments if policymakers set a higher definition of broadband. Prior subsidies haven't been done "efficiently," Wallsten said, noting the GAO “has been telling the FCC for years that they need to fix” its high-cost programs. Funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be given directly to the states under NTIA oversight, he said. "We don't know yet" what kind of difference the investments will make.
The Missouri House Utilities Committee voted 9-0 for a broadband bill (HB-2052) Wednesday that would set up a 12-year task force to evaluate the status of access, affordability and speed, monitor deployment and make recommendations. As during the panel’s Jan. 26 hearing, some members grumbled about the actual usefulness of task forces (see 2201260015).
Median download speeds for SpaceX's Starlink broadband service topped 100 Mbps in the U.S. in Q4 2021, Ookla said Wednesday. It said the median 104.97 Mbps was up from Q3's median 87.25 Mbps. Viasat median download speed was 21.81 Mbps in Q4, with HughesNet at 20.92, it said. Both geostationary operators' speeds were up from Q3, it said. It said Starlink download speeds vary widely around the U.S., from 191.08 Mbps in the Miami area to 64.95 in Columbia County, Oregon.
Cox will double the download speed of its low-cost ConnectAssist and Connect2Compete broadband programs to 100 Mbps at month's end, it said Wednesday. The upgrade comes at no additional cost, it said. It said it's expanding eligibility for the low-cost broadband to meet Affordable Connectivity Program criteria.
A Missouri panel plans to bring one omnibus broadband bill to the House floor incorporating ideas from multiple separate bills, said House Special Committee on Broadband and Infrastructure Chairman Louis Riggs (R) at a livestreamed hearing Thursday. The committee heard testimony that day on five bills. HB-2016, sponsored by Rep. John Black (R) and opposed by Lumen, would let localities form a broadband infrastructure improvement district to provide residential service. HB-2353 by Riggs would let two or more localities, upon a vote by residents, form such a district. HB-2638, sponsored by Riggs and supported by AT&T and Lumen, would establish a broadband council to explore ways to expand access and usage and develop a map with data provided by any entity that gets state or federal broadband funding. HB-2645 by Rep. Josh Hurlbert (R) would require grant applicants to share address-level maps showing highest speeds they provide. Riggs said Hurlbert’s mapping bill would be folded into his council bill. HB-2817 by Rep. Jason Chipman (R) would require fast Wi-Fi in Missouri’s Capitol building in Jefferson City.
A West Virginia Senate panel considered but decided against removing mapping requirements from a bill meant to increase state control of broadband deployment as federal dollars roll in. At a livestreamed Wednesday meeting, the Economic Development Committee unanimously approved the House-passed HB-4001, sending the bill to the Finance Committee. Sen. Eric Tarr (R) proposed amendments, including to remove requirements to map poles and right-of-way disturbances, after Economic Development Department officials testified they could cost $2 million and would duplicate existing work. Tarr said he was wary of "potentially creating some overregulation that could decrease the speed of deployment” and add unnecessary cost. But Tarr withdrew his amendment after HB-4001 sponsor Del. Daniel Linville (R), showed up late to the meeting to defend his bill. Linville said a recent Facebook fiber project in West Virginia faced hurdles because the National Historic Preservation Act required proof of prior disturbance. Mapping disturbances could expedite future projects, he said. Mapping poles would reduce cost and hassle while speeding deployment because the maps would provide ready information on poles’ ability to support attachments, he said. Tarr also proposed and withdrew an amendment to remove the attorney general from the bill, which would leave the West Virginia Public Service Commission in charge. PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane said the commission was well-equipped to handle all parts of the bill that currently includes both the AG and PSC. But Linville said the AG receives many consumer complaints and in 2015 reached a $160 million settlement with Frontier Communications (see 1512100036).
Only half of all homes in the continental U.S. receive “true broadband internet access,” defined as download speeds of 25 Mbps or higher, reported NPD Tuesday. It estimates about a third of homes get internet access at speeds of less than 5 Mbps, with Vermont, West Virginia, New Mexico and Mississippi among the least-connected states. New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland and California are among the most connected, it said. Only a quarter of homes in Vermont receive broadband speeds, while in New Jersey, 65% of homes do, said NPD.