February 2017

In Jan, Gov John Hickenlooper (D-CO) announced the creation of a broadband office that he said would move the state from 70 percent to 80 percent coverage by the end of 2018 and to 100 percent by 2020. He'll likely have to do it with little to no help from the General Assembly.

In the past two weeks, efforts by Democratic senators to find ways to expand broadband coverage to mostly rural areas have fallen by the wayside, lacking support in the Republican-controlled Senate. The first bill would have lifted a restriction on local governments (cities, towns and counties) that want to offer cable television, telecommunications service, or high-speed Internet access. State law currently requires those local governments to seek voter approval before creating their own local broadband access. That bill died on a 4-3 vote in the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee. The second bill, also killed by the business committee, would have required the Public Utilities Commission to move a little faster on implementing parts of the state's 2014 broadband reform law. That included coming up with a definition of effective competition; once that's done, the PUC would be expected to transfer more dollars from a state account that is funded by fees, paid for by telecommunications companies, based on landline services. The fund, known as the "High Cost Support Mechanism," has seen revenues decline in the last few years as people move away from having landlines.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) laid down another marker on the issue of broadband privacy, headlining a press conference with privacy groups vowing to fight Republican efforts in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission to roll back FCC broadband privacy rules. Sen Markey said that Democrats would wage a historic battle to preserve the rules, as well as the Open Internet order to which it is linked. He called Internet service providers gatekeepers and said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was doing their bidding by trying to roll back the rules, starting with data security protections. He said that would allow ISPs to ignore best practices and make sensitive information more vulnerable.

“Without the FCC’s broadband privacy rules, broadband providers will be able to sell dossiers of the personal and professional lives of their subscribers to the highest bidder without their consent.‎ We cannot allow the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans to put corporate interests before consumer protections. I will oppose any effort to roll back these important broadband privacy rules, either by Congress or at the FCC,” Sen Markey said.

Sen Angus King (I-ME) led five of his colleagues, including Sen Susan Collins (R-ME), in sending a bipartisan letter calling on the Federal Communications Commission to work to avoid cuts or spending reductions to the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, which helps deliver vital health care services and telemedicine to people who live in rural areas by providing funding for broadband. The letter specifically calls on the FCC to act on the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition’s recently filed letter, which recommends funding mechanisms that would avoid service disruptions to patients and health clinics in rural areas.

“We ask you to address the future of the RHC as soon as possible. The Commission can and should take steps to avoid flash cuts or sudden funding reductions for health care providers that use this vital program. […] Because previously committed funds have already been collected, re-allocation of these funds will not require increased universal service fund collections. The Commission could take such action immediately on an interim basis to ensure that health care providers and consortia do not face funding reductions, thereby giving the Commission time to work on strengthening the future of the RHC program," the letter read.