The Office of Consumer Counsel’s fledgling and controversial State Broadband Office isn’t backing down from its push for deeper government involvement in facilitating the buildout of gigabit-speed Internet infrastructure.
The office, which has drawn the ire of telecom providers for its efforts, released a report Tuesday recommending that the state legislature consider funding and tax incentives to support the buildout of last-mile connections to higher-speed broadband Internet, including fiber-to-the-premises — which the report said is increasingly recognized as the “ultimate platform for communications networks.”
The Broadband Office also wants the legislature to create an infrastructure bank, akin to the Connecticut Green Bank, to provide lower-cost financing options for municipalities to buildout affordable, high-speed Internet in underserved areas. Cities and towns could lease network capacity to private carriers, raise property taxes in new service areas or employ other strategies to service that debt, the report said.
The telecom industry responded to the report and its proposals arguing it replicates what’s already being done by the private sector, would cost the state too much and likely lead to tax increases.
The report, “Opportunities for the State and Localities to Enable World-Class Broadband,” was prepared by OCC’s consultant CTC Technology & Energy.
It argues that, while Connecticut businesses and residents are relatively well served by Internet providers, and that incremental FTTP deployments by Comcast and Frontier should be commended, gaps remain across the state, and that the state’s Internet infrastructure confers no discernible competitive advantage with other states.
The report warned Connecticut could fall behind states like New York, which is investing $500 million to ensure every resident there has access to high-speed service by late 2018. OCC would also like to copy New York City’s WireScore program, which identifies buildings with robust broadband to help companies looking to locate or relocate to the region.
The legislature could also enact “dig once” policies to ensure that cable and fiber are laid in the ground during construction projects, to lower the overall costs of installations, the report said.
Paul Cianelli, president and CEO of the New England Cable & Telecommunications Association, said Wednesday morning that the report confirms many concerns held by his industry group.
Cianelli contends that the report: Underestimates the construction costs of government-sponsored broadband networks; fails to recognize NECTA’s contention that the government shouldn’t invest as much as $3 billion on a network that is being built and upgraded as quickly as possible by the private sector; and that the proposed financing models would lead to higher taxes.
He added that comparing the Green Bank’s focus on “the relatively new and still risky solar energy business” to an Internet infrastructure bank “is poorly considered and would again create a system requiring higher taxes.”
OCC released its latest broadband report on the eve of an event Wednesday morning at the Capitol. Speakers at the Connecticut Broadband Conference include Comptroller Kevin Lembo, Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz, Sen. Beth Bye, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and others.
While the Broadband Office presses on educating municipalities on potential public-private partnership models to build out infrastructure, the office — created last year by the legislature — faces an uncertain future. Gov. Dannel Malloy has proposed eliminating funding for the office.
OCC had hoped to secure $20 million for a high-speed Internet pilot program, but the legislation died in committee this week.
Now, the agency is partly pinning its hopes on Senate Bill 445, which would create a bioscience and health data network collaborative task force to develop a strategic plan for the private development of a gigabit-speed broadband network. The task force would assess current and anticipated network needs of those industries, as well as how the state could encourage such development through public-private partnerships and other strategies.
NECTA, Frontier and the Connecticut Business & Industry Association testified against the bill, saying the task force is unnecessary because providers are already investing in bettering their networks and because they feel the government should subsidize industry competition.
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