Content Archives: Investing in Rural Broadband

Dear Chairs Phillips-Hill and Kane:

On behalf of all of Pennsylvania’s incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), we respectfully ask you to consider reporting Senate Bill 341 out of the Senate Communications & Technology Committee as soon as possible.

This legislation modernizes the telecommunications sections of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Code and removes some of the decades-old, monopoly-era regulations which are irrelevant and unnecessary in today’s environment.

All the state’s ILECs are offering voice and broadband services in a highly competitive
telecommunications market while being in the only class of providers fully regulated by the
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). These companies provide a mere fraction of the voice subscriptions they did when most of these regulations were implemented and the cost to comply with them diverts valuable resources away from critical investments such as broadband deployment.

At the same time, SB 341 protects Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens by protecting low-income programs such as Lifeline, establishes a more customer-friendly process to resolve complaints, and retains PUC oversight with regard to ILEC provision of adequate, efficient, safe, and reasonable service.

We look forward to working with you, Senate Communications & Technology Committee
members, and all Senators on modernizing our Public Utility Code and urge you to call any of the undersigned with questions or concerns.
Sincerely,

Steven J. Samara, Pennsylvania Telephone Association

Brett Biggica, Lumen/CenturyLink

Jeanne S. Shearer, Windstream Pennsylvania

Bruce Mottern, TDS Telecom

Steven D. Tourje, NEP Telephone

Carly Yastermski, Frontier Communications

A day after a stakeholder discussion on closing the digital divide, the full Senate approved legislation, SB 1112, that would eliminate outdated Public Utility Commission regulations that are inhibiting investment in rural broadband.
“Many of the regulations that exist in the state’s Public Utility Code have been in place for decades while changes in technology and in the telecommunications marketplace have made these costly requirements unnecessary or illogical,” said Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), the sponsor of the legislation. “Without modernizing our outdated laws, we will continue to see a widening gap in our digital divide.”

Broadband legislation advances in General Assembly

Senate Consumer Protection committee clears Phillips-Hill telco dereg legislation that would increase investment in rural broadband

Legislation that would remove major regulatory barriers for telecommunications companies to begin improving access to high-speed internet received the overwhelming support of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on Tuesday, according to Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), who sponsored the measure.

“Now more than ever, it is absolutely apparent that our digital divide is leaving many behind, including students,” Phillips-Hill said.

Under Phillips-Hill’s legislation, certain telecommunications providers would be provided some much-needed regulatory relief so they can more easily deploy broadband to areas of the state that do not currently have access. It will modernize Chapters 63 and 64 of the Public Utility Code and require the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to waive certain regulations, review regulations every three years and eliminate those that are no longer necessary or in the public interest.

According to Phillips-Hill, many of the regulations which exist in the state’s Public Utility Code have been in place for decades while changes in technology and in the telecommunications marketplace have made these costly requirements unnecessary or illogical.

Chapters 63 and 64 of the Code, which contain regulations for telephone companies, have not been subject to any comprehensive review to examine their relevancy and application to the realities of today’s telecommunications industry.

“I have heard from many individuals about the challenges this has posed and they have asked for the digital divide to be closed sooner rather than later as high-speed internet is needed now during the COVID-19 pandemic more than ever in our history,” she said.

Last year, Phillips-Hill and the Senate Communications and Technology Committee, which she chairs, held a series of hearings across the state to review how to close the digital divide in Pennsylvania. Following the hearings, the committee released a report outlining the suggestions provided by stakeholders at the public hearings. One of the three key findings of the committee was to address archaic regulations in state statute.

“As we continue to advance long-term solutions, the regulatory relief I am proposing will allow our telecommunications companies to be nimbler and more responsive to the needs and challenges we face today,” she added.