Bill Text: NY S08805 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the public service commission to review broadband and fiber optic services within the state and requires the expansion of broadband and fiber optic services.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-6)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2020-12-29 - delivered to governor [S08805 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08805-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8805 IN SENATE July 17, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sens. METZGER, MAY, GALLIVAN, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, BIAGGI, BORRELLO, BOYLE, BROOKS, CARLUCCI, GAUGHRAN, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HELMING, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, JORDAN, KAMINSKY, KENNEDY, KRUEGER, LIU, MARTINEZ, MAYER, MYRIE, ORTT, PARKER, PERSAUD, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SAVI- NO, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to the public service commission reviewing broadband and fiber optic services within the state The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "comprehensive broadband connectivity act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and declares 4 that access to high-speed internet is a fundamental right and it is 5 incumbent upon the State to ensure provision of this right to every New 6 Yorker. Yet many areas of the state do not have access to adequate 7 broadband services. The lack of competition in the telecommunications 8 marketplace has been a cause of deteriorated service for customers and 9 users of regulated telephonic and telecommunications services. The lack 10 of access to adequate internet services for schools, businesses, fami- 11 lies, and healthcare facilities has had substantial negative economic 12 and social impact particularly in rural and other underserved and 13 unserved communities. 14 § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 224-c 15 to read as follows: 16 § 224-c. Broadband and fiber optic services. 1. For the purposes of 17 this section: 18 (a) The term "served" means any location with at least two internet 19 service providers and at least one such provider offers high-speed 20 internet service. 21 (b) The term "underserved" means any location which has fewer than two 22 internet service providers, or has internet speeds of at least 25 mega- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00855-09-0S. 8805 2 1 bits per second (mbps) download but less than 100 mbps download avail- 2 able. 3 (c) The term "unserved" means any location which has no fixed wireless 4 service or wired service with speeds of 25 mbps download or less avail- 5 able. 6 (d) The term "high-speed internet service" means internet service of 7 at least 100 mbps download and at least 10 mbps upload. 8 (e) The term "broadband service" shall mean a mass-market retail 9 service that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive 10 data from all or substantially all internet endpoints, including any 11 capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the 12 communications service, but shall not include dial-up service. 13 (f) The term "location" shall mean a geographic area smaller than a 14 census tract. 15 (g) The term "internet service provider" shall mean any person, busi- 16 ness or organization qualified to do business in this state that 17 provides individuals, corporations, or other entities with the ability 18 to connect to the internet. 19 2. The commission shall study the availability, affordability and 20 reliability of high-speed internet and broadband services in New York 21 state. The commission shall: 22 (a) assess the efficacy and make recommendations regarding levels of 23 competition among providers, as well as any regulatory and statutory 24 barriers, in order to deliver comprehensive statewide access to high- 25 speed internet; 26 (b) review available technology to identify solutions that best 27 support high-speed internet service in underserved or unserved areas, 28 and make recommendations on ensuring deployment of such technology in 29 underserved and unserved areas; 30 (c) identify instances where local franchise agreements and legal 31 settlements related to internet access have not been complied with; 32 (d) identify locations where insufficient access to high-speed inter- 33 net and/or broadband service, and/or persistent digital divide, is caus- 34 ing negative social or economic impact on the community; 35 (e) identify locations where the commission believes fiber optic 36 service is necessary for the successful implementation of commission's 37 policies on competition, affordability, and adequate service; 38 (f) examine any other telecommunications deficiencies affecting broad- 39 band service it deems necessary to further the economic and social goals 40 of the state; and 41 (g) produce, maintain and publish on its website, a detailed internet 42 access map of the state, indicating access to internet service by 43 location. Such map shall include, but not be limited to, the following 44 information for each location: 45 (i) download and upload speeds advertised and experienced; 46 (ii) the consistency and reliability of download and upload speeds 47 including latency; 48 (iii) the types of internet service and technologies available includ- 49 ing but not limited to dial-up, broadband, wireless, fiber, coax, or 50 satellite; 51 (iv) the number of internet service providers available, the price of 52 internet service available; and 53 (v) any other factors the commission may deem relevant. 54 3. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommen- 55 dations from the study required in subdivision two of this section, to 56 the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker ofS. 8805 3 1 the assembly no later than one year after the effective date of this 2 section, and an updated report annually thereafter. Such report shall 3 include, but not be limited to, the following: 4 (a) the overall number of residences with access to high-speed inter- 5 net identifying which areas are served, unserved and underserved; 6 (b) a regional survey of internet service prices in comparison to 7 county-level median income; 8 (c) an analysis of the affordability of high-speed internet service in 9 New York state; 10 (d) any relevant usage statistics; 11 (e) any other metrics or analyses the commission deems necessary in 12 order to assess the availability, affordability and reliability of 13 internet service in New York state; and 14 (f) the map maintained pursuant to paragraph (g) of subdivision two of 15 this section. 16 4. The commission shall hold at least four regional public hearings 17 within one year of the effective date of this section, to solicit input 18 from the public and other stakeholders including but not limited to 19 internet service providers, telecommunications concerns, labor organiza- 20 tions, public safety organizations, healthcare, education, agricultural 21 and other businesses or organizations. 22 5. The commission shall work with internet service providers in the 23 state to prioritize access to broadband and fiber optic services for the 24 communities determined to have experienced negative economic and social 25 impacts due to absent, insufficient, or inadequate broadband or fiber 26 optic service pursuant to subdivision one of this section. 27 6. To effectuate the purposes of this section, the commission may 28 request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, 29 commission or other agency of the state or any state public authority 30 such assistance, information and data as will enable the commission to 31 carry out its powers and duties under this section. 32 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 33 have become a law.