By LACIE PIERSON
The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A bill that expands state policies with the goal of expanding high-speed internet and broadband access in the Mountain State began making its way through the West Virginia Legislature this week.
If signed into law, House Bill 3093 would establish a pilot program that would allow cooperative associations to provide high-speed internet and broadband services in underserved areas.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Del. Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, presented the bill during a public hearing in the House of Delegates chamber Thursday morning.
The bill will be the subject of a public hearing at 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 17, in the House chamber.
House Bill 3093 also includes provisions that would establish in state code the unfair and deceptive practice of an internet service provider advertising their services as having speeds “up to” a certain amount, and it would reorganize and expand the powers and duties of the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council.
The bill would make it unlawful for an internet service provider to advertise, or to include in a service contract, a data rate in terms of the highest possible speed. Instead, the provider would have to refer to the data plan in terms of the minimum data rate possible in its advertisements or when establishing a contract.
When it comes to establishing broadband co-ops, the bill would allow for up to three municipalities or counties to establish a nonprofit cooperative association to provide high-speed internet and broadband within their geographic boundaries, and groups of 20 or more households could set up a broadband co-op as well.
In HB 3093, the Broadband Enhancement Council, which was established in 2016, would be reformed.
The 13-member council would be eligible for funding through state appropriations and donations, and it also could seek funding through grants, which could be distributed for any of its duties or programs, according to the bill.
Council members would be reimbursed for travel costs but otherwise receive no salaries.
While the bill makes the council eligible for state dollars, it appeared unlikely it would receive any state money in fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1, 2017, as Hanshaw said the measure was a revenue neutral one during his presentation.
The bill charges members of the council with a five-point set of duties including the exploration of “any and all” ways to expand broadband access throughout the state.
Council members also would have to gather data regarding the actual broadband speeds West Virginia customers were experiencing and compare them to the rates their broadband providers advertised.
Third, the bill’s language instructs members to explore the potential for increased use of broadband service for education, career readiness, workforce preparation and other career training.
Finally, the council members would have to collaborate in the expansion of electronic instruction and distance education.
The bill additionally includes a measure to establish a voluntary pipeline donation program wherein owners of abandoned pipelines in the state could donate them to the state to facilitate broadband service through the placement of fiber where the pipelines are located.
Council members also would be responsible for mapping the strength and accessibility of the state’s broadband services.
The maps created by the council would have to specifically designate unserved and underserved areas of the state.
The bill also would allow the council to set up a voluntary data collection program, through which internet service providers would submit data regarding any home or regional data rate meters that are utilized by the providers.
The bill’s language says the data collected would not include a person’s personal web history, search information or any other information that would identify a person in connection with an IP address or physical address.
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