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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 25, 2021 09:18 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Perry A. Stambaugh |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Faster Rural Broadband |
| In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that updates Chapter 30 of Title 66 to reflect the modern telecommunications speeds needed by our constituents. Chapter 30 defines ‘broadband’ as 1.544 megabits per second downstream and 128 kilobits per second upstream. The Federal Communications Commission’s latest dispersal of awards through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund required minimum speeds of 25 megabits per second downstream and 3 megabits per second upstream, with most winning applicants far exceeding those metrics. My bill will update Chapter 30 to require those same speeds, or the minimum speeds adopted by the Federal Communications Commission, to prevent the need for future updates to this section. It will also require local exchange telephone companies subject to Chapter 30 of Title 66 to be able to offer such service within 10 days of a request for service by January 1, 2025. The broadband speeds contemplated in Chapter 30 of Title 66 were arguably out of date before the ink on the bill was dry, and they are sorely in need of updating. Please join me in helping to permanently fix this problem. |
Introduced as HB1042