Regulation, access to service and lack of infrastructure for broadband Internet services continue to be at issue both in the courts and with Congress this year.
Rhode Island may be a model state as it is the most penetrated state for broadband access and is one of few states in the country that allows cable service providers to operate statewide.
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Broadband – a high-speed communication connection that moves quicker than traditional phone lines – is available through cable modems, digital subscriber lines (DSL), wireless satellite, power lines (BPL), fiber optics to the home (FTTH) or Long Reach Ethernet (LRE).
There is currently little competition in the U.S. market and disagreements over the traditional ways communication is regulated have prevented companies from investing in infrastructure.
The Federal Communications Commission says cable companies are information services and should be free from regulation and government requirements to open their networks to competitors as telephone companies are required to do.
In October 2003, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC was incorrect in making that distinction and rejected the FCC’s request for a re-hearing, but the Supreme Court has agreed to review the case.
“Cable service is regulated one way and telephone DSL services are regulated another, but they are both Internet-access services, which should remain unregulated,” said Jeff Campbell, director of technology and communications policy for Cisco Systems, a provider of Internet-access equipment. “Investing in broadband is risky and expensive and companies that do it should be able to reap the benefits.”
Cable service providers operating in Rhode Island are allowed to provide services at the same rate in any town in the state, but in most states cable providers negotiate with individual towns.
“Companies don’t want to make major infrastructure investments in towns that might not renew a contract again. Cox made investments in Rhode Island because we are allowed to operate statewide to compete with Verizon, which also operates throughout the state,” said Cox Vice President of Government Affairs John Wolfe.
Over the past seven years, Cox has invested more than $300 million in broadband infrastructure in Rhode Island, helping make it one of the most broadband-ready states in the country with the choice of cable broadband or telephone-based services.
Verizon is required by law to lease lines at wholesale prices to other service providers that don’t have infrastructure.
“If a business wants to relocate in Rhode Island, they have a choice of broadband service providers. It isn’t like that everywhere,” Wolfe said.
Rhode Island’s small size and dense population made it a good candidate for broadband infrastructure investment, said James Lanni, associate administrator of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission Telecommunications Division.
The town of Foster most recently received infrastructure to access broadband through Cox, but areas where houses are very sparse may not have access to broadband because infrastructure investments in those areas can’t be justified, he said.
As countries around the world gain access to the Internet, America is falling behind. President Bush has reiterated a goal of making America No. 1 in broadband penetration – up from a global ranking of 11 – by making the high-speed Internet service available to all Americans by 2007.
