OLYMPIA – Many families who make their home in certain regions of Washington, particularly the rural communities, are being left out of 21st century advancements in technology.
With an eye toward correcting this “fundamental and wholly unacceptable inequity,” state Rep. John McCoy wants to set up a state Universal Communications Service Program. This program established in McCoy’s House Bill 1857 would:
- Enhance the public network.
- Receive funding through a network-connection fee paid by communications providers and based upon working telephone numbers.
- Fall under the administration of a neutral third party selected by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC).
- Answer to rules adopted by the UTC.
- Advance universal service that is consistent with requirements in the federal Telecommunications Act.
McCoy, who for several years chaired the House Technology, Energy & Communications Committee, stated that a “much more thorough, widespread connection to the public network will help all consumers and communications providers.
“We want to ensure the integrity of the existing system for small, rural companies — and more importantly, for their customers.”
He said that big changes in the communications marketplace “are hurting the ability of some companies to bring communications services to folks in our rural regions.”
“It’s true that citizens who choose to live outside of urban areas are opting to live without some of the amenities that go along with living in the cities or their suburbs,” McCoy said. “But rural people shouldn’t be denied access to reasonable, affordable communications — simply as a result of their choosing to live in a so-called high-cost area.”
He added that “some of those choices are economic-based — such as the need for large tracts of less expensive land — and provide potential employers with greater opportunities for expansion.”
“Small, rural phone companies are facing increasingly dwindling revenue because of regulatory changes,” pointed out Betty Buckley, Executive Director of the Washington Independent Telecommunications Association. “For many decades, universal service — in telecommunications and, more recently, in contemporary information services — has been a goal and policy both at the federal and the state levels.
“More than 20 other states and the District of Columbia are operating state universal-service funds providing strong support for this objective,” Buckley added. “Although Washington state has no such specific fund, the Legislature 15 years ago provided authority for the UTC to plan and implement a fund — subject to approval from the Legislature.”
McCoy and Buckley agreed, too, that urban dwellers should care very much about the health of the traditional landline system, including the system in rural areas of the state.
“Remember, cell-phone calls don’t fly from tower to tower.” Buckley said. “These calls move on landlines between towers. If the landline system collapsed, so-called smart phones would stop working.
“Many of the products urban people care about come from rural areas — everything from electricity to eggs,” she further noted. “Agriculture is the No. 1 employer in the state, and those products keep the ports of Seattle and Everett humming.”
McCoy’s measure is set to receive a public hearing in the House Technology & Economic Development Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. The committee meets in House Hearing Room C on the first floor of the John L. O’Brien Building on the Capitol Campus here in the state capital.