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High-speed Internet to be encouraged but not mandated in Wyoming
The Wyoming Telecommunications Council has decided to encourage but not require telecommunications companies to provide high-speed Internet access to all corners of the state.
Associated Press The Billings Gazette
The council decided Friday to refine its policy statement by deleting references to expanded regulatory powers for the Wyoming Public Service Commission, emphasizing instead state cooperation with the private sector in expanding broadband services.
Commission Chairman Steve Ellenbecker said initial language in the policy statement suggested that the Legislature extend the Public Service Commission’s authority to include telecom services the Federal Communications Commission requires states to oversee.
But the trend over the past decade has been toward less deregulation, so Wyoming might not want to expand the commission’s regulatory authority, Ellenbecker said.
"I think the country is in disarray over the extent to which to regulate, or not, advanced service deployment," he said.
He said state policy-makers might instead want to consider incentives or financing for companies to bring advanced telecom services to areas where it might otherwise be uneconomical.
Council member Bruce Egan likewise said increased regulation might be counterproductive but the state might be in a position to enable the deployment of broadband services.
Another council member, Nina Cornell, suggested expanding the commission’s role to collect information from companies to learn what areas of the state are least likely to acquire access to high-speed telecom services.
But Commissioner Steve Furtney cautioned that while information is critical for state leaders to know where to focus their efforts, companies tend to closely guard their financial information.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal has decided to ask the Legislature to provide $435,000 in funding for the council for fiscal years 2005 and 2006.
That would include $410,430 for the council’s broadband initiative. The initiative would involve developing a strategy and doing an inventory of existing broadband facilities and other telecommunications assets.
It would also involve soliciting proposals from companies on how they would best serve Wyoming’s needs, as well as educating the public and policy-makers and developing a proposal for the Legislature.
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Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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