§ 224-C — Broadband and fiber optic services

§ 224-c. Broadband and fiber optic services. 1. For the purposes of\nthis section:\n (a) The term "served" means any location with at least two internet\nservice providers and at least one such provider offers high-speed\ninternet service.\n (b) The term "underserved" means any location which has fewer than two\ninternet service providers, or has internet speeds of at least 25\nmegabits per second (mbps) download but less than 100 mbps download\navailable.\n (c) The term "unserved" means any location which has no fixed wireless\nservice or wired service with speeds of less than 25 mbps download\navailable.\n (d) The term "high-speed internet service" means internet service of\nat least 100 mbps download and at least 10 mbps upload.\n (e) The term "broadband service" shall mean a mass-market retail\nservice that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive\ndata from all or substantially all internet endpoints, including any\ncapabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the\ncommunications service, but shall not include dial-up service.\n (f) The term "location" shall mean a geographic area smaller than a\ncensus tract.\n (g) The term "internet service provider" shall mean any person,\nbusiness or organization qualified to do business in this state that\nprovides individuals, corporations, or other entities with the ability\nto connect to the internet.\n 2. The commission shall study the availability, reliability, and cost\nof high-speed internet and broadband services in New York state. The\ncommission shall, to the extent practicable:\n (a) identify areas at a census block level that are served by a sole\nprovider and assess any state regulatory and statutory barriers related\nto the delivery of comprehensive statewide access to high-speed\ninternet;\n (b) review available technology to identify solutions that best\nsupport high-speed internet service in underserved or unserved areas,\nand make recommendations on ensuring deployment of such technology in\nunderserved and unserved areas;\n (c) identify instances during the study period where local governments\nhave notified the commission of alleged non-compliance with franchise\nagreements and instances of commission or department enforcement actions\nthat have had a direct impact on internet access;\n (d) identify locations where insufficient access to high-speed\ninternet and/or broadband service, and/or persistent digital divide, is\ncausing negative social or economic impact on the community; and\n (e) produce and publish on its website, a detailed internet access map\nof the state, indicating access to internet service by location. Such\nmap shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for\neach location:\n (i) download and upload speeds advertised and experienced;\n (ii) the consistency and reliability of download and upload speeds\nincluding latency;\n (iii) the types of internet service and technologies available\nincluding but not limited to dial-up, broadband, wireless, fiber, coax,\nor satellite;\n (iv) the number of internet service providers available, the price of\ninternet service available; and\n (v) any other factors the commission may deem relevant.\n 3. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and\nrecommendations from the study required in subdivision two of this\nsection, to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the\nspeaker of the assembly no later than one year after the effective date\nof this section, and an updated report annually thereafter. Such report\nshall include, but not be limited to, the following, to the extent such\ninformation is available:\n (a) the overall number of residences with access to high-speed\ninternet identifying which areas are served, unserved and underserved;\n (b) a regional survey of internet service prices in comparison to\ncounty-level median income;\n (c) any relevant consumer subscription statistics;\n (d) any other metrics or analyses the commission deems necessary in\norder to assess the availability, cost, and reliability of internet\nservice in New York state; and\n (e) the map maintained pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision two of\nthis section.\n 4. The commission shall hold at least one public hearing in an upstate\nregion and one in a downstate region within one year of the effective\ndate of this section, to solicit input from the public and other\nstakeholders including but not limited to internet service providers,\ntelecommunications concerns, labor organizations, public safety\norganizations, healthcare, education, agricultural and other businesses\nor organizations.\n 5. To effectuate the purposes of this section, the commission may\nrequest and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau,\ncommission or other agency of the state or any state public authority\nsuch assistance, information and data as will enable the commission to\ncarry out its powers and duties under this section. Additionally,\ninternet service providers shall provide any information and data\nrequested by the commission that is related to the study required under\nthis section.\n