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Broadband Legislation

2004

SB 245 Telecommunications services; local exchange (2002)
Patron - William C. Wampler, Jr.

Summary as passed:
Local telecommunications services. Provides that any certificate for local exchange service or interexchange service granted by the SCC after July 1, 2002, shall be for service throughout the Commonwealth. Each local exchange carrier that was certificated before July 1, 2002, to provide service in part of the Commonwealth shall be certificated to provide local exchange service throughout the Commonwealth beginning September 1, 2002. The bill authorizes any county, city or town that operates an electric distribution system to provide telephone services within any locality in which it has electric distribution system facilities as of March 1, 2002, if the locality obtains a certificate for such service from the SCC and complies with all applicable laws and regulations for the provision of competitive telecommunications services. A county, city or town that does not obtain a certificate to provide telephone services may offer qualifying telecommunications services, including high-speed data service and Internet access service, upon application to the SCC. The SCC shall approve such a petition if it is in the public interest, and if the proposed services are not available in quantity, quality, and price from three or more providers in the proposed geographic area. This bill is identical to HB 1021.

As of July 2005, the Cities of Franklin, Danville (d/b/a Danville Department of Utilities), Bristol (d/b/a Bristol Utilities), Manassas, Salem, Martinsville, and the Town of Front Royal have been granted MLEC (Municipal Local Exchange Carrier) status.  The City of Radford’s application is pending.

SB 942 Wireless enhanced 9-1-1 surcharge (2003)
Patron - Charles J. Colgan

Summary as passed:
Wireless enhanced 9-1-1 surcharge. Specifies how CMRS providers can collect the wireless E-911 surcharge. Under the current statute, the surcharge is defined as a monthly charge billed monthly. Because prepaid wireless is not billed monthly, the bill provides that the surcharge may be collected either through monthly billing, adding the surcharge at the point of sale, or deducting an equivalent number of minutes.

SB 148 Enhanced Public Safety Telephone Services (E-911) (2000)
Patron - Kenneth W. Stolle

Summary as passed:
Enhanced Public Safety Telephone Services (E-911). Establishes the Wireless E-911 Services Board and the Public Safety Communications Division of the Department of Technology Planning, and continues the Wireless E-911 special fund. The Board shall be responsible for promoting and assisting the development, deployment and maintenance of a statewide enhanced emergency telecommunications system and enhanced wireline emergency telecommunication services in specific local jurisdictions not currently wireline E-911 capable. The Board shall also be responsible for overseeing and allocating the wireless E-911 special funds and managing moneys appropriated for enhanced wireline emergency telecommunication services in local jurisdictions not wireline E-911 capable as of July 1, 2000. Each mobile service provider shall collect a surcharge in the amount of 75 cents per month per customer, to be paid into the Wireless E-911 Fund. The Board shall use the moneys in the fund to pay the operators of the systems for their costs of operation pursuant to a budget proposal submitted to and reviewed by the Board. The Board shall have enforcement authority to ensure that funds are spent for their intended purposes and shall review each operator's actual expenditures at the end of each year. Local jurisdictions which have or will establish enhanced E-911 services are authorized to impose a special tax in an amount not to exceed $3.00 per month per customer to be accounted for in a separate special revenue fund or in a cost center and revenue accounting system acceptable to the Auditor of Public Accounts. Funds collected from the tax shall be used to pay for reasonable and direct capital costs and operating expenses incurred by the E-911 service facility. All local jurisdictions are required to be operating a wireline E-911 system by July 1, 2003. Certain documents submitted to the Wireless Carrier E-911 Cost Recovery Subcommittee created by the bill are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and the Subcommittee is granted an exemption to convene in a closed meeting when discussing or considering such documents.