Minutes 01-27-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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12 John Roberts said they are giving their employees access not serving as an internet service provider; if anyone else happens to gain access then that is OK. In reply to a question from Commissioner Burroughs, John Roberts said a School of Government professor probably would say that the County cannot pay a private internet provider a subsidy to extend service to unserved parts of the county. However, there is a way to give a grant to a service provider who builds something for the County. The County would have control over part of the access and the provider would have control over the other part. They are still looking at how to do that within the bounds of the very restrictive statute. Commissioner Burroughs said can't they simply give them a grant to extend the service. John Roberts said that may be an option. This statute is two years old and there has been no challenge to it yet. Any County can be as aggressive as it wants to be; it will take a taxpayer or private internet service provider to come forward with a lawsuit saying that the County lacks the authority or is giving unfair advantage to a competitor in order for a court to give an opinion on the limits of this statute. Commissioner Jacobs said the new President and the new FCC Chair are both against net neutrality. At the same time, the new FCC Chair believes there is a digital divide in the country. Let's keep in mind the option of negotiating some kind of net neutrality in systems we subsidize. They could provide grants and make arrangements for broadband infrastructure to Cedar Grove, for example, but it might cost households in rural areas an extra $10 or more to download a PowerPoint presentation from our website because without net neutrality the provider can charge by the amount of data received on top of the monthly fee. He added that the Board should be kept apprised of changes under discussion at the federal level regarding broadband and net neutrality. He said federal policy will set the context for the State's policies. Commissioner Marcoplos said the General Assembly pays lip service to helping out rural areas, yet stifles progress. He asked what the status is of broadband-access policy at the State level, and whether the Association of County Commissioners has any influence on this matter. Rather than our going through contortions, they should try to get rid of this restrictive law. Commissioner Rich said she meets regularly with Travis Myren and Jim Northup to talk about broadband. She also is on the National Association of Counties Telecommunications and Technology Committee. There are federal bills under consideration now to make it harder to extend broadband to underserved communities. Maryland is the leader in resolutions on all of this and she can pass along additional information. Commissioner Rich said TJCOG brought in some people in the McCrory Administration to a conference on broadband access. She said she and Jim Northup participated. The state officials pushed the conversation to the limit without supporting changes to the state law. They make it sound like they are doing the best they can to help everybody, but they did not try to change any of those laws. The problem is the lobbying by the telecommunications companies. Commissioner Rich said that the County already is providing subsidies through its hotspots program. They are already partnering, and need to figure out how to expand the partnership. In reply to a question from Commissioner Rich, John Roberts said it is not specifically prohibited under state law for the County to distribute hotspot devices to residents. In reply to a question from Commissioner Burroughs, John Roberts said one or two North Carolina municipalities, including Wilson, have special legislative authority to provide internet service. Commissioner Burroughs said it would be good to know how much it is costing these municipalities to provide internet services. They keep thinking that it would be better if they had the authority but they also need some ballpark estimates in order to understand whether they could afford it. Is this really something they should be hoping for. Jim Northup said each hotspot costs the County $480 per unit per year.