Ruggiero: If It's Not Fiber, It's Not Broadband

This column was submitted by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown). Ruggiero is chairwoman of the House Innovation, Internet and Technology Committee.

JAMESTOWN, RI — Rhode Island is one of only two states that does not have a broadband coordinator, or any governance around broadband technology. Isn’t that ironic, since the internet is how we live and work! It’s time to revisit the 2015 policy decision the state made to disband the RI Broadband office that was accessing federal dollars to move into a broadband eco-system.

Internet providers will say that “Rhode Island has access to more broadband than any other state in the country; 98% of homes have fiber-optic broadband running outside their front door.” It’s true. It’s called the Middle Mile. Our state has 48 strands of high-speed fiber-optic— a technology highway that has no on/off ramps for business, residents, or municipalities to access.

The state handed over this asset to a private cable provider which built on/off ramps leased by hospitals, colleges, universities, schools, and libraries to access the Middle Mile and compete in a 21st century global economy. Yet it has refused to build the ramps for businesses, residents, and municipalities, all of which are working in the same environment.

Why (and how) did a Rhode Island abdicate this state asset to a private cable company?

Rhode Island needs to do what Connecticut and Massachusetts have already done— get away from a vendor-centric incumbent cable company — and buy back the state asset.

Government understands infrastructure; it builds roads, bridges, and airports. Like a state airport, the state could offer space to internet service providers (like an airline at the airport), offer service packages and system maintenance to residents, businesses, and municipalities. Imagine having a choice with internet service providers, like with airlines. Watch how fast prices will drop and services will increase!

Internet service is like electricity. We don’t want to understand how we get it; we just want it to be there when turn a computer on. Many people don’t know if their service is competitive (it’s not) or if they’re paying too much for poor service (you are) compared to folks in nearby Massachusetts.

The number one complaint from residents and small businesses on Aquidneck Island is not government regulations or taxes; it’s slow, unreliable internet service. The internet buffers, freezes, or goes down completely, sometimes in the middle of a sale. There are seven Rhode Island municipalities that have no internet choice and are served by one cable service provider. I represent two of those municipalities.

Rhode Island’s poor internet service is also very expensive compared to Massachusetts and Connecticut. On Aquidneck Island, residents and businesses pay $1.06 per megabit per second (Mbps) compared to folks in Taunton, Mass. who pay 30 cents per Mbps. It’s why many businesses are relocating.

Just like water and electricity, high-speed internet is a utility. My bill, which would create an 11-member broadband council and establish a broadband coordinator within the RI Commerce Corporation, passed the House unanimously with bipartisan support this year, but was blocked in the Senate.

This legislation and community activism spurred the cable company to let Aquidneck Island folks know that, for the first time in over a decade, upgrades would be made to the old coaxial system. They’re changing IP addresses and re-routing the traffic congestion on their internet network, but that is really amplifying old technology with a marketing spin.

What really needs to happen in our state is an RFP to build the last mile- the on/off ramps for everyone to access the 48 strands of high-speed fiber optic that is running throughout this state.

But a private company makes profit by taking money out, not putting money into capital investments. That’s why the state needs to get serious about broadband and move from the 1990s into the 21st century economy.

This must become a gubernatorial issue next year because if we make it one, state leaders will finally listen!

— Rep. Deborah Ruggiero