Residents of Washington, D.C., spend the most in the U.S. on streaming, an average $52.59 monthly, reported Reviews.org Monday. New Mexicans spend the least, $39.58. The 54% of Americans with a cable subscription pay an average $107 monthly for service.
Comcast again delayed implementing its data cap plan for numerous Eastern states, now until 2022. "While only a very small percentage of customers need additional data, we are providing them with more time to become familiar with the new plan," it blogged Thursday. The cable ISP said this month it was pausing overage fees until August on the 1.2 TB limit in Eastern and Northeastern states (see 2102030017). That delay didn't end concerns from state and local officials. See our report here.
The Virginia Senate voted 38-1 to make permanent a pilot program letting electric utilities petition the State Corporation Commission to provide broadband to unserved areas. The House unanimously passed HB-2304 earlier this month (see 2102010035). It goes next to Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who didn’t comment.
T-Mobile, working with the Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners and the Georgia Institute of Technology, announced Wednesday the creation of the 5G Connected Future incubator program in suburban Atlanta's Gwinnett County. T-Mobile deployed both of its 5G offerings across Peachtree Corners, it said: “Here developers will build and test new 5G use cases.”
State lawmakers from both parties are proposing increased broadband cash due to COVID-19, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson blogged Tuesday, listing plans in nearly half the states that would total more than $2 billion. “Few of these proposals are a done deal,” but “this is a far greater amount of state broadband funding than anything we’ve seen in the past and reflects the serious nature of the rural broadband divide,” Dawson wrote.
Vermont legislators supported “clawing back” some state broadband funding from Comcast or other ISPs that impose internet data caps on consumers. To have a company impose an “arbitrary” cap to control traffic when Vermont is spending large amounts of money for broadband during COVID-19 “makes me feel like we’re being used,” state Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Sears (D) told a virtual hearing Friday. “Maybe they should pay us back.” Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan (D) urged Comcast Thursday to delay overage charges for the caps until 30 days after the state ends its pandemic emergency executive order. The Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to support Donovan's letter. The panel plans to make recommendations to the Finance and General Affairs and Economic Development committees, said Sears, who acknowledged possible jurisdictional issues given federal preemptions on states regulating information services. ISPs shouldn’t benefit from state broadband funding while “digging deeper into their customer base for profit,” said Sen. Phil Baruth (D). He pitched one way Vermont legislators could respond: "If we were to calculate since the pandemic started, how many customers have been added to each company via our expansion of broadband, and then we were to create some kind of fee on each company designed to claw back some of that new revenue, and then we used that for a grant to pay for low-income [people] who are getting hit with this cap.” Sears said the committee could recommend that. Donovan wrote Comcast that he's getting complaints from the cable company's customers. "Consumers say they have been frustrated to learn that their internet services will be subject to new fees and restrictions, even for those consumers who had signed up for service with a long-term contract. This has been particularly unwelcome news for consumers to receive during the ongoing pandemic, when consumers are experiencing financial insecurity and remote work and schooling requirements must be met." Comcast is listening to concerns, said its State Government Relations Director John Sutich. The cable operator gave customers a data usage tool and is trying to be clear and transparent in notices, he said. "We absolutely acknowledge" the internet’s importance during the pandemic, “but there are instances where a few users can drive" large amounts of traffic, he said.
The Maryland General Assembly enacted a digital sales tax opposed by advertisers. The Senate voted 29-17 Friday to override a veto by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on HB-732. The House overrode the veto Thursday (see 2102110052). At the livestreamed floor vote, Sen. Stephen Hershey (R) said the first-in-the-country state digital tax will hurt small businesses in the midst of a pandemic. Google and Facebook aren’t suffering during COVID-19, countered Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D). “That’s who this bill addresses.” Lawmakers worried about tech companies passing costs to small businesses should support bills (HB-1200/SB-787) up for hearing later this month to prevent that and to exempt news media, he said. Tech companies are too smart to absorb the tax’s costs and will figure a way around the proposed fixes, disagreed Senate Minority Leader Bryan Simonaire (R). The Maryland law "needs to be overturned in the courts," said Dan Jaffe, Association of National Advertisers group executive vice president-government relations. “ANA believes this law will be found to be unconstitutional and violates the Internet Tax Fairness Act that bans discriminatory taxes on Internet digital communications."
Maryland House members voted 88-48 to override a veto by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on digital ad tax bill HB-732. The Senate is expected to vote Friday. It's unfair Facebook and Google don’t pay Maryland taxes, said House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke (D) during the livestreamed floor vote. Those companies are engaged in “fear mongering,” threatening to raise ad costs due to the proposed Maryland law, he said. “We're calling their bluff” by proposing HB-1200/SB-787 to prevent companies passing costs to small businesses, he said. Those bills exempt news media and are scheduled for hearing later this month (see 2102080040). Republican delegates urged legislators to sustain the veto. The proposed tax is an “attack on small business,” said Del. Jesse Pippy (R). The state tax isn’t allowed by the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, said Del. Mike Griffith (R).
SpaceX's Starlink has begun accepting preorders in some parts of the U.S., per its website. For some addresses in the Washington, D.C., area, the site said the company is targeting coverage in mid- to late 2021 and quoted $499 for hardware and $99 for monthly service, with a preorder price of $99 due upfront.