Hartford Business Journal

HartfordBusiness.com | February 22, 2021 | Hartford Business Journal 21 AN INDIVIDUAL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. A TEAM CAN MAKE A MIRACLE. At Sullivan & LeShane, we create success for our clients by working together, leveraging our individual strengths and delivering results. Congratulations Paddi & Patrick on being named to the Hartford Business Journal's Power 50! 287-289 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 www.ctlobby.com | www.ctpr.com | (860) 560-0000 We make things happen. will cost billions and already puts stress on companies in the very competitive Connecticut market, Wilkerson added. Telecom companies employ 6,000 people in the state and Charter recently doubled its headcount in Stamford. Fee fracas Adding to the tensions around the broadband issue is the sensitivity to any kind of price increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comcast recently drew fire for a plan announced in November to impose a new cap starting in March on data for residential users. Under the cap, the company would have charged an additional $10 per 50 gigabytes increment of data customers used above 1.2 terabits, up to as much as $100 a month, a surcharge it said would only have affected 5% of customers. Attorney General William Tong took aim at Comcast's plan in early February, accusing the provider of ignoring pandemic hardships and withholding data. "I believe it is unconscionable to raise rates on Connecticut families when they need broadband internet the most and they are least able to bear higher cost for that service," Tong said. "Connecticut families deserve choice in their broadband services, and it is well past time to expand competition and local regulation in this industry," he continued. Facing criticism in several states, Comcast said it would suspend any new caps or fees until July. Expanding access What may be working against the providers in talks with the state is the growing perception that high-speed internet access has become a vital utility like power and water. With so many working or learning from home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials see a greater role for themselves in controlling corporate behavior. Tong's statement on Comcast's proposed data cap reflects the changing perception of providers, along with the desire by government to step up regulation, as policymakers increasingly view the internet as an essential utility. The pandemic created a "new normal," "yet this 'new normal' unfolded with great difficulty for many households," stated a September report on the state's digital divide compiled by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and Dalio Education. "Without broadband, moving school from classrooms to the internet was impossible for millions of households with school- age children." With detailed breakdowns of the extent of the broadband gap in various communities, the report concluded that Connecticut needed the governor to issue an executive order calling for the development of a state broadband plan and "State Broadband Office." Digital divides in communities of color and cities like Hartford make the expansion of broadband use imperative, the report concluded. In response to issues highlighted by the report, private philanthropies like Dalio Education partnered with the state and community givers like the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving early in the pandemic to address the digital divide, leading to the announcement in December that every public school student in Connecticut now had a laptop and access to high-speed internet. Dalio also announced a partnership in July to install a network of wireless access points across Hartford. The initial pilot phase of that project focused on neighborhoods in the northeast section of the city and will be rolled out in other neighborhoods throughout 2021, according to the Hartford Foundation. From luxury to necessity Beyond affordability programs and philanthropic efforts, closing the digital divide requires making the decision to treat connectivity like any other utility, said Joe DeLong, executive director and CEO of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. "We need to start looking at internet providers the same way we look at other utilities that are considered to be necessities. We're almost as dependent on internet connectivity as we are on electricity," Delong said. As a fundamental infrastructure issue, the expansion of internet access should be taken on by the federal government much like rural electrification was taken on in the 1930s, Delong added. State leaders have urged the state's D.C. delegation to include broadband in the infrastructure bill soon to be taken up by Congress. In the meantime, telecom companies should be brought to the table to help bridge the gap, Delong said. "I don't believe that the providers are the enemy here by any stretch," Delong said. "They're a very Joe Delong William Tong Digital adoption by income in CT All $25-50k $50-75k $75-150k Broadband of any type 87% 81.00% 90.50% 94.90% Wireline broadband at home 76.70% 66.60% 79.40% 86.90% Computer (desktop/laptop) 80.10% 69.60% 82.00% 91.00% Tablet 64.90% 50.40% 62.80% 75.40% Tablet or laptop 85.20% 77.70% 88.70% 94.40% Number of households 1,378,087 247,125 208,045 397,147 Source: CONNECTICUT'S DIGITAL DIVIDE • SEP 2020 important partner in working with the state in figuring out how to get it done." Promotional photo for Comcast's low-cost plan.

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