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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0445.001 2010-2012DOMINIC YAGONG Chair & Presiding Officer K. ANGEL PILAGO Vice Chair October 26, 2011 To: From: Re: HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai`i Hawai`i County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 Members of the Hawai`i County C hncil Dominic Yagong, Chairperson FRED BLAS BRENDA FORD PETE HOFFMANN DONALD IKEDA DENNIS "FRESH" ONISHI BRITTANY SMART J YOSHIMOTO v\ Communication No. 445, Informational Talk Regarding ranchis Cable Television in Hawai`i Attached please find a hand -out from Mr. Donn Yabusaki, Administrator for the State of Hawai`i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Cable Television Division to be distributed at the Committee on Governmental Relations scheduled for November 1, 2011. DY /la Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Comm. No. 45 I Ref. to: GRG Ref. Date NOV 1 2011 DCCA/CATV Division Broadband Initiative Briefing Hawaii County Council Governmental Relations Committee November 1, 2011 What is the Governor's Broadband Initiative? Summarizing, the Governor wants to have broadband connectivity available to all residents of Hawaii, at a speed of 1 Gbs, and at an affordable price. Because we are physically isolated from the rest of the world, there is a recognition that this effort will play an important role in advancing Hawaii's economy and government, with the goal of implementing this by 2018. As part of this effort, he is also mandating that State agencies leveraging this technology, and utilize the internet more in their interactions with the general public. How is this going to be accomplished? In order to accomplish this, we first need to begin a dialogue with the current broadband providers to see what can be done to accelerate the investment and deployment of broadband infrastructure. Our initial focus is to examine the current regulatory and permitting environment and try to streamline the deployment of broadband without sacrificing current services and public safety. Another important part of this effort is to determine which areas within the State do not have access to broadband service or only have access to slower broadband speeds. While the federal government has done some work in this area, we are seeking to develop maps that give a more accurate picture of the State wide situation. In 2010, the DCCA was awarded an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant to map the availability, speed, location, and technology type of broadband services throughout the State. The data collected has been used to create publicly available searchable statewide broadband maps, which are updated as more data is collected. As part of this mapping effort, we would encourage you to visit our Speed Test website and participate in the speed test at: http: / /www.hawaiispeedtest.net How does Hawaii currently compare to the rest of the United States and Internationally? Hawaii, and the United States as a whole, lags behind the leading nations economies of the world that have identified advanced broadband as critical infrastructure for the 21st century. Given the importance of advanced communications to our islands' future, Hawaii should and will be the first state in the U.S. to set the bold goal of affordable ubiquitous service availability. Based on Akamai's The State of the Internet, 1st quarter, 2011 report, the United States ranks 14th globally in average connection speeds. Based on a survey by the Communications Workers of America in their publication Speed Matters, Hawaii ranked 31St compared to the other 49 states in 2010. Has any work started on getting the schools connected? Using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant funds, the University of Hawaii has begun work to make Hawaii the first state in the nation with direct 1 gigabit per second broadband connectivity at every public school, every public library, and every public university and college campus throughout the State. With all those improvements within the State, don't we need to improve connectivity to the rest of the world? That's an important part of the overall effort. In order to increase the bandwidth and connectivity to the rest of the world, we need to have more transpacific fiber coming into the State. DEBDT is working with providers and carriers to create financial incentives to attract the investment needed to bring more transpacific fiber connectivity into Hawaii. So how does Hawaii County fit into this effort? Out of all the islands, the Big Island will present the biggest challenges. Being the largest island, and having the widest range of terrain and population distribution, will make broadband deployment difficult. We anticipate having to utilize every available technology to deploy broadband on this island. This includes fiber, copper, DSL, cable modems, and various wireless technologies. It will also take the cooperation and coordination of various government agencies and private companies to make this effort successful. DCCA/CATV Division Cable Franchise Renewal Briefing Hawaii County Council Governmental Relations Committee November 1, 2011 What is a cable franchise? It's a non - exclusive agreement that authorizes a wire line cable operator to construct or operate a cable system within a certain franchise area. Cable operators are granted access to Public Utility Right of Ways and in return, must provide certain benefits to the State and the public, such as public, education, and government (PEG) access channels and funding. Current franchise agreements in Hawaii are for 15 and 20 year terms. In addition to this, the cable franchise agreement also specifies the technical and operational standards that cable operators must comply with, in addition to customer service requirements. Who negotiates and enforces the cable franchise agreements? The Cable Television Division (CATV) on behalf of the Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) negotiates cable franchise agreements with cable operators. CATV also enforces obligations of a cable franchise and ensures cable operators' compliance with rules and regulations relating to their practices and procedures What are the typical benefits to the State and public, education, and government (PEG) that the cable company is required to give? One of the most valuable benefits is what's referred to as the Institutional Network or INET for short. This is a State wide computer network that provides connectivity to eligible State and County government locations, Dept. of Education (DOE) and University of Hawaii (UH) educational locations. The INET is valued at several hundred millions of dollars, and this amount grows as new connections are completed. One of the most valuable components of the INET is the undersea fiber that provides connectivity between the major islands. In addition to the INET, the cable franchise agreement provides funding to PEG access organizations and Hawaii Public Television (PBS Hawaii). Cable operators also are required to provide dedicated channels for PEG Access Television. Note that the Oahu and Maui PEG access organizations, via separate contracts, provide a small portion of funding to UH, MCC, and DOE. Does this cost us anything? Most of the INET connections are done at cost for time of labor and materials, however, there are usually a limited number of high priority connections that are designated to be completed at no cost to the public or State. The operational funding for PEG Access Television entities and Hawaii Public Television are part of the franchise fee that cable operators must pay to the State for the use of the Public Utility Right of Ways, but are allowed by federal law to pass this cost onto the cable subscribers. Capital funding, however, for PEG Access organizations is a cost that cable operators absorb. Is it too late to provide testimony and input regarding the Big Island Cable Franchise renewal? While public hearings in Hilo and Kona have already been held, and negotiations have already started with Oceanic Time Warner Cable (Oceanic), the CATV will still consider testimony and input submitted via fax, email, and regular mail as long as it is received prior to these issues being negotiated with Oceanic. Because negotiations have already started, in order for us to consider additional input, it is extremely important that we receive written testimony and input as soon as possible. Where can I see the documents related to the cable franchise renewal for the Island of Hawaii? The documents are posted on our website at: http: // hawaii. gov /dcca/caty /twefranchiserenewal Who are the PEG Access organizations? These are the private, non - profit organizations that are contracted by the DCCA to provide the PEG Access services to communities in cable franchise areas. Franchise areas roughly follow the county boundaries within the State. The PEG organizations are: Hoike on Kauai, `Olelo on Oahu, Akaku on Maui and Na Leo 0 Hawaii on the Big Island. The CATV Division administers the PEG contracts. Are the PEG Access organizations part of the cable franchise agreement? While the funding and channel designations for the PEG Access organizations are addressed in cable franchise agreements, PEG Access services are part of separate contracts between the PEG Access organizations and the DCCA. What services are the PEG Access organizations supposed to provide? The PEG Access organizations are responsible for providing equipment, facilities, staff, and training for use in producing programs for cablecast on the cable operator's system. In addition to this, they are also responsible for managing the channels that are provided by cable operators for PEG Access programming. The ultimate goals are to provide opportunities for persons to express themselves (1st amendment free speech) and also provide programming that helps to build community. There is a recognition that programming of this nature could not exist in a purely "for profit" environment, so there is a need to make resources available. Recognizing that each community is unique, it is up to PEG Access organization to address the individual needs of the community and determine how best to serve this need. Are we able to give input into the selection or operation of the PEG Access organizations? All of the current contracts between the DCCA and PEG Access organizations are scheduled to expire at the end of 2011. The DCCA has just started the process under which each current PEG Access organization will be allowed to apply for a new contract if it wants to continue being designated as the PEG Access organization for its present cable franchise area. Once that application has been received, reviewed, and accepted, a public hearing will be scheduled in each franchise area to receive testimony and input from the interested persons and the community. Written testimony and input will also be accepted by email, fax, and regular mail. If the process goes beyond the end of the year, we will extend the current PEG Access contracts to allow for completion of this process for each PEG Access organization.