Bill > LB666

This bill modifies the duties of the Public Service Commission under the Rural Communications Sustainability Act by amending how telecommunications service obligations are handled after a broadband deployment project. Specifically, the bill allows either an incumbent carrier or a competitive provider to request that the commission take certain actions after public funds have been used to deploy broadband in a local exchange area. When such a request is made, the commission must now "expeditiously" do three things: (1) relieve the incumbent carrier of its telecommunications carrier obligations in the project area if the competitive provider has met all program requirements, (2) make determinations about allocations and distributions from the Nebraska Telecommunications Universal Service Fund for the project area, and (3) work with the Federal Communications Commission to determine whether the eligible telecommunications carrier and carrier of last resort obligations should be transferred to the competitive provider. Key terms like "incumbent carrier" refer to the existing telecommunications service provider in an area, while "competitive provider" means a new telecommunications company entering the market. The bill aims to streamline the process of transitioning telecommunications service responsibilities when new broadband infrastructure is deployed in rural areas.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=59398