The issue is the inability of some residents of the state to gain access to a high-speed Internet connection because providers have found that it's not cost effective to run lines into rural areas with just a few consumers on each street.
However, these consumers want access. The ability to get online could mean more young families moving to the area if they could "telecommute" via the Web, students having access to resources and information and others finding necessary information and a sense of community that is sometimes hard to find in isolated areas.
Ms. Willis introduced a bill she co-sponsored last Friday that could deal with the issue. Bill HB 5682 is entitled "An Act Concerning High Speed Broadband Access" and calls for the expansion of high-speed Internet access to Connecticut's underserved areas, including large pockets such as the Ellsworth section of Sharon.
The legislator testified before the Energy and Technology Committee alongside the commissioner of the state Department of Public Utilities and representatives from the Office of Consumer Counsel, the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Communication Workers of America and AT&T.
"Everyone that testified seemed to support the bill and think it was great," she recalled. "I was taken aback by how many people came to testify and who they were."
The next step is figuring out how to get service to those in need without bankrupting anyone.
"The key part is developing a funding mechanism. How are we going to do this?" asked Ms. Willis. The 'build-outs,' the physical work of burying lines, installing poles and running lines on those poles, might cost between $2-3 million in our region alone and there are parts of Eastern Connecticut that have much larger underserved areas, more than 18 towns in all. The work would also take, at the very least, several months. A subcommittee needs to be formed to figure out the costs of the build-outs and what funding assistance the state may be able to give to the Internet service providers, if any. A mandate could also be funded by shareholders, rate-payers or in other ways."
Ms. Willis admits that a lot of work has been done by the service providers over the last eight years she has been in office. She recalls a time when the only place with a high-speed connection was Canaan center.
"One of my first projects was getting AT&T representatives into Salisbury Town Hall for a meeting with consumers who wanted the service. We did manage to get the lines extended. First in Salisbury, then in Sharon ... . I feel like I've been working on one street, or even one house, at a time over the last eight years," she said of the slow process.
In the last four years, Comcast has entered the local market and extended its reach as well. While they call it a large expansion, it's only been four miles, or 58 additional homes, that are now served.
Ms. Willis estimates that about 800 homes in the area are currently outside of the service areas of any provider. These residents have to make do with slow dial-up service or expensive, unreliable satellite service to get online.
She is not sure how soon these underserved areas could see a faster connection but testified that the service needs to happen immediately. "I'd love to say it could be six months from the day of the passage of the bill, but I don't know," she said.
There are a lot of home-based businesses in this area and there could be many more with regular access to a high-speed Internet connection. "That's what we are encouraging here because we have no industry. This is what can you do to stimulate the economy here," she said.
Ms. Willis related how the same thing happened with electricity and telephone service many decades ago. The companies didn't want to run lines to rural areas that couldn't provide a lot of new customers. The government eventually stepped in and passed laws and provided financial assistance to make it happen. Ms. Willis hopes to see the same thing happen with high-speed Internet connections. If the state passes the bill, Connecticut will be the 10th state to formally address the issue.
"There is a digital divide. This is not a luxury anymore, it's a necessity," she said.
The next step is for the bill to be presented to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. If it is received favorably there, it will move into the general House.