2013 Vermont Statutes
Title 03 Executive
Chapter 45 ADMINISTRATION
§ 2222b Telecommunications; coordination and planning

2222b. Telecommunications; coordination and planning

(a) The Secretary of Administration or designee shall be responsible for the coordination of telecommunications initiatives among Executive Branch agencies, departments, and offices.

(b) In furtherance of the goals set forth in 30 V.S.A. 8060(b), the Secretary shall have the following duties:

(1) from information reasonably available after public notice to and written requests made of mobile telecommunications and broadband service providers, to develop and maintain an inventory of locations at which mobile telecommunications and broadband services are not available within the State, develop and maintain an inventory of infrastructure that is available or reasonably likely to be available to support provision of services to unserved areas, and develop and maintain an inventory of infrastructure necessary for provision of these services to the unserved areas;

(2) to identify the types and locations of infrastructure and services needed to accomplish the goals of this chapter;

(3) to formulate an action plan to accomplish the goals of universal availability of broadband and mobile telecommunications services by the end of the year 2013;

(4) to coordinate the agencies of the State to make public resources available to support the extension of mobile telecommunications and broadband infrastructure and services to all unserved areas;

(5) to support and facilitate initiatives to extend the availability of mobile telecommunications and broadband services, and to promote development of the infrastructure that enables the provision of these services;

(6) through the Department of Innovation and Information, to aggregate and broker access at reduced prices to services and facilities required to provide wireless telecommunications and broadband services; and to waive or reduce State fees for access to state-owned rights-of-way in exchange for comparable value to the State, unless payment for use is otherwise required by federal law;

(7) to review all financial transactions, statements, and contracts of the Vermont telecommunications authority established under 30 V.S.A. 8061; and

(8) to receive all technical and administrative assistance as deemed necessary by the Secretary of Administration.

(c) Deployment tracking.

(1) Not later than 30 days after the effective date of this act, all persons proposing to construct or install Vermont cables, wires, or telecommunications facilities as defined in 30 V.S.A. 248a(b)(1) shall file plans with the Secretary if the construction or installation relates to the deployment of broadband infrastructure and is funded in whole or in part pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub.L. No. 111-5, or by funds granted or loaned by the State of Vermont or one of its instrumentalities.

(2) The plans filed pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection shall include data identifying the projected coverage area, the projected average speed of service, service type, and the anticipated date of completion in addition to identifying the location and routes of proposed cables, wires, and telecommunications facilities, and shall be updated every 90 days.

(3) The Secretary shall use the information provided pursuant to this subsection in performing the duties set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(4) The Secretary shall keep confidential the plans submitted to him or her under this subsection except that, pursuant to a nondisclosure agreement, the secretary may disclose the information to the Vermont Center for Geographic Information created under 10 V.S.A. 122 or to some other person or entity for the purpose of aggregating the information. Information so disclosed shall remain confidential.

(5) The Secretary may request voluntary disclosure of information such as that set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection regarding deployment of broadband, telecommunications facilities, or advanced metering infrastructure that is not publicly funded. The Secretary may enter into a nondisclosure agreement with respect to any such voluntary disclosures and the information disclosed pursuant thereto shall remain confidential. Alternatively, entities that voluntarily provide information requested pursuant to this subdivision may select a third party to be the recipient of such information. That third party may aggregate information provided by the entities, but shall not disclose the information it has received to any person, including the Secretary. The third party may only disclose the aggregated information to the Secretary.

(6) The Secretary may publicly disclose aggregated information based upon the information provided pursuant to this subsection.

(7) The confidentiality requirements of subdivisions (4) and (5) of this subsection shall not affect whether information provided to an agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state pursuant to other laws is or is not subject to disclosure. (Added 2011, No. 53, 14b, eff. May 27, 2011.)