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H.11 1
Introduced by Representative Sibilia of Dover 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Telecommunications; broadband; commerce; competition; unfair or 5
deceptive acts; VoIP service; consumer protection 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish 7
various consumer protection provisions applicable to broadband service and to 8
Voice over Internet Protocol service. 9
An act relating to consumer protections applicable to broadband and VoIP 10
services 11
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 12
* * * Vermont Broadband Consumer Protection and Competition Act * * * 13
Sec. 1. 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 10A is added to read: 14
Subchapter 10A. Broadband Consumer Protection and Competition 15
§ 2490. TITLE 16
This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as “the Vermont 17
Broadband Consumer Protection and Competition Act.” 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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§ 2490a. PURPOSE 1
The purpose of this subchapter is to promote a thriving broadband market in 2
Vermont free of anticompetitive, unfair, deceptive, or misleading practices in 3
order to protect the public and to encourage fair and honest competition. 4
§ 2490b. FINDINGS 5
The General Assembly finds that: 6
(1) Broadband is a critical sector of the overall Vermont economy. 7
(2) Broadband service is essential for supporting economic and 8
educational opportunities; strengthening health and public safety networks; and 9
reinforcing democratic, social, and civic engagement and for allowing 10
Vermonters to benefit from new and innovative internet-based products and 11
services, such as smart home energy-saving technologies. 12
(3) Despite considerable public investments in broadband deployment 13
and service, about 14.95 percent of Vermont locations (47,262 locations) do 14
not have access to high-speed broadband service. Many more do not have 15
access to service from more than one broadband provider. 16
(4) Vermont is a rural state with many geographically remote, sparsely 17
populated locations with no or limited access to public transit systems. 18
(5) Those who live far from a town center or regional commercial hub 19
are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of broadband access. They are 20
burdened with the additional time and expense of traveling great distances to 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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either access a broadband connection, such as a public Wi-Fi hotspot, or to 1
physically carry out activities they are unable to do from home, such as online 2
banking and telehealth appointments. 3
(6) The critical need for broadband service coupled with the lack of 4
competition, particularly in high-cost areas, creates an imbalance of power 5
between the provider and consumer. 6
(7) The Attorney General, as the chief law enforcement officer in the 7
State, must provide a strong presence in the broadband market and protect and 8
advocate for Vermonters when necessary. 9
(8) All policymakers, law enforcement officers, and regulators must 10
work collaboratively to ensure the market is vibrant, efficient, and competitive 11
and serves as an engine of economic growth and innovation in all four corners 12
of the State. 13
(9) No broadband provider should be permitted to exploit its market 14
position to stifle competition and deprive a consumer of a meaningful choice 15
among broadband providers. 16
(10) Monitoring the broadband market through data collection and 17
analysis will enable State government to identify and respond swiftly and 18
appropriately to market failures or misconduct and promote a healthy 19
economy. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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(11) A well-functioning broadband marketplace will foster competition, 1
higher wages, lower prices, better service, more consumer choices, further 2
investment, and increased innovation and entrepreneurship. 3
§ 2490c. DEFINITIONS 4
As used in this subchapter: 5
(1) “Broadband provider” or “provider” means a business that provides 6
broadband service to any person in Vermont. 7
(2) “Broadband service” or “broadband” means a mass-market retail 8
service by wire or radio in Vermont that provides the capability to transmit 9
data to and receive data from all or substantially all internet endpoints, 10
including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the 11
communications service, but excluding dial-up service. 12
(3) “Consumer” means a person to whom a broadband provider sells 13
broadband service. 14
§ 2490d. NET NEUTRALITY 15
Because the free and open flow of information underpins the free and open 16
flow of commerce, beginning on October 1, 2025, a broadband provider shall 17
not sell, offer, or advertise for sale broadband service without a valid 18
certificate of net neutrality compliance from the Secretary of Administration 19
pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 348. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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§ 2490e. PROHIBITED PRACTICES 1
(a) It shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce in 2
violation of section 2453 of this chapter for a broadband provider to engage in 3
any of the following conduct: 4
(1) failing to provide a consumer with broadband service that meets or 5
exceeds the performance characteristics offered and sold to the consumer’s 6
service location; 7
(2) failing to reimburse a consumer any installation costs associated 8
with broadband service that is discontinued by the consumer because the 9
service did not meet or exceed the minimum performance characteristics 10
offered and sold to the consumer’s service location; 11
(3) engaging in marketing or promotional practices that misrepresent the 12
actual terms and conditions of a broadband service plan or tend to mislead or 13
deceive an actual or prospective consumer; 14
(4) imposing excessive termination fees or other burdensome conditions 15
that unfairly restrict a consumer’s ability to discontinue service or purchase 16
service from another provider; 17
(5) charging equipment or service fees that do not reasonably correlate 18
with the cost of the broadband service or equipment provided to a consumer, 19
excluding any State or federal fees; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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(6) failing to submit broadband availability data in a form and manner 1
prescribed by the Department of Public Service for the purpose of maintaining 2
the State’s broadband availability maps under 30 V.S.A. § 202e(e); 3
(7) violating privacy, security, or network management practices 4
applicable to its broadband service; or 5
(8) imposing a predatory data cap, as further defined in subsection (b) of 6
this section. 7
(b) A broadband provider shall not impose a data cap except when tailored 8
for the purpose of reasonable network management, such as managing network 9
congestion. For purposes of this section, “data cap” means a limit on the 10
amount of bits or other units of information a broadband consumer may 11
download or upload during a period of time specified by the provider before 12
the consumer: 13
(1) is charged a fee for additional usage; 14
(2) is subject to an increasing cost per bit or other unit of information; 15
(3) is charged for an incremental block of usage; 16
(4) experiences a reduction of access speed; or 17
(5) is otherwise discouraged or prevented from exceeding. 18
§ 2490f. CONSUMER COMPLAINTS 19
(a) For the purpose of creating a single location within State government 20
for the receipt and tracking of consumer complaints regarding broadband 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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service, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public 1
Service, shall establish and implement a protocol for handling complaints. The 2
protocol shall include a process for maintaining a database that aggregates and 3
tracks the number, nature, disposition status, and resolution time of complaints 4
received directly by State government and indirectly from provider records 5
submitted to the Attorney General under subsection (b) of this section. 6
(b) Beginning on January 1, 2026, a broadband provider shall maintain a 7
complete record of any consumer complaints received regarding its broadband 8
service. The record shall include the total number of complaints received, the 9
nature of each complaint, the disposition of each complaint, the time it took to 10
process and resolve each complaint, and any other relevant information 11
requested by the Attorney General. A provider shall submit a copy of the 12
record of complaints for the preceding year to the Office of the Attorney 13
General annually, beginning on January 1, 2027. 14
(c) As used in this section, “complaint” means any communication 15
primarily expressing a grievance. 16
§ 2490g. MONITORING COMPETITION AND PRACTICES 17
(a) The Attorney General shall routinely monitor current and emerging 18
market trends and business practices in the broadband sector and assess their 19
effect, positive or negative, on consumers, workers, businesses, and the 20
broader Vermont economy. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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(b) Factors to be considered by the Attorney General under this section 1
include the number of broadband providers actively engaged in providing 2
broadband service, market share, ease of market entry, industry consolidation, 3
and any other factors the Attorney General deems relevant to a market 4
analysis. 5
(c) The Attorney General shall periodically review and compare a 6
provider’s broadband consumer label for multiple service locations in the 7
provider’s market area. For purposes of this subsection, “broadband consumer 8
label” means the label required to be provided to a consumer at the point of 9
sale, pursuant to the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband 10
Labels Order, 37 FCC Rcd 13686, 13687, 13689-90, 13696, paras. 3, 12, 35 11
(2022). 12
(d) The Attorney General shall review provider business practices, 13
including data practices, as appropriate, to determine whether any practices 14
negatively affect marginalized or underserved communities or worsen 15
disparities and inequities in the social and economic fabric of our State. 16
(e)(1) To assist the Attorney General with carrying out the purposes of this 17
section, on or before October 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each broadband 18
provider shall submit a report to the Attorney General, which includes the 19
following information related to its provision of fixed broadband service to 20
Vermont locations: 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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(A) the total number of active broadband service plans; 1
(B) the total number of active wired broadband service plans, 2
categorized by the technology used to deliver the service: digital subscriber 3
line, coaxial cable, fiber-optic, or hybrid fiber coaxial; 4
(C) the total number of active wireless broadband service plans, 5
categorized by the technology used to deliver the service: terrestrial or satellite 6
(geostationary or low-earth orbit), and whether the service is supported by 7
licensed or unlicensed spectrum, or both; 8
(D) the median and mean price, download speed, and upload speed of 9
its active broadband service plans in Vermont, and within each county, if 10
applicable; 11
(E) the number of years the provider has been actively engaged in 12
providing broadband service in Vermont; 13
(F) the broadband availability data submitted to the Department of 14
Public Service under 30 V.S.A. § 202e(e) and the broadband availability and 15
subscription data submitted to the Federal Communications Commission 16
through the Broadband Data Collection System; and 17
(G) any other information deemed relevant by the Attorney General. 18
(2) The report shall be submitted in a form and manner prescribed by the 19
Attorney General. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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(3) It is unlawful for a provider to knowingly or recklessly make or 1
cause to be made, in a report submitted under this section, a statement that: 2
(A) at the time and in light of the circumstances under which it is 3
made, is false or misleading in a material respect; or 4
(B) is false or misleading due to the omission of a material fact. 5
(4) The accuracy of the information included in the report shall be 6
verified by oath of two of the provider’s executive officers, under penalty of 7
perjury. 8
(5) As used in this section, “recklessly” means consciously disregarding 9
a relevant fact. 10
§ 2490h. TRANSPARENCY; INFORMED CHOICES 11
(a) To facilitate informed consumer choices, a broadband provider shall 12
submit to the Attorney General its current policies and practices regarding: 13
(1) network management; 14
(2) security; and 15
(3) privacy. 16
(b) A provider shall submit the information required by this section in a 17
form and manner prescribed by the Attorney General, not less frequently than 18
annually. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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(c) The Attorney General shall aggregate and disclose the information 1
collected under this section on a publicly available, easily accessible website 2
maintained by the Office of the Attorney General. 3
§ 2490i. KEEP VERMONTERS CONNECTED 4
(a) A broadband provider is prohibited from disconnecting any consumer 5
from service, charging unconscionably high prices, or imposing data usage 6
limits during a declared state of emergency under 20 V.S.A. chapter 1, 7
provided that the state of emergency is declared in response to an all-hazards 8
event that will cause financial hardship and the inability of consumers to pay 9
for broadband services. 10
(b) For purposes of this section, a price is unconscionably high if: 11
(1) there is a gross disparity between the price charged during the 12
emergency or seven days prior to the emergency and the price at which the 13
same service was sold or offered for sale in the usual course of business 14
immediately prior to the state of emergency; and 15
(2) the disparity is not substantially attributable to increased prices in the 16
wholesale market or increased costs due to the state of emergency. 17
§ 2490j. INVESTIGATIONS; ENFORCEMENT 18
(a) The Attorney General may investigate the business practices of a 19
broadband provider pursuant to the investigatory powers established under this 20
chapter. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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(b) A person who violates a provision of this subchapter, or a rule adopted 1
pursuant to this subchapter, commits an unlawful act under section 2453 of this 2
chapter. 3
§ 2490k. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION 4
(a) The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of 5
Administration, shall develop procedures and best practices for agency 6
cooperation and coordination on matters of overlapping jurisdiction. The 7
primary purpose of this section is to ensure the Attorney General has access to 8
information related to the Attorney General’s enforcement authority under this 9
subchapter, including any relevant information maintained by the Department 10
of Public Service, the Vermont Community Broadband Board, the Department 11
of Taxes, and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. 12
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive any privilege or 13
protection otherwise afforded information by law due solely to the fact that the 14
information is shared with the Attorney General pursuant to this section. 15
§ 2490l. ASSESSMENT 16
To the extent deemed necessary and appropriate by the Attorney General, 17
the costs incurred by the Office of the Attorney General in complying with this 18
subchapter may be assessed against broadband providers on an equitable and 19
practicable basis. The Attorney General shall adopt the assessment rate by 20
rule. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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§ 2490m. CONFIDENTIALITY 1
The Attorney General shall maintain the confidentiality of any information 2
received under this subchapter that the Attorney General determines is exempt 3
from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act or other 4
applicable law, unless disclosure is ordered by a court. 5
§ 2490n. ANNUAL REPORT 6
On or before January 15 of each year, notwithstanding 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), the 7
Attorney General shall submit a report to the General Assembly, which shall 8
include the Attorney General’s findings and recommendations related to the 9
current state of competition in the broadband market and whether and to what 10
extent anticompetitive conduct or unfair or deceptive acts or practices in 11
commerce are occurring. The report shall include: 12
(1) a summary of the market-monitoring data collected pursuant to 13
section 2490g of this subchapter; 14
(2) a summary of complaints in the State database established under 15
section 2490f of this subchapter; 16
(3) the total amount collected under section 2490l of this subchapter; 17
(4) a description of any enforcement actions taken pursuant to this 18
subchapter, and any monetary judgments recovered; and 19
(5) recommendations for improving conditions in the broadband market. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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§ 2490o. RULES 1
(a) In addition to the rules otherwise required by this subchapter, the 2
Attorney General may adopt any other rules the Attorney General deems 3
necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules that define in greater 4
detail what constitutes unfair or deceptive conduct under this subchapter. 5
(b) The rules, as well as any finding of unlawful conduct under this 6
subchapter, shall be consistent with the rules, regulations, and decisions of the 7
Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission and 8
with federal court interpretations of the Federal Trade Commission Act, as 9
amended, and the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. 10
§ 2490p. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS 11
This subchapter shall not limit other statutory rights of a consumer or 12
statutory obligations of a provider under Vermont law. 13
§ 2490q. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION; SEVERABILITY 14
(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the provisions of this 15
subchapter are liberally construed to accomplish its purposes. 16
(b) As provided in 1 V.S.A. § 215, the provisions of this subchapter are 17
severable. If any provision of this subchapter is invalid, or if any application 18
thereof to any person or circumstance is invalid, the invalidity shall not affect 19
other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid 20
provision or application. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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§ 2490r. STATE AUTHORITY 1
Vermont enacts this subchapter pursuant to all inherent State authority 2
under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and all relevant authority 3
granted and reserved to the states by Title 15 and Title 47 of the U.S. Code, 4
including the authority to impose requirements necessary to protect public 5
safety and welfare, safeguard the rights of consumers, and enforce antitrust 6
laws. 7
Sec. 2. REPEAL 8
9 V.S.A. § 2466c (concerning the Attorney General’s review of the network 9
management practices of broadband providers) is repealed. 10
* * * VoIP Service; Battery Backup; Compliance; Notice * * * 11
Sec. 3. VOIP SERVICE; CONSUMER PROTECTIONS 12
(a) The Commissioner of Public Service shall establish a program for 13
monitoring the health and public safety risks associated with the use of Voice 14
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service in Vermont, particularly during 15
originating carrier or electric power outages. As used in this section, VoIP 16
service means a facilities-based, fixed, voice service that is not line powered. 17
(b) As part of the program, the Commissioner shall: 18
(1) Review, quarterly, the outage reports submitted to the E-911 Board 19
pursuant to the Board’s Rule Governing Outage Reporting Requirements for 20
Originating Carriers and Electric Power Companies to determine if there are 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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areas of the State particularly prone to carrier or power outages and assess 1
whether locations in those areas have access to facilities-based, fixed, voice 2
service that is line powered or to voice service offered by a Commercial 3
Mobile Radio Service provider. 4
(2) Establish a process for receiving an annual statement from each 5
VoIP provider offering service in the State certifying compliance with FCC 6
regulations concerning E-911 service, 47 C.F.R. § 9.5, and battery backup 7
power requirements, 47 C.F.R. § 12.5. 8
(3) Establish, in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General, a 9
mechanism for receiving and tracking any consumer complaints concerning 10
VoIP service quality and including a summary of any data collected in the 11
Department’s annual report to the General Assembly. 12
(4) Develop consumer education and community outreach initiatives 13
designed to ensure all consumers are aware of the risks and best practices 14
concerning emergency preparedness in the event of a power outage. 15
(5) Make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning any 16
additional consumer protections the Commissioner determines should be 17
available in Vermont, which may include additional backup power 18
requirements that supplement federal requirements, financial assistance to low-19
income consumers for backup power equipment and installation costs, 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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enhanced consumer outreach and education initiatives, and any other 1
requirements or initiatives deemed appropriate by the Commissioner. 2
(c) In developing the program required by this section, the Commissioner 3
of Public Service shall have the assistance of the E-911 Board, the Office of 4
the Attorney General, the Department of Public Safety, the Public Safety 5
Communications Task Force, and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. 6
* * * Effective Date * * * 7
Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE 8
This act shall take effect on passage. 9