HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 76

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2006

INTRODUCED BY

Debbie A. Rodella

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT AN INTERIM LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE STUDY THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT'S WIRE NEW MEXICO PROJECT ON THE CURRENT PROVISION OF SERVICES BY EXISTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS AND THE COMMUNITIES SERVED BY THOSE PROVIDERS.

     WHEREAS, the general services department, through the wire New Mexico project, is completing a broadband telecommunications network to provide voice, data and video communications to state government facilities, including correctional facilities, as well as local governments, universities, public schools, county health clinics and public libraries, using digital microwave technology; and

     WHEREAS, the potential exists that, through operations of this digital microwave technology network, the state may provide services at a lower cost than the cost currently charged by telecommunications providers; and

     WHEREAS, operation of the state digital microwave technology network will not be regulated by the public regulation commission; and

     WHEREAS, all of the same services to be offered by the state through its digital microwave technology network are available through the networks of existing large, middle-sized and incumbent rural telecommunications providers that are regulated by the public regulation commission and that have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure, technology and networks in order to provide high-capacity services to customers in large, small, urban and rural communities; and

     WHEREAS, the economics of a telecommunications provider's operations in rural communities are affected by the number of subscribers to services it provides over its network; and

     WHEREAS, direct competition between the state and existing telecommunications providers may adversely affect the financial viability of existing telecommunications providers serving communities throughout the state, may harm those communities due to job loss and may negatively impact economic development in both rural and urban areas;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative interim committee that studies telecommunications issues be requested to study:

          A. the implications of a state-funded network competing with private industry;

          B. the economic impact that the wire New Mexico project may have on telecommunications providers and the communities they serve and to evaluate the most appropriate methods of addressing this impact; and

          C. the collaborative approaches whereby the state and telecommunications providers can work together to ensure that the telecommunications and technology needs of the state's residents are met; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee report its findings to the New Mexico legislative council by December 2006; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.

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