Broadband

HB 2384 (Buckner)/SB 1557 (Villanueva) - Low Income Broadband Assistance Program
House Bill 2384 and Senate Bill 1557 seek to expand the current Universal Telephone Service Assistance Program to a Broadband Assistance Program for qualifying low-income consumers. The measures require more broadband and telecommunications entities to notify customers that they may voluntarily contribute to the program. The Program shall provide for a reduction of monthly charges, a reduction of installation charges, devices used in connection to the Internet, or any other alternative assistance or program to increase accessibility to broadband service and broadband Internet access service that the Commission deems advisable subject to the availability of funds for the program.

SB 1564 (Villanueva) - State Authorized Video Providers – No Broadband Data Caps
Senate Bill 1564 prohibits a holder of a state-issued video authorization from imposing data caps on broadband service provided to households.

Telecom

SB 2280 (Jones) - Telecom Act and Video Competition Law Sunset Extension/Small Electing Provider COLR Relief

HB 2380 (Walsh)/SB 486 Cunningham - Telecom Act and Video Competition Law Sunset Extension
Senate Bill 2280, House Bill 2380 and Senate Bill 486 extend the sunset date of the Telecommunications Act and the Cable and Video Competition Law from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2026. They also provide that any cable service or video service authorization issued by the Illinois Commerce Commission will expire on December 31, 2029 (rather than December 31, 2024). House Bill 2280 also amends the Telecommunications Act to provide a process for a Small Electing Provider to cease offering or providing a telecommunications service.

Wireless

HB 2379 (Walsh)/SB 1731(Jones) - Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act Sunset Extension
House Bill 2379 extends the sunset date of the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act from June 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2026. The legislation makes no further changes to the Act.

 Video

HB 841 (Mah)/SB 513 (Castro) - Modem/Router Equipment Rental
House Bill 841 and Senate Bill 513 prohibit cable and video providers from charging customers for modems and routers, whether rented together or separately, when the customer has paid to the provider the wholesale cost of the modem or router, or modem and router if rented together, plus a reasonable mark-up not to exceed 5% of the modem, router, or modem and router wholesale cost to the provider.

HB 3653 (Elik) - Cable or Video Provider – Contract Dispute
House Bill 3653 provides that if, due to a contract dispute, a cable or video provider will not be providing a customer or subscriber with a channel for which the customer has been or will be billed, the cable or video provider shall notify the customer within 10 days and reimburse the customer $5 per month the channel was not provided.

9-1-1

HB 3072 (Willis) - Emergency Telephone System Act Update
House Bill 3702 is a rewrite of the Emergency Telephone System Act governing 9-1-1 services. The bill extends the repeal of the Act from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2023. It updates a number of definitions in preparation of Next Generation 9-1-1 services and based on the implementation of the consolidation requirements in the current