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Bill would cut assessment on landline/VoIP providers from 33% to 10%; providers say savings will fund broadband buildout
Summary
House Bill 508 would reduce the Department of Energy/PUC assessment on certain landline and IP‑enabled telephone providers from roughly 33% of gross utility revenue to 10%, shifting the assessed amount to other regulated utilities; industry witnesses said the reduction frees funds for fiber buildout in rural areas.
Representative Mike Harrington, sponsor of House Bill 508, told the committee the bill corrects a prior statutory omission and reduces the assessment level charged to accepted local exchange carriers, certain VoIP providers and IP‑enabled service providers from about 33% of gross utility revenue to 10%. "This bill is just a long overdue correction," Harrington said, noting the bill reduces assessment on providers that now receive virtually no regulation compared with the past.
Meg Stone of the Department of Energy told the committee the department currently invoices 26 providers and that in fiscal year 2025 it assessed just under $530,000 to those 26 providers; if the assessment had been set at 10 percent, the department estimated that cohort's assessment would have been about $158,000 — a reduction of roughly $371,000 that would be reallocated to other regulated utilities such as electric, gas, water and sewer.
Industry witnesses representing rural providers said the smaller assessment better reflects modern oversight and will free funds for broadband deployment. Chris Rand, vice president of Granite State Communications speaking for the New Hampshire Telephone Association, said member companies provide internet and voice service to rural areas and have been deregulated since 2011. He said the companies plan to use the reduction to help complete fiber networks: "Given this reduced better reflects the funding level necessary to support modern telecommunications oversight," he testified.
Teresa Rosenberger, representing landline companies, said the reduced assessment would not be money going "into pockets" but would be used for network buildout and to convert customers to fiber.
The committee voted HB 508 out as "ought to pass" on unanimous voice consent.
Why this matters: The change shifts who bears assessment obligations among regulated utility classes and could accelerate broadband investment by smaller, rural providers that argued the prior assessment level left less funding available for network construction.
Votes at a glance: Committee reported HB 508 as "ought to pass" by voice consent.
