SB 288 (Delaware, Session 153) — Summary
Purpose and intent
- The bill amends Title 26 of the Delaware Code (Public Utilities) to address resiliency, public safety, and quality of broadband networks and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
- The overarching goal is to enhance the reliability, security, and high-quality operation of essential communications infrastructure, with a focus on broadband networks and VoIP.
Key provisions and changes (highlights)
- Public Utilities and Broadband Resiliency
- Establishes standards or requirements aimed at improving the resilience of broadband networks against outages and environmental threats.
- May authorize or require infrastructure-hardening measures, redundancy, and contingency planning for service providers.
- Public Safety
- Integrates considerations for public safety communications, potentially including requirements to support reliable 911 access or emergency alert capabilities.
- Could impose reporting or compliance obligations on providers to ensure continuity of critical communications during emergencies.
- Quality of Service and Network Performance
- Aims to safeguard quality of broadband service, potentially through performance metrics, service quality standards, or consumer protections related to outages, latency, or uptime.
- May address service reliability reporting and transparency for consumers.
- VoIP Service Regulation
- Extends or clarifies regulatory treatment of VoIP within the public utilities framework, ensuring VoIP services meet certain reliability and accessibility standards.
- May specify customer notice requirements, emergency service access, or interoperability considerations with traditional telephone services.
- Consumer Protections and Compliance
- Likely introduces compliance obligations for providers (filings, reporting, audits) and consumer protections related to outages, outages duration, and service restoration timelines.
- Could include penalties or remedies for non-compliance, consistent with public utilities enforcement mechanisms.
- Regulatory Process and Oversight
- May define the role of the Delaware Public Service Commission or relevant state agencies in implementing, enforcing, and updating standards.
- Could set timelines for rulemakings, compliance reporting, and periodic reviews.
Who is affected
- Broadband internet service providers operating in Delaware.
- VoIP service providers offering voice communications over IP networks.
- Telecommunications infrastructure owners and operators with public utility oversight.
- Consumers in Delaware who rely on broadband and VoIP for communications, emergency services, and daily connectivity.
- State regulators (likely the Delaware Public Service Commission) responsible for enforcement and oversight.
Procedural and timeline aspects
- Status: Introduced and assigned to the Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate as of 2026-04-21.
- Next steps: Committee analysis, potential amendments, and passage through the Senate, followed by the House (as applicable) and gubernatorial action.
- While the specific deadlines and effective dates are not provided in the summary, such bills typically include effective dates (e.g., upon enactment or a specified later date) and may establish compliance timelines for providers.
Notes
- The bill lists co-sponsors: Ed Osienski, Stell Selby, and Jack Walsh.
- Without the full text, exact statutory revisions (section-by-section language) and precise numeric standards (percentages, timelines, fines) are not available here; the summary reflects the likely scope based on the title and described intent.
If you would like, I can update this summary after reviewing the bill’s full text to provide precise sections, definitions, standards, penalties, and dates.
