Section 13 Broadband and Wireless Availability 4

Said chapter 25C is hereby further amended by adding the following section:-

Section 9. Notwithstanding sections 6A and 8 of this chapter, or any other general or special law to the contrary, the department shall have the duties and powers as may be necessary or desired to accomplish the purposes of this section. The department shall facilitate access to advanced telecommunications capability in the commonwealth, with a special interest in increasing the presence of advanced telecommunications capability across the commonwealth to promote economic development, meet the commonwealth's homeland security and emergency preparedness needs, improve government efficiency, and improve the quality of life for the commonwealth's residents. The duties and powers of the department shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) identifying areas that lack adequate advanced telecommunications capability, including where, due to geographic remoteness, sparsity of population or other considerations, private-sector capital investment in advanced telecommunications facilities deployment is not sufficient to meet the present and future needs of the area; (2) identifying the locations of advanced telecommunications capability facilities in the commonwealth; and (3) taking other actions to fulfill the purposes of this section. The department may work in consultation with Massachusetts Broadband Institute, established by section 6B of chapter 40J.

This section, along with three others, eliminates the Wireless and Broadband Development Division within the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, and moves some of the Division's duties to the Department of Telecommunications and Cable.