Phone surcharge would bring internet to rural Oregon

Your cellphone bill could be a little higher, if Oregon House Bill 2184 becomes law, but thousands of rural Oregonians could benefit by joining the world of high-speed internet.

If this bill is passed, people with Oregon area codes would pay a surcharge on their phone bill to help fund broadband internet in rural areas of Oregon. Unlike many states, Oregon cellphone users don’t pay a universal access charge, as land-line phone users do.

House Bill 2184 has no chief sponsors, but is supported by Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Jackson County. Se said it would add about $4 to $8 a year to the average cellphone bill.

If passed, the funds would bring broadband internet coverage to the 400,000 Oregonians who currently don’t have internet access at their homes.

The tax would only apply to phone calls and not texts or data usage, and would bring in an estimated $10 million.

NewsChannel 21 spoke Wednesday with several Central Oregonians to find out whether or not they’d be willing to pay a little extra to bring internet coverage to rural communities.

Most people said they would be OK with it.

“Yeah, that’s pretty minimal. I would probably be voting for that,” Darren Gadd said.

“Yeah, a year, that’s like pennies, like a penny a day or something like that,” Michelina Huffman said.

“It’s good for more than just one thing. It’s good for everything. You can do so much with the internet — shopping, viewing, online research, so it’s very important,” Huffman said.

A number of groups are behind the bill, including 1000 Friends of Oregon, the Oregon Farm Bureau and the Oregon Telecommunications Association.

None of the groups were available for interview Wednesday, including Rep. Marsh.