(a)
The Public Utilities Commission shall, as soon as practicable, open a proceeding or proceedings to, or as part of existing proceedings shall, consider ways to ensure that advanced telecommunications services are made available as ubiquitously and economically as possible, in a timely fashion, to California’s citizens, institutions, and businesses. The proceeding or proceedings should be completed within one year of commencement.
(b)
The proceeding or proceedings shall develop rules, procedures, orders, or strategies, or all of these, that seek to achieve the following goals:
(1)
To provide all citizens and businesses with access to the widest possible array of advanced communications services.
(2)
To provide the state’s educational and health care institutions with access to advanced communications services.
(3)
To ensure cost-effective deployment of technology so as to protect ratepayers’ interests and the affordability of telecommunications services.
(c)
In the proceeding or proceedings, the commission should also consider, but need not limit its consideration to, all of the following:
(1)
Whether the definition of universal service should be broadened.
(2)
How to encourage the timely and economic development of an advanced public communications infrastructure, which may include a variety of competitive providers.