SBCA Gears Up for Satellite and Streaming Tax Fights

SBCA has been working with our partners at DISH Network and AT&T to help prevent a tax on satellite and streaming serves in Illinois. In addition to staff resources and local lobbyists, we have also engaged the local retail network to contact their state legislator urging them to vote "no" on any additional tax on customers. These efforts have proven successful in the past and we are hopeful that they will be so again!

SBCA works to improve state licensing in Arizona

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (AZROC) announced in 2018 that it would tackle reviewing each contractor license to see if it could be simplified, reduced or even eliminated. SBCA reached out to local legislatures to address the Specialty Dual Contractors Low Voltage Communications Systems License known as CR-67 (for both residential and commercial) which were  burdensome and the testing for the licensing encompassed all low voltage, and in some cases, had outdated technology. We worked with Representative Travis Grantham (to create House Bill 2181 which would allow AZROC to exempt the satellite industry from licensing. Diana Lettkeman of DISH Network, Mr. Knupp and Mike Gardner, SBCA's Arizona lobbyist, all testified before the House in support of the bill. The bill would then be passed in both the House and Senate, and was enacted by Governor Doug Ducey on April 29, 2019. The bill becomes effective 90 days after May 28, 2019, when the legislative session ended in Arizona, which would allow the satellite industry to continue without having extremely burdensome requirements. Also, it will allow technicians from neighboring states to install in Arizona without having to have a license. 

HughesNet Satellite Internet Product Profile

Product Profile Provided by HughesNet

Hughes is the global leader in broadband satellite technology and services for home and office. Its flagship high-speed satellite Internet service, HughesNet®, is America’s #1 choice for satellite Internet and the world’s largest satellite network with over 1.2 million residential and business customers across the Americas. HughesNet Gen5 brings you more of everything you love to do online: faster speeds, more data, and built-in Wi-Fi. With Gen5, you can stay connected at high-speed wherever you live! For small businesses, Hughes also offers HughesNet Internet Continuity, an affordable connectivity backup service that seamlessly delivers broadband Internet when your primary Internet service fails. Because HughesNet Internet Continuity is satellite Internet, it is not exposed to the risks faced by terrestrial Internet options. For information about HughesNet, visit    Hughes website    and follow    @HughesNet    on Twitter. Find out more about    HughesNet Internet Continuity   .

DISH Network to Buy EchoStar’s Broadcast Satellite Business

DISH Network Corp. reached a deal to buy EchoStar Corp.’s broadcast satellite-service business for about $800 million in stock, as the company brings in-house operations it split off more than a decade ago.