20250805Decision Memo.pdf

DECISION MEMORANDUM
TO: COMMISSIONER LODGE
COMMISSIONER HAMMOND
COMMISSIONER HARDIE
COMMISSION SECRETARY
COMMISSION STAFF
LEGAL
FROM: JON KRUCK, COMMISSION STAFF MEMBER
JEFF LOLL,DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
DATE: AUGUST 5, 2025
RE: IN THE MATTER OF CABLE ONE, INC's APPLICATION FOR THE
2024 BROADBAND EQUIPMENT TAX CREDIT;
CASE NO. GNR-T-25-06.
On June 12, 2025, Cable One, Inc. ("Company") applied to the Idaho Public Utilities
Commission ("Commission") for an order confirming that equipment the Company installed
during 2024 is "qualified broadband equipment"under Idaho Code § 63-3029I(Income tax credit
for investment in broadband equipment) ("Application"). Upon Commission Staff s ("Staff')
initial review of the Application, Staff determined a necessary column was not included
in the data tables provided by the Company. After discussions with Staff, the Company
made corrections to the tables and filed an amended application on June 18, 2025
("Amended Application").
THE BROADBAND EQUIPMENT TAX CREDIT
In 2001,the Idaho Legislature enacted House Bill 377 authorizing an income tax credit for
the installation of qualifying broadband infrastructure in Idaho. Idaho Code § 63-3029B. Section
63-30291 allows a taxpayer to receive an income tax credit for eligible broadband equipment
installed during a calendar year. Qualified broadband equipment is defined as those network
facilities "capable of transmitting signals at a rate of at least two hundred thousand(200,000)bits
per second to a subscriber and at least one hundred twenty-five thousand(125,000)bits per second
from a subscriber." Idaho Code § 63-30291(3)(b). If the equipment is installed by a
telecommunications carrier, it must also be "necessary to the provision of broadband services and
an integral part of a broadband network."Idaho Code § 63-3029I(3)(b)(i).
DECISION MEMORANDUM - 1 - AUGUST 5, 2025

To be eligible for the income tax credit, the taxpayer must obtain an order from the
Commission confirming that the installed equipment meets the statutory definition of qualified
broadband equipment. Commission Order No. 35297; Idaho Code § 63-3029I(4). Once the
Commission has determined the installed equipment is eligible for the income tax credit, the
Commission will issue an order granting the application, and the Commission will forward the
order and application to the Idaho Tax Commission.
THE APPLICATION
In the Amended Application, the Company stated that it provides broadband service
directly to customers in Idaho. Amended Application at 2. According to the Company, the
broadband services it offers include that through a High-Speed Data Kit and Fiber to the
Premises. Id.
The Company represented that the lowest broadband network data transmission
rate it offers to customers is 100,000,000 bits per second and the highest is 940,000,000
bits per second. Id. These rates exceed the minimum statutory speed requirements set forth in
Idaho Code § 63-30291. The Company adds that during 2024, it served 242,373 customers
in Idaho, with an estimated 98.2% of these customers accessing the Company's broadband
network. Id.
The Company indicates that the equipment identified in its Broadband Equipment
List, attached to the Amended Application as Exhibit B, was necessary to the provision
of broadband services and an integral part of a broadband network. Id. The Company
reports investing$47,916,273 in qualifying broadband equipment in 2024,which resulted
in a 3% broadband tax credit of$1,437,488.19. Id.
STAFF REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION
Staff reviewed the list of proposed broadband equipment and believes the identified
equipment qualifies for the investment tax credit pursuant to Commission Order No. 35297 and
Idaho Code § 63-30291(3)(b). Staff recommends that the Commission issue an order confirming
that the equipment is qualified broadband equipment and forward the approving order, along with
a copy of the original Application, to the Idaho Tax Commission.
DECISION MEMORANDUM - 2 - AUGUST 5, 2025

COMMISSION DECISION
Does the Commission wish to issue an order confirming the broadband equipment
identified in Case No. GNR-T-25-06 is qualified broadband equipment as defined in Idaho Code
§ 63-30291(3)(b), and forward the order and Application to the Idaho Tax Commission?
Anything else?
Jo Kruck
Commission Staff
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