CPUC May Deny Cable Petition on Wireless Pole Attachments
California may rule next month that cable companies don’t have the right to attach wireless equipment to utility poles. A proposed decision released Monday by the California Public Utilities Commission would deny a petition by the California Cable & Telecommunications Association (CCTA) to extend right-of-way rules of commercial mobile radio services to wireless pole attachments by cable companies (see 1607210030). Also at the CPUC, opponents to Google’s acquisition of Webpass’ CLEC license in California withdrew their objections, allowing the transaction to move forward uncontested. And the commission Tuesday released an agenda for its Jan. 19 meeting, including items on implementing the FCC’s Lifeline order and another extension of its high-cost fund rulemaking.
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Commissioners may vote on the pole-attachments decision at their Feb. 9 voting meeting, said a cover letter. “The Petition is denied because [cable TV (CATV)] corporations do not have a right under the California Public Utilities Code to install wireless pole attachments, because the Petition is largely moot, and because the Petition is fundamentally ambiguous,” the draft filed in docket 16-07-009 said. Under state law, CATV companies aren’t public utilities, and they're defined as entities that use cable facilities, with no mention of wireless, the agency said. “If the Legislature had intended to provide CATV corporations with a right to attach wireless facilities to utility poles -- either by statute or by Commission regulations -- the Legislature would have done so.”
The draft noted an alternative method for cable companies to attach wireless equipment to poles. “CATV corporations may wish to provide wireless and wireline communication services, and we encourage them to do so. Although the Petition is denied, CATV corporations may use existing procedures to obtain nondiscriminatory access to utility poles for both wireless pole attachments and wireline pole attachments that are used to provide communication services.” A cable company may obtain status as a CMRS carrier by filing a wireless identification registration, or apply for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to provide facilities-based local exchange service, it said.
“CCTA is disappointed in the Proposed Decision’s rejection of CCTA’s petition seeking nondiscriminatory access to utility poles for cable company antennas,” emailed Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Jerome Candelaria. “This proposed action could impact California's choice in next generation wireless broadband offerings. CCTA is reviewing its options regarding how to respond to the PD.”
The draft didn’t address a similar petition by the Wireless Infrastructure Association to extend the CMRS right-of-way rules to wireless pole attachments by CLECs (see 1608300037). “The Proposed Decision’s analysis focuses on the statutory rights of cable operators under California law, which makes it difficult to predict what implications, if any, it may have for the CPUC’s analysis of the WIA Petition, which pertains to CLECs,” emailed WIA Senior Government Affairs Counsel Van Bloys.
Meanwhile, a CPUC ruling on the Google-Webpass deal may be on the way after the National Diversity Coalition withdrew its opposition via a motion posted Tuesday in docket 16-08-009. "In our protest, NDC raised concerns regarding a lack of information on the impact and benefit to the public interest that would result from this merger,” the coalition said. “Google Fiber and Webpass Telecommunications have since provided additional information and discussed these issues at length during several meetings with NDC.” Google and the coalition opened talks last year to resolve their dispute (see 1611230044). Google closed on buying Webpass wireless technology in October (see 1610030035). Google didn’t comment.
CPUC released an agenda for members' Jan. 19 meeting. The commission plans to vote on an order to align state LifeLine rules with changes to the federal low-income program (see 1701050042). The FCC granted California a waiver of its Dec. 2 federal Lifeline deadline until June 1 on port freeze requirements and Oct. 31 on eligibility rules. The commission plans to vote on a proposed decision released Monday extending to April 5 the statutory deadline for a rulemaking to revamp the California High Cost Fund-A Program. The two-month extension wouldn’t be the first (see 1612010061).