The New York Public Service Commission will take three more weeks to review Altice’s $17.7 billion takeover of Cablevision. The new deadline is May 20, said an Altice letter released Tuesday by the PSC. A counsel for the Communications Workers of America, which has opposed the deal, claimed that lack of progress in a contested separate review by New York City might have contributed to the delay.
Verizon dismissed union rallies in New York as “like a bad April Fool’s joke.” Hundreds of union workers rallied Thursday at Verizon’s offices in New York City and White Plains, New York. The workers, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, protested about job security and health and retirement benefits amid a labor contract dispute with Verizon. “Verizon’s CEO makes more than 200 times as much as the average frontline worker, but the company refuses to bargain the fair contract Verizon workers and their families need and deserve,” said CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor. “It’s time for management to stop slashing frontline workers’ job security and living standards.” A Verizon spokesman replied that it's “simply foolish to believe these meaningless disruptions have any impact on the bargaining process.” Verizon is committed to the long-term success of its business, he said. “We hope union leaders would feel the same.” CWA has also been on the attack at the New York Public Service Commission, where it has successfully petitioned the commission to open an investigation into the quality of the telco’s copper-based services (see 1603230044).
States may sue the FCC over the commission’s Lifeline order, pending a review of the text of the final order, NARUC President Travis Kavulla said in an interview on Friday. At its Thursday meeting, the FCC approved by a 3-2 vote an order that would extend USF low-income subsidies to broadband (see 1603310056). While states support a broadband expansion, they have disagreed with the FCC’s decision to shift potential responsibility for verifying Lifeline broadband provider eligibility from the states to a national third party, sharply condemning the proposal in a March 17 letter ultimately signed by 96 state commissioners (see 1603180052). Before the FCC vote, the National Governors Association and NASUCA voiced concerns about where the order leaves states. Capitol Hill Democrats were revealed to be heavily involved in lobbying the agency hours before the vote. After the vote, rural telco/RLEC groups NTCA and WTA also voiced concerns about the Lifeline order.
A Vermont dispute over pole attachment fees has stirred up a larger issue over whether a fixed interconnected VoIP service provided by a cable operator should be regulated like a local exchange service. While FairPoint Communications and cable companies Charter and Comcast have decided to settle disagreements over pole attachment rates in Vermont, the matter has renewed interest in the Vermont Public Service Board’s long-standing proceeding about how the board regulates interconnected VoIP. A ruling there could have ramifications for other states with disputes about regulation of VoIP services.
A bill in the California State Assembly to push telecom customers toward IP services (AB-2395) will keep California at the forefront of technology, said a spokesman for the bill’s sponsor, Assembly Member Evan Low (D). The bill would authorize telcos to discontinue legacy telephone service in 2020, as long as they first educate consumers about the transition. Consumer group The Utility Reform Network slammed the bill Tuesday (see 1603290055) because it said the proposal would authorize AT&T to strand many Californian customers who still rely on the copper network, including people in rural areas, low-income households, seniors and people with disabilities. Low, who represents the Silicon Valley, believes it’s time to push adoption of IP telecom services in California, his spokesman said. “This bill is the nexus in terms of advancing California’s innovation economy.” Other states have passed similar legislation and this is a case of California playing catch-up, he said. The bill includes “backstops” recognizing that IP infrastructure might not be an option for all Californians, he said. Under the bill, customers can petition the state commission to review availability of IP service at their location if a telco gives notice it's discontinuing legacy telephone service. If the commission finds there's no provider, the commission can help the customer find an alternative, or order the withdrawing telco to continue providing voice service to the customer for another 12 months. A committee hearing in the California State Assembly is expected on AB-2395 in April.
Consumer advocates slammed a bill in the California State Assembly that would push telecom customers toward IP services. The bill (AB-2395), introduced last month by Assembly Member Evan Low (D) and amended March 17, would authorize telcos to discontinue legacy telephone service in 2020, as long as they first educate consumers about the transition. AB-2395 has AT&T and industry support, but The Utility Reform Network (TURN) in California said it will oppose it because many Californians still rely on the copper network.
Charter Communications won conditional OK in Hawaii for its acquisition of Time Warner Cable subsidiaries, leaving California at the state level needing to approve Charter buys of TWC and Bright House Networks. The scope of the Hawaii PUC review didn’t include BHN and was limited to an indirect transfer of control of TWC’s Information Services and Business subsidiaries to Charter. After the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission order Thursday, the overall deal requires approval by the FCC and the California PUC.
Comcast will expand Internet Essentials to public housing residents in select local markets through a pilot program with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD and Comcast said Thursday. In the pilot, Comcast said it will provide service to public housing residents in Miami-Dade County and the cities of Nashville, Seattle and Philadelphia. The pilot is part of the Obama administration’s ConnectHome initiative to close the digital divide for public housing residents. The FCC plans a March 31 vote on a draft order (see 1603220044) to provide broadband service to low-income consumers through the Lifeline program.
The Communications Workers of America cheered an investigation into Verizon service quality by the New York Public Service Commission. In a Monday order, the PSC said it will examine the quality of Verizon’s legacy copper services and Verizon’s willingness to make upgrades to copper in areas where it hasn’t rolled out fiber. A similar investigation of Verizon is ongoing in Pennsylvania (see 1602230036), and there is a petition for a third in Maryland (see 1511160039).
A glut of definitions for “rural” can complicate the process of applying for broadband grants and loans, federal officials acknowledged Monday. "The government doesn't make it easy by having some sort of universal definition," said NTIA External Affairs Director Aimee Meacham, moderating a panel on broadband financing at NTIA’s Digital Northwest regional broadband summit in Seattle (see 1603210049). Carol Mattey, deputy chief of the FCC Wireline Bureau, said: "There's more than 20 definitions of rural in federal funding programs. Even within the universal service funding programs themselves, we have different definitions for one program versus another, and it's very arcane." Keith Adams, Rural Utilities Service assistant administrator, noted differences in the definition of rural among programs at RUS. While “traditional” RUS programs define rural as communities with 5,000 or fewer people, the Farm Bill Broadband Loan Program defines rural as communities with 20,000 people or fewer, he said.