The Nebraska Public Service Commission heard telecom complaints Wednesday about network reach, reliability and customer service at Windstream, Frontier Communications and Lumen’s CenturyLink. Commissioners and staff heard customers’ negative experiences -- and grilled companies -- at the hearing, which was for the PSC’s telephone service-quality investigation in docket C-5303/PI-240.
Wisconsin officials promised Tuesday to take big strides to close the state’s digital divide. Local governments should engage with the state on plans for NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program and do more to increase participation in the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP), said Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq at a partially virtual broadband forum co-hosted by NTIA and the Wisconsin PSC: “We cannot leave any part of our state behind.”
The California Public Utilities Commission wants “a big tent approach” as it collects input for developing a five-year plan for spending federal infrastructure support under NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment program, said CPUC President Alice Busching Reynolds during a state webinar Monday to kick off BEAD planning. Reynolds wants to bring as broad a group as possible to the table since California is a big, diverse state, she said. Expanding internet services will improve access to government services, which is especially important for “historically disenfranchised” groups, the CPUC president noted. More than 2 million Californians lack access, said state Chief Information Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins: Those at the table should be "reflective of those individuals.” The CPUC expects to receive BEAD planning funds in the next couple of weeks, said CPUC Communications Division Director Rob Osborn: California filed its application for that support Aug. 12 and the application moved to formal NTIA review Sept. 1. Meanwhile, the agency is “working through the bulk challenge process” for the FCC’s broadband fabric, Osborn said. “It’s quite labor intensive.” The CPUC plans to share a summary analysis either through the FCC or the CPUC website at a later date, he said.
New York state can speed broadband deployment by requiring pole owners to share pole replacement costs with attachers, cable companies said in comments last week at the New York Public Service Commission. Pole owners disagreed, suggesting using the influx of state and federal broadband funding to pay for replacements. Some other attachers urged the PSC to act quickly on less controversial issues in docket 22-M-0101, especially with the FCC considering similar issues in its docket 17-84.
Keep the existing challenge process for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) broadband infrastructure grant account, telecom companies commented last week at the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC received comments Thursday in docket R.20-08-021, before a possible Nov. 3 vote on a proposed decision to adjust rules for the broadband support program (see 2210030069). Proposed challenge process changes would “result in legal and technical error,” said the California Cable and Telecommunications Association. "Comparing a challenger’s existing service plans with the plans proposed in an application is inapt and practically impossible," including because the proposed plan might not materialize, said CCTA. Requiring challengers to provide billing statements for all customers in the challenge area raises privacy concerns and would make it tougher to submit timely challenges, and requiring them "to commit to serving all locations 'in perpetuity' is vague and holds similarly situated carriers to different standards," it said. The proposed challenge process “remains deeply flawed, and should be reconsidered to avoid enabling inefficient overbuilding projects just because existing providers cannot reasonably navigate the rigid and expedited challenge procedure,” said Frontier Communications: It's too fast and includes "tangential" requirements to the task of ensuring adequate infrastructure. Proposed changes would put "unreasonable and unjustified burdens on potential challengers that are likely to invite overbuilding projects and encourage a misuse of limited CASF resources simply because challengers cannot efficiently navigate the onerous challenge process or because the Commission rejects valid challenges based on policy issues or tangential information that does not relate to whether an area is already adequately served,” said CalTel and other small telcos. The Utility Reform Network, Center for Accessible Technology and the CPUC’s Public Advocates Office mostly supported the draft rules. They "implement statutory requirements and are tailored to encourage providers to use the public funds to serve communities that have historically been left behind, including low-income and Environmental and Social Justice communities,” said TURN.
State telecom regulation is needed to reach rural areas, two Democrats running for utility commissions in red states said in interviews ahead of Nov. 8 elections. Facing one such challenge, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chair Chris Nelson (R) told us his state has made “tremendous progress” rolling out broadband in recent years. Alabama, New Mexico and some Colorado voters will have ballot questions on broadband next month.
New Hampshire one-touch, make-ready draft rules met a roadblock in the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) Thursday. The panel refused to clear the Department of Energy’s pole-attachments plan, after the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) raised several concerns including that it contains too much ambiguity by not defining terms like just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory. The department read a 2021 state law as directing it to adopt “nearly verbatim” the FCC’s one-touch rules, said David Wiesner, the department’s legal director, at the JLCAR’s webcast meeting. “We believe it’s important to do that in order to effect the legislative intent to facilitate broadband expansion in the state by making it easier for new attaching entities to install fiber, cable and other facilities on existing utility poles.” The FCC rules are “well understood by the regulated community … most of whom are sophisticated telecommunications carriers,” added Wiesner. Raising concern with OLS’ copious comments, JLCAR Chair Sen. John Reagan (R) said he preferred that “we object to this and give them a month to hash out these language differences.” The state energy department must respond to the panel’s objection by resolving the OLS comments and refiling its proposal with that office and the committee, Wiesner told us after the meeting. “I expect that we should be able to do that and have the revised version of the rules considered for approval at the next regular JLCAR meeting” on Nov. 17. The California Public Utilities Commission adopted a one-touch proposal Thursday (see 2210200073).
California will shift to a connections-based state USF contribution method and adopt one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) rules for pole attachments, utility commissioners decided at a livestreamed meeting Thursday. Also, the California Public Utilities Commission denied -- at least for now -- eligible telecom carrier designation for Starlink, needed for federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support.
California utilities would get three months to implement one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) under a revised proposed decision (PD) by the California Public Utilities Commission (docket R.17-06-028). CPUC members plan to vote Thursday on adopting OTMR for pole attachments (see 2210070061). Tuesday’s revised PD would adopt the cable industry’s suggestion to give three months for implementation rather than electric utilities’ proposal to give one year. With so much state and federal broadband funding available, the CPUC “is more inclined to order that compliance with the new OTMR requirements occur sooner rather than later so that broadband services are made more readily available in California’s neediest regions,” it said. The CPUC would disagree with its Safety and Enforcement Division that there isn't data to support a proposed finding that OTMR will promote utility safety. “The FCC adopted its access timeframes in 2011 and OTMR rules in 2018 after an extended process with the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee that addressed safety,” said the revised PD. “The OTMR requirements adopted by the Commission are consistent with the FCC rules which have not been shown to have compromised safety.” No California pilot is necessary, it said. The CPUC won’t increase penalties for unauthorized pole attachments yet, the revised PD said. Pacific Gas and Electric sought to increase the $500 fee to $2,500; Southern California Edison wanted to increase it to $2,000. The CPUC isn't ready “to decide if the increased penalty amounts would provide the necessary deterrent effect, that the increased penalty amount would not place too onerous a burden on the attachers who would be penalized, or that there isn’t an alternative mechanism that would be more effective,” said the revised draft: The CPUC “will consider this issue later in this proceeding or in a subsequent proceeding to further develop the record.” Carriers must assess state USF surcharges through a new connections-based method starting April 1, said a Wednesday revised draft of another CPUC proposal up for vote Thursday (see 2210050038). The initial PD in docket R.21-03-002 proposed shifting methods Jan. 1, but industry raised concerns last month (see 2209230031). Among other edits, the CPUC deleted a line saying the commission “is limited in its ability to expand the billing base to include broadband.” It clarified that private branch exchanges and Centrex lines are “access lines” to be counted for contribution purposes. The CPUC would disagree with AT&T that the state public utility code’s Section 285 prevents it from applying the new contribution method to VoIP carriers.
The California Public Utilities Commission risks litigation if it exerts too much authority over VoIP, warned industry in comments received by the agency Monday. Commissioners voted 5-0 Aug. 26 to open a rulemaking (docket R.22-08-008) on changes to licensing requirements and other obligations for internet-based voice (see 2208250029 and 2208190030). Consumer advocates and small businesses supported state VoIP requirements.