Connecticut’s attorney general supported a comprehensive privacy bill, with caveats including on enforcement. The legislature’s Joint Committee on General Law heard testimony on SB-893 at a webcast hearing Thursday. The New England Cable & Telecommunications Association (NECTA) supports the bill, which mirrors Virginia's, as long as no further changes are made, said Davis Wright privacy attorney Nancy Libin.
All ExteNet litigation with municipalities over infrastructure permitting disputes are in states without small-cell laws, said Senior Counsel-Regulatory Affairs Haran Rashes at the Wireless Infrastructure Association's virtual Connect(X) event Wednesday. He has seen “very few problems” in states with small-cell laws. It’s easiest for ExteNet to work in states with deemed granted language in their bills, and the company hopes to defeat bills in some states on issues that could raise costs, including RF safety and backup power, he added. After Alabama became the 31st state to enact a law last week (see 2102220012), New Jersey is furthest along with a small-cell bill (A-1116), said Rashes. Municipalities and industries have compromised on the measure. Several bills in New York are “promising,” he added. Rashes wishes for policies in Massachusetts and California, where localities have given the company “some real headaches.” No new small-cell bills are on tap in California, where a previous bill was vetoed, but speeding infrastructure deployment is part of the state’s current conversation on “internet for all,” said Roxanne Gould, WIA consultant in California. Broadband is moving to the “front of the line” as a top priority, she said. Many bills have been introduced, but the dust hasn’t settled on what will pass, she said. Wildfire response was a top California priority in 2020 and will continue to be this year, she noted.
Congress, not courts, should decide net neutrality, said a federal judge Tuesday, ruling from the bench denying ISPs a preliminary injunction against California’s law (see our bulletin). “I don't find that the plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits at this stage of the litigation,” said Judge John Mendez on the motion by ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom in case 2:18-cv-02684. This paves the way for the law to take effect, cheering fans of using Communications Act Title II to regulate broadband service, while industry plaintiffs agreed with the judge that Congress must step in.
The cable industry resisted a California open-access plan for middle-mile infrastructure funded by the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). That mandate would be "a fundamental and unlawful shift away from the program the Legislature authorized,” which requires funding for cost-effective broadband projects in unserved areas and allows middle-mile funding if “indispensable” to last-mile connections, said California Cable and Telecommunications Association comments emailed Monday to the service list for docket R.20-08-02. An open-access mandate will increase competition and choice, said the CPUC Public Advocates Office. The proposal properly includes pending CASF infrastructure applications, “because the open access benefits to surrounding communities will outweigh costs,” said The Utility Reform Network. The National Diversity Coalition urged the CPUC to “be consistent and clear,” requiring grant recipients to post pricing and other details.
A tough 2020 for emergency call takers shows the need for more federal funding, said three local call center heads on an NG-911 Institute webinar Tuesday. Current funding is “grossly inadequate” to build facilities with sufficient technology, security and interoperability, said Orleans Parish Communication District Executive Director Tyrell Morris. “I don’t know of a single federal resource that is available today for construction of a 911 center to really meet these needs.” There are grants for technology improvements, "not the true brick and mortar we need.” New Orleans faced a disastrous spike in COVID-19 cases last year after Mardi Gras was a super-spreader event, he said. Unable to telework when the coronavirus first hit, 911 call takers were left “more vulnerable than the average person going to work,” said Renee Gordon, Alexandria, Virginia, Department of Emergency Communications director. As the virus continued to spread, Alexandria learned how to tweak existing equipment to allow remote working (see 2006120038), but many smaller centers couldn’t do that, she said. Teleworking would have helped during the 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball game in Alexandria, she said. “We had an influx of calls,” and it would have helped to allow workers not on shift to immediately take calls at home, she said. More rural network infrastructure funding would improve emergency response in Larimer County, Colorado, said Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority CEO Kimberly Culp. During summer wildfires last year, landline emergency alerts had a 60% failure rate, she said: It wasn’t due to the carrier or the alert system, but because many rural areas lack broadband and cell towers.
A federal judge Tuesday questioned ISPs’ commitment to voluntarily follow net neutrality principles. ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom at the teleconferenced hearing urged the U.S. District Court in Sacramento to support their preliminary injunction motion against California in case 2:18-cv-02684. Judge John Mendez repeatedly asked plaintiffs about what harm the 2018 California law (SB-822) would cause if allowed to take effect. The hearing was still going at 6 p.m. EST.
A federal judge denied preliminary injunction for ISP associations against California’s net neutrality law at a teleconferenced Tuesday hearing at the U.S. District Court in Sacramento. The comments came following industry and government arguments. See our news report here.
Virginia could soon become the second state with a comprehensive privacy law, after California. The Senate voted 32-7 Friday to send HB-2307 to Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who's expected to sign (see bulletin). Business privacy attorneys are watching New York and Washington as possible next states and monitoring bills in Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Utah, they said in interviews last week. The Virginia and Washington bills are weaker than California’s mandate and would do more harm than good, privacy advocates told us.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission won’t reconsider approving Frontier Communications’ bankruptcy reorganization. Though two commissioners promised continued investigation, the PUC voted 5-0 Thursday to deny petitions by the Minnesota Commerce Department and unions citing better promises to other states (see 2101070027). On the West Coast, consumer and local government advocates praised the California Public Utilities Commission’s proposed OK.
Virginia could soon become the second state with a comprehensive privacy law, after California. The Senate voted 32-7 Friday for HB-2307. The House voted 89-9 Thursday for SB-1392, the Senate's same version. The Senate concurred with House changes.