Efforts to end 911 fee diversion face more headwinds in four states that the FCC found continued the practice in 2018 (see 1912190077), 911 advocates said in interviews. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told us he’s following up with West Virginia, which hasn’t acted despite a 2018 promise by Gov. Jim Justice (R), and Rhode Island, which last year addressed the practice in a way he called problematic.
The FCC activated its disaster information reporting system for Puerto Rico communications infrastructure after recent earthquakes (see 2001070043), it said Tuesday. The agency wants updated information on telecom providers' communications equipment, restoration efforts and power sources (commercial or backup) daily by 10 a.m. until the DIRS is deactivated. The FCC’s first status report Wednesday showed 31.7 percent cellsites out of service, mostly due to power outages. Cable and wireline companies reported more than 258,600 subscribers out of service but no broadcast or 911 outages. A public notice had guidance on special temporary authority and relief requests. The FCC provided 24/7 emergency contacts. About 26 percent of the territory's network is operating with connection problems, with power outages the main reason, said Puerto Rico Telecommunications Regulatory Board President Sandra Torres Lopez in an interview Tuesday. Industry is relying on backup batteries, but they aren’t lasting, with electricity out more than 12 hours, she said. After batteries went down, industry faces the difficult task of replenishing the generators for antennas, she said. Industry is more prepared than it was for Hurricane Maria, including having more generators, Torres said: “They have enough generators, but they need to move [them] from area to the other area because they are not in place.” The commission is telling Puerto Ricans to use phones only for emergency calls to prevent network congestion, she said.
CenturyLink will pay Minnesota $8.9 million to settle a July 2017 complaint alleging the company fraudulently overcharged customers since 2011. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) announced a consent judgment Wednesday at Anoka County District Court requiring CenturyLink to disclose true prices in advertisements, give consumers at time of sale an order confirmation with full summary of prices, end “sham internet fees,” and submit audits over the three years. “CenturyLink broke the law by fraudulently overbilling hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans and illegally raising” prices, Ellison said. In July 2017, then-CEO Glen Post called such allegations “unsettling” and contrary to company values (see 1707240068). “CenturyLink repeatedly obstructed the State’s attempts to uncover audits and information about customers the company defrauded,” the AG office said. “CenturyLink’s obstructive tactics required the Attorney General’s office to file and win three motions to compel and two motions for sanctions.” The carrier might have overbilled more than 300,000 Minnesota customers, the AG said. The AG coordinated investigations with counterparts, leading to similar settlements with Colorado, Oregon and Washington state, and other state AGs continue to investigate, Ellison’s office said. "While we disagree with the Attorney General’s position, we believe it is in the best interests of our company and our customers to amicably resolve these matters," emailed the telco's spokesperson. "CenturyLink has entered into a consent decree to settle disputed claims and avoid the distraction and costs of litigation."
Businesses entered the new year with questions about the California Consumer Privacy Act that took effect Wednesday, privacy attorneys told us this week. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) has until July to develop rules and start enforcing them, but CCPA is now law with enforcement to look back to Jan. 1.
Pennsylvania and West Virginia commissions expect state pole-attachment rules to take effect within two months, with notification to the FCC soon afterward that the states will reverse pre-empt federal rules. In November, Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission members cleared pole-attachment rules adopted August by the Public Utility Commission (see 1911210010). “We’ve been informed that the Office of the Budget and the Attorney General’s Office have completed their reviews, but we’re still waiting for the formal approval memos from those agencies,” a PUC spokesperson emailed Monday. “With those approvals in-hand, we expect the final rulemaking to be published in the January 18, 2020 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.” Rules would be effective upon publication, he said. West Virginia Public Service Commission rules, adopted Dec. 5, take effect Feb. 3 and “we will send certification to the FCC on that same day,” a spokesperson emailed earlier this month. The states would join 20 others and Washington, D.C., in reverse pre-empting the FCC.
While California’s lawsuit against T-Mobile/Sprint awaits decision, the California Public Utilities Commission “has a full record and sufficient evidence to move forward with a finding that this merger is not in the public interest and to deny merger approval or impose significant conditions,” The Utility Reform Network (TURN) Managing Director-San Diego Christine Mailloux emailed Thursday. The carriers seek a February CPUC decision, but some say CPUC will wait for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) and a verdict on his and other state AGs’ lawsuit at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (see 1912230041 and 1912260020). TURN hopes “the CPUC and the AG can cooperate and work together, to the extent the law allows, to ensure a consistent policy and decision-making process to benefit and protect California wireless consumers,” Mailloux said. “However, these reviews have proven unpredictable and TURN is uncertain whether the offices are coordinating or would wait for one or the other to finish their processes.” The CPUC and California AG office didn’t comment.
The California Public Utilities Commission received final arguments for and against the T-Mobile/Sprint deal, before a possible vote in early February. T-Mobile and Sprint said FCC and DOJ orders add to the deal’s public-interest benefits. That pact's plan to add Dish Network as a fourth national carrier didn’t persuade consumer advocates or the Communications Workers of America to support the deal, though they appeared open to strict CPUC conditions. The California commission is the last state agency OK the carriers need.
As the witness parade concluded at the T-Mobile/Sprint trial in lower Manhattan, analysts who attended were divided on whether carrier defendants or state plaintiffs have the edge. Each side had strong moments, they said. Friday, the FCC and DOJ Antitrust Division urged deference to their conditional OKs, at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Net neutrality won a prime spot in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 agenda. The Democrat proposed a bill Thursday that would build on a 2018 executive order that restricted procurement to ISPs that follow open-internet principles, codifying that and banning zero rating and blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. It would direct the Department of Public Service to hold mobile and fixed ISPs accountable by investigating and fining providers that violate net neutrality. ISPs would have to disclose net management practices and annually certify compliance with New York net neutrality rules. The bill would give a private right of action so any New Yorker could bring a complaint against violators. Cuomo said "while the federal administration works to undermine this asset, in New York we are advancing the strongest net neutrality proposal in the nation so big corporations can't control what information we access or stymie smaller competitors.” Assemblymember Patricia Fahy (D) praised Cuomo for seeking to codify his 2018 EO: “The principles of a free and open internet are essential.” Fahy is one of several New York lawmakers with net neutrality bills; legislators were expected to talk before January about possible coordination (see 1910240024). It's "promising and shows that the governor’s team is thinking about the issue comprehensively,” said Free Press Action Fund General Counsel Matt Wood. Public Knowledge also wants to see the text but is encouraged, said Policy Director Phillip Berenbroick. “With the FCC missing in action, it is critical that state governments step up.” New America’s Open Technology Institute also welcomed it. DPS, NCTA and CTIA declined comment; the FCC and USTelecom didn’t respond.
Five states diverted nearly $198 million, or 7.6 percent of all 911 fee revenue, for unrelated purposes in 2018, the FCC reported. That dropped about $87 million from 2017. FCC members said Thursday that any reshuffling is inappropriate.