A Connecticut court's municipal broadband decision mightn't end the fight over how cities may use reserved pole space. The Connecticut Superior Court noted the matter “is clearly headed toward higher judicial ground,” as it ruled Tuesday that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority overreached last year that “municipal gain” space on utility poles or underground ducts -- reserved by a 2013 law “for any purpose” -- can't be used to provide muni broadband (see 1911120064). One winning appellant, the Connecticut Consumer Counsel, is “pleased with the thorough nature of the decision” but won’t be surprised if PURA or telecom intervenors appeal the or shift the fight to the legislature or federal court, said principal attorney Joseph Rosenthal in a Wednesday interview. That could extend the fight another two years, he said. Municipalities now are free to use the muni gain for broadband, and some are “poised” to do that, but they would be risking a later decision could undermine their efforts, he said. Acting Connecticut Consumer Counsel Richard Sobolewski plans to continue the fight: “It’s an issue we feel very strongly about.” PURA is "still reviewing the Superior Court’s decision," emailed Chairman Marissa Paslick Gillett. The New England Cable & Telecommunications Association's “disappointed in the Court’s decision and are reviewing our options,” President Tim Wilkerson emailed. PURA was correct "based on state and federal law, as well as principles of fair competition," emailed a Frontier Communications spokesperson. "We are reviewing the decision and next steps." CenturyLink declined to comment on “pending litigation.”
The FCC must take caution not to disrupt critical infrastructure as it opens the 6 GHz band to unlicensed users, said two state utility commissioners in support of a proposed NARUC resolution. State commissioners plan to vote on the 6 GHz statement at their meeting next week in San Antonio (see 1911050040). Senators and wireless carriers are also warning the FCC.
Power companies reminded West Virginia it’s not bound by federal rules as the Public Service Commission develops pole-attachment regulations. The PSC collected comments Thursday after lawmakers reverse pre-empted the FCC (see 1910150014). West Virginia aims to join 20 other states and Washington, D.C.
Different levels of government should improve coordination in emergencies and reduce barriers to telemedicine, the FCC Intergovernmental Advisory Committee reported, released Thursday. IAC covers delivering multilingual emergency alerts to people who speak in different languages or have communication disabilities, improving communications among state, local, tribal and territorial government on emergency alerting system procedures, enhancing coordination for disaster resiliency efforts, and reducing regulatory barriers to telemedicine. There are “valuable insights and recommendations that will help inform the work of the FCC and that of our state, local, Tribal, and territorial government partners,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The FCC should develop “non-language-oriented” alerts based on symbols and colors to address the current paucity of multilingual emergency alerts and alerts intended for those with disabilities, said the multilingual alerting report. “Use of universal colors, symbols and sounds takes the language barrier out of the equation.” IAC suggested that state emergency communication committee alerting plans include reaching non-English speakers and the disabled. To prevent and minimize the repercussions of incidents such as the January 2018 false missile alert in Hawaii, SECCs should require state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) governments to regularly hold annual meetings of their emergency managers, said another report. The FCC should consider formalizing requirements that states document such meetings, the report said. Direct state EAS plans to involve social media protocols that include the specific SLTT entities that will issue messages, and the contents of such messages, it said. The FCC should update rules to require SECCs adopt recommendations from the agency’s report on the Hawaii incident to deal with and prevent false alerts, the document recommended. Those include changes to software to separate tests from real alerts, redundant lines of communication, and protocols for handling false alerts. Best practice “is to actually plan and coordinate with each other on a regular basis during ... normal, non-emergency, working conditions,” the disaster resiliency report said: Locate critical communications facilities and access roads and make recovery crews aware of critical lines to avoid damage. Wireless providers should set up roaming agreements in advance of disasters, and more work is needed to ensure public safety communications interoperability, it said. Barriers to telemedicine include limited technical support in rural hospitals, physician concerns over reimbursement, and complexities of credentialing and privileging for telecare providers, the IAC reported.
Mississippi re-elected Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley (D), while electing two Republican commissioners -- Brent Bailey and Dane Maxwell -- in Tuesday’s election. Bailey and Maxwell “are dedicated hard-workers and I know that we are headed for four years of great things for the people of MS,” tweeted Presley, a NARUC executive committee member. Kentucky and Virginia election results could be good news for net neutrality supporters. Andy Beshear (D), who claimed victory in Kentucky’s gubernatorial election despite Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's not conceding, was one of the state attorneys general who challenged the FCC’s 2017 net neutrality repeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That court recently ruled the FCC couldn’t stop states from making their own policies, encouraging some state Democrats (see 1910240024). But Daniel Cameron (R) is taking the Beshear's AG seat, and the GOP controls both houses of the legislature. Virginia, which already had a Democratic governor, flipped both legislative houses to make a blue trifecta. “Virginia is very much on the radar after yesterday’s election,” emailed Gigi Sohn, fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy. National Regulatory Research Institute Telecom Principal Sherry Lichtenberg said it’s hard to predict what will happen. “Although Kentucky joined the state AG appeal, I’m not sure that this will result in state legislation,” and “Virginia has been doing a great deal of work in broadband mapping,” but NRRI hasn’t “seen any movement on net neutrality there,” she emailed. Colorado's Edgewater, Greenwood Village, Lakewood, Mead, Parker and Rico voted to opt out of SB-152, a 2005 state restriction on municipal broadband, emailed Colorado Municipal League Legislative and Policy Advocate Brandy DeLange. “These elections results track with the previous 100+ communities that have passed similar questions,” showing “constituents want faster, better, reliable broadband and that they are comfortable with their local government beginning that conversation.” The vote was narrow in Lakewood, with 50.44 percent in favor. People from Fort Dodge, Iowa, voted to establish a muni telecom utility, and Holyoke, Massachusetts, residents supported a nonbinding referendum showing public support for municipal broadband, emailed Institute for Local Self-Reliance Community Broadband Networks Director Christopher Mitchell. It shows “people really wanting better options for Internet access than the cable and telephone monopolies, even in areas that the FCC would consider to be well served,” he said.
A Maine commissioner compared Consolidated Communications to a railroad monopoly as he rejected the telephone incumbent’s opposition to new pole-attachment rates based on the FCC cable rate formula. The Public Utilities Commission voted 3-0 at its Tuesday meeting, livestreamed from Hallowell, Maine, to amend Chapter 880 rules. Meanwhile, at the Vermont PUC, cable, wireless and other commenters sought to fine-tune proposed make-ready rules.
CTIA urged the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to wait to recommend state USF changes to the legislature. The commission adopted rules implementing a state USF broadband program in December 2017, "less than two years ago," and applications for first broadband projects were filed "only last year,” CTIA commented Thursday in case 19-00046-UT. “Any suggestions made now would be based on mere opinions, not objective data drawn from completed projects.” Tap the state’s general fund rather than increase the size of state USF, which would “disproportionately and adversely” affect wireless customers who contribute most, CTIA said. No legislative changes are needed, commented the New Mexico Exchange Carrier Group. The state fund “is providing a reliable mechanism for supporting universal service availability at affordable rates in rural areas and, at the same time, promoting the expansion of broadband internet access service to unserved and underserved areas.” The PRC could draw more broadband funding from state USF without changing the fund or statute, CTIA suggested. "The Commission can ensure that more money is committed to broadband deployment in New Mexico by requiring carriers receiving access replacement or need-based subsidies to spend more than the statutory minimum” of 60 percent of those subsidies, it said. The exchange carriers disagreed: The current 60 percent threshold isn't "unreasonably burdensome" for recipients, but if it's increased, some “may find it difficult or impossible to meet a higher threshold for broadband expenditures and still be able to cover their non-broadband expenses without raising local rates.”
A fight over states seeking to regulate interconnected VoIP could return to the Supreme Court if it reviews the 2017 FCC net neutrality repeal, some experts told us. The court last month denied certiori to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which appealed an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision that VoIP is an information service exempt from state regulation (see 1910210059). Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch’s concurrence said their court should address in an “appropriate” case an underlying question about if federal nonregulation can pre-empt state regulation. That's seen opening a new path of attack for states.
California county officials said telecom carriers should improve backup systems, after public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) caused outages: Wireless carriers should install backup generators that last days rather than rely on batteries lasting hours. Some had wireline outages although their homes had power. The California Public Utilities Commission has concerns.
The California Public Utilities Commission might hold T-Mobile/Sprint hearings Dec. 5 and 6, if Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen decides they’re needed after the next round of comments, said his amended scoping memo released Thursday in docket A.18-07-011. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York opens trial Dec. 9 on state attorneys’ general challenge to the deal. The CPUC wants Sprint, T-Mobile and Dish written testimony by Nov. 7, intervenor replies Nov. 22. Simultaneous briefs are due Dec. 20, Rechtschaffen said. The commissioner asked the companies to answer additional questions, including how the DOJ and FCC commitments changed the deal, particularly for California, and the impact of divesting Sprint, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile prepaid businesses. The state commission reopened review after the carriers signed pacts with Dish and DOJ (see 1909200033). Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer "would have to draft a proposed decision by mid December if it's going to make the one January meeting, and that's all but impossible," emailed Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum. "But a February decision is very possible if there are no glitches. If a hearing is scheduled, if discovery is ordered, if T-Mobile tries another document dump, if everyone at the CPUC wants to take a couple of weeks off for the holidays, then it starts to look like March or later."