As the FCC presses on with the Lifeline national verifier rollout, some state officials continue to voice concerns about incomplete access to state databases and other issues. Other state commissioners told us they haven’t heard any complaints, though one said his agency might not get any even amid problems. The NV is midway through a state-by-state launch and is designed to make signup and reverification more automatic. Those on the front lines see growing pains and worry the poor could be incorrectly excluded from the approximately $1 billion annual federal program (see 1907080009).
The House Commerce Committee's top Republican and TechNet raised alarm over an economic analysis of California Consumer Privacy Act costs. But the Berkeley Economic Advising and Research (BEAR) says costs “present a notable, but hardly insurmountable challenge." BEAR prepared the Aug. 15 report for the California attorney general (see 1909200030). Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden (R) Wednesday said the study highlighted the need for a federal privacy bill. TechNet Executive Director-California Courtney Jensen said Tuesday this shows CCPA "will not only cost billions for businesses to comply with, but small businesses and start-ups are likely to face higher compliance costs." The report estimated initial compliance costs at about $55 billion, about 1.8 percent of California gross state product in 2018, and estimated direct compliance costs $467 million-$16.5 billion over the next decade. CCPA “will have consistently positive net costs for the state economy, but the magnitude of these costs is negligible from a macroeconomic perspective.” That doesn’t count “considerable” benefits to protected consumers. Firms operating within California may have a competitive disadvantage to those operating only outside the state, but it’s small, the document said. “Previous legislation that was unique to California has in turn set national standards as firms find it easier to adopt California’s requirements to all products and services rather than provide differentiated services.” There’s “likely limited direct competition between firms that would be subject to the regulation and those that would not,” it said. The new law could “provide a future competitive advantage for affected firms that are required to come into CCPA compliance now by creating additional barriers to entry for future competitors considering entering into the California market,” it said. “If the CCPA is a precursor for future privacy regulations at the additional state or federal level, then firms already in compliance with the CCPA will have a competitive advantage.”
AT&T won’t face a statewide service-quality investigation, as Ohio Public Utilities Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Communications Workers of America’s motion to dismiss a complaint. CWA withdrew its call for a statewide probe one month after reaching tentative agreement with AT&T in contract bargaining. Ohio’s consumer advocate still wants a probe.
Competitors and consumer advocates in interviews hoped Northwest Fiber’s buy of Frontier Communications wireline, video and long-distance operations in four states will lead to better rural broadband. Oregon and Montana intervenors listed grievances with Frontier. They haven’t formally supported or opposed the acquisitions, with regulatory reviews early on. State and federal review timelines stretch into early next year.
Ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler hopes California and other states “rush through” the door opened by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling the FCC can’t pre-empt state net neutrality policies with its 2018 order, he emailed Wednesday. Vacating the pre-emption declaration “in and of itself doesn’t mean California and Vermont can ignore parallel judicial process,” countered Wilkinson Barker's Raymond Gifford. California and Vermont AGs agreed not to enforce their net neutrality laws while the D.C. Circuit decision was pending, in exchange for challengers of the state laws pausing lawsuits against the states. “It is clear, based on judges’ language in the California and Vermont cases, that neither state can enforce their legislation (or, in Vermont’s case, its parallel Executive Order) yet -- regardless of any potential desire,” emailed Gifford, a former Colorado Public Utilities Commission chairman. The judge in the Vermont case stopped the state from enforcing or directing enforcement of the law and EO “in any respect until 30 days after the expiration of the stay,” and Gifford said the “stay doesn’t lift until either the period for seeking further review from the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court expires, or the D.C. Circuit or Supreme Court issue a final decision.” In California, the judge’s “stay is predicated on the state of California, in a stipulation, agreeing to ‘not take any action to enforce, or direct the enforcement of, Senate Bill 822 in any respect, including through participation in private action seeking to enforce Senate Bill 822,’” he said. California and Vermont AG offices confirmed Wednesday they must wait (see 1910020028).
The D.C. Public Service Commission will soon finalize updated pole-attachment rules, PSC External Affairs Office Director Cary Hinton emailed Tuesday. The PSC received no comments due Monday on an Aug. 30 notice of proposed rulemaking in docket RM162019-01-M. Comcast protested an earlier version of the proposal to repeal and replace Chapter 16 of Title 15 of the D.C. Municipal Regulations on pole-attachment disputes between public utilities and cable operators (see 1907090013). The PSC added some provisions specifically for cable operators’ use of utility facilities, plus a definition for pole attachment, the Aug. 30 notice said. The Maine Public Utilities Commission hopes to wrap up its own pole-attachment rates rulemaking (see 1907120047) by the end of this month, a PUC spokesperson emailed. Staff said in June the next and third phase of the proceeding will mainly be to adopt one-touch, make ready, and possibly to create a statewide pole-attachments database (see 1906190051). Meanwhile, the Vermont Public Utility Commission sought comment on its own pole-attachment regulations in a notice (requires password) last week in docket 19-02520-RULE. The agency plans hearings Oct. 23 and Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m., it said. Vermont’s proposed rules, which include a one-touch, make-ready option for attachments, are “along the lines of FCC make ready rules,” emailed cable lawyer Alan Mandl of Ferriter Scobbo. An older proceeding to update pole-attachment rates (see 1811060028) remains open. “Earlier this year a law was enacted which requires the PUC to issue a decision in June 2020,” said Mandl, who represents the CLEC association whose petition opened the proceeding. “The last unofficial word was not to expect any activity until 2020.”
USTelecom said ISP standoffs with Vermont and California will continue, even as those and other states seeking to enforce net neutrality rules repealed by the FCC said they're heartened by a Tuesday decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court largely upheld the FCC’s 2018 order but ruled that the federal agency couldn’t pre-empt states (see 1910010018). The ruling also put the spotlight back on Congress’ net neutrality debate, gridlocked for months. Legislative leaders didn’t stray Tuesday from their existing positions. Some see that as a sign there’s unlikely to be much progress before the presidential election.
“Service quality issues remain a high priority” for the California Public Utilities Commission as it closes an investigation into intrastate rural call completion, said a decision cleared Thursday by unanimous consent at commissioners' livestreamed meeting. It said commission staff and others completed tasks from a 2017 decision. Stakeholders should continue raising concerns in proceedings on telecom service quality in emergencies, it said. The CPUC noted it's weighing carriers’ confidentiality claims on a completed study of AT&T and Frontier networks and facilities: “This report gives us additional, in-depth information on service quality issues, and offers a basis for the Commission to consider next steps to address these issues in a more comprehensive and informed way.” Also by consent, the state agency authorized staff to weigh in on an FCC request for comments on information collection due Oct. 3, and an FCC public notice seeking comment by Sept. 30 on an AT&T federal Communications Act Section 214 application in docket 19-238 to discontinue certain services in California and several other states. CPUC members voted 5-0 to extend to Sept. 29, 2020, the statutory deadline in its docket on an interconnection fight between AT&T and Vaya Telecom. That allows for the proceeding’s second phase (see 1909240012) and consideration of a Vaya rehearing request, said Commissioner Liane Randolph.
More state commissions should consider strong ethics policies, including about campaign contributions, said Arizona Commissioner Boyd Dunn and government transparency advocates in interviews. While agreeing it's important, some state commissioners said they want to avoid unintended consequences.
An Oregon Public Utility Commission state USF proceeding on requiring contributions from interconnected VoIP providers probably will move forward in December, a PUC spokesperson emailed Wednesday. Docket AR-615 (see 1811280057) was on hold while Oregon legislators last session weighed a USF bill that ultimately didn’t pass, she said. Wireless and cable opposed the Oregon USF bill to establish a broadband fund and expand the definition of retail telecom service to include wireless and VoIP (see 1904030038). HB-2184 passed the House but not the Senate.