Wireless carriers and industry groups warned the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) against expanding its nearly 30-year-old carrier of last resort (COLR) rules to cover broadband, citing legal and technical limitations, in comments filed Friday (docket R.24-06-012). The filings came in response to an administrative law judge’s request for comment on two April workshops about proposed changes and the current landscape. While AT&T and others pushed to eliminate COLR obligations in areas with competition, consumer advocates argued that the rules remain essential to ensure universal access to basic voice service as the CPUC weighs changes.
Tribal broadband experts stressed during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday the importance of building networks that serve the community’s long-term interests rather than focusing on short-term profits. Panelists also highlighted the growing significance of fiber networks and data centers in advancing tribal digital sovereignty and economic development.
A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld the FCC's decision to deny LTD Broadband more than $1.3 billion in rural broadband subsidies, ruling that the agency didn't violate the Administrative Procedure Act when it found the company unqualified.
Rate regulation would harm competition in the broadband marketplace and undermine efforts to close the digital divide, said ACA Connects in a new study released Thursday. The study, conducted in partnership with Cartesian, found four "cascading" effects of rate regulation: less investment, less competition, a slowdown in pricing declines and harm spillover.
Now that the FCC has approved Verizon's proposed acquisition of Frontier (see 2505160050), the deal is under mounting scrutiny in states including California and West Virginia, where initial public comments are running against the deal. Utah, Nevada, Virginia and Texas have already given their OK.
Industry and public interest groups disagreed on a proposed California Public Utilities Commission decision that would set service quality standards for telecom. Their comments about the proposed decision, which Commissioner Darcie Houck wrote in April, were posted Monday (docket 22-03-016).
Several industry and consumer advocacy groups asked the California Public Utilities Commission to establish streamlined rules and ensure consumer protection as it considers revisions to technical regulations concerning the commission's facilities for interconnected VoIP service providers. In comments posted Tuesday (docket R2208008), some said they intend to participate in the CPUC's May 28 workshop to further discuss definitions of such facilities. Some also raised concerns about the commission's apparent direction toward providers operating in small independent local exchange carrier (ILEC) territories.
More than 100 state legislators from 28 states on Thursday urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and NTIA to ensure that states have the final say over their BEAD programs. In a letter backed by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the bipartisan group of lawmakers raised concerns about reported changes to the program that could cause delays to broadband deployment and states' authority over state programs. As of Thursday, 115 lawmakers had signed the letter and encouraged others to sign.
Oklahoma is "holding off" on its subgrant selection process for the BEAD and tribal broadband connectivity program following NTIA's rescoping of BEAD, the state's Broadband Office said during a governing board meeting Tuesday (see 2503060047). The office will soon release a second request for information (RFI) for network expansion territories as it awaits NTIA's next move concerning programmatic changes.
The FCC is "moving at breakneck speed" and "really swinging for the fences" since the start of the Trump administration, Chairman Brendan Carr said Tuesday at Incompas' Policy Summit. Carr reiterated his "pretty aggressive agenda," which includes addressing media issues, reining in Big Tech, pushing initiatives that will "spur economic growth," and supporting national security and public safety.