Californians can't combine their state and federal Lifeline subsidies for stand-alone wireline broadband service, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said in a decision published Tuesday (docket 20-02-008). The commission's Public Advocate Office and the Utility Reform Network petitioned the CPUC in April 2024 while the FCC was sunsetting the Affordable Connectivity Program. Residents were eligible during the program to combine their subsidies. Several ISPs, including AT&T, Charter, Cox, Consolidated Communications and Frontier, opposed the petition and cited legal, policy and procedural issues. "While we deny the petition based on these procedural flaws, we agree with the petitioners that the commission should explore ways to make broadband more affordable to Californians," the decision said.
Wisconsin lawmakers approved a bill Monday that would provide grants to organizations that provide services through the 988 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. SB-307 would direct the Department of Health Services to administer the grant program. No funding total was included in the bill text.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) approved a bill Monday that would expand the state's list of mental health crisis services to include the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Care Act puts oversight of 988 call centers under the Department of Children and Families, which will adopt standards for them, including service standards, personnel training and quality of care. Providers will be reimbursed for providing this service "based on the availability of funds."
The Oklahoma Broadband Office announced the launch of a $1.7 million broadband expansion project with Canadian Valley Telephone Friday (see 2505210045). The project, which is funded through a $1.3 million federal grant and $430,000 in matching funds, will connect 426 homes and businesses with fiber. Total broadband investments from the Oklahoma Governing Board and matching funds from ISPs has surpassed $840 million so far with at least one project anticipated in 59 of the state's 77 counties.
The New York Senate voted 45-14 Thursday to approve a bill that would address junk fees. S-363 would require businesses, such as ISPs and cable providers, to display certain mandatory fees and the total price of their services. In addition, it would exclude "any tax, duty, fee or custom levied by any local, state, federal or other governmental or quasi-governmental entity" from its list of mandatory fees. Fourteen Senate Democrats introduced the legislation, the New York Junk Fee Prevention Act, in January. Providers would be deemed in compliance if they're abiding by the FCC's consumer broadband label rules. The bill accounts for the possibility of the FCC's rules no longer being applicable and establishes similar provisions for providers. Such mandatory fees would include surcharges that are "not reasonably avoidable" to make a purchase or require action by a consumer to remove them.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) announced more than $58 million in Completing Access to Broadband program funding Wednesday. The latest round of funding, which comes from the American Rescue Plan, will connect 10,076 homes and businesses to fiber broadband services in 26 counties. Awards went to Brightspeed, whose projects span 15 of the 26 counties, as well as Spectrum, Windstream, ERC Broadband, Lumbee River Electric Membership Corp. and Zirrus.
The Nebraska attorney general filed a lawsuit against online marketplace Temu on Thursday, alleging privacy and consumer protection violations. The state seeks to stop Temu from collecting, maintaining and using consumers' personally identifiable information (PII).
The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) approved Verizon's $20 billion all-cash purchase of Frontier, saying in a Wednesday decision (No. 24-11-06) that the proposed deal "is in the public interest." The approval imposed several obligations on Verizon (see 2505160066), requiring it to submit annual reports on fiber deployment for four years, present a plan regarding its role as "custodian of the communications space on all Connecticut utility poles" and ensure its toll-free number is accessible to non-Verizon customers for reporting unsafe conditions. Under the decision by Commissioners Marissa Gillett, David Arconti and Michael Caron, Verizon is also required to supply free battery backup units with D-cell batteries to customers transitioning from copper to fiber services.
The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) released its fourth annual broadband report and updated interactive map Thursday, showing improvements in high-speed internet access across the state. The report, developed under the 2021 Comprehensive Broadband Connectivity Act, found that 97.4% of New York addresses are now served by high-speed internet Since last year, the number of served addresses increased by 29,763 and underserved addresses dropped by 1,871. PSC Chair Rory Christian said the report supports efforts to identify underserved communities and guide policy decisions. "Broadband is now considered essential for education, health care and economic activity," he noted.
A coalition of 42 state attorneys general urged Congress to pass the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act in a letter Monday. The bill would "end the abusive use of mortgage credit trigger leads while preserving their use in narrowly defined circumstances," the bipartisan group of AGs said. They said legislation is needed to stop unwanted robocalls and texts after a consumer applies for a mortgage. Current law allows companies to sell consumers' information in the real estate market immediately after they apply for a mortgage. The bill would limit access to such data.