Washington state and Oregon plan to release their joint request for proposals seeking FirstNet radio-access-network alternatives Oct. 13, with responses likely due by Nov. 13, a spokeswoman for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said Wednesday. The 90-day shot-clock to opt out of FirstNet began on Friday (see 1709290040).
State IT chiefs see IoT, artificial intelligence and machine learning having the biggest impact among emerging IT areas in the next three to five years, said a 2017 survey released Tuesday by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. While 69 percent of state CIOs are discussing only networked state devices, states with a road map increased to 15 percent in 2017 from 4 percent last year. Emerging networked devices are in 21 percent of state IT strategic plans, up from 9 percent. Funding is a major concern for about half of CIOs, it said. "Some states struggle with a mechanism to recover costs and balance that model with appropriations for enterprise-wide services like cybersecurity." Digital government is an enterprise priority for all state CIOs. Barriers are “agency readiness, budget, security/identity management and cross-boundary collaboration,” NASCIO found.
The online sales tax advantage for e-commerce could get a hearing at the Supreme Court, a move heralded by brick and mortar retailers that have pushed Congress for more than a decade to equalize the playing field. South Dakota yesterday asked the Supreme Court to end the competitive advantage created by the court's 1992 ruling, Quill Corp v. North Dakota, which said states can't require out-of-state retailers to collect the taxes owed on sales to consumers within its borders unless the retailer also has a physical location in the state. "South Dakota has brought a well-designed challenge to Quill that respects the sovereignty of the U.S. Supreme Court and asks the Court to reconsider its decision in light of the sweeping advances in technology that the Court could not possibly have foreseen when it issued its decision 25 years ago," said Retail Litigation Center President Deborah White in a news release. "The artificial price advantage for online retailers that the United States Supreme Court unknowingly created in Quill has done significant damage to thousands of brick and mortar retailers, and meant billions in lost revenue for state and local governments in the intervening quarter of a century."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has “pressing concerns” about Charter after the company’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable, Cuomo’s counsel, Alphonso David, told the New York Public Service Commission in a letter released Tuesday. Charter isn’t providing broadband to unserved areas, “which appears to violate the essential terms and conditions of Charter and Time Warner Cable's merger agreement with the State of New York,” David said. “For Charter to have failed to comply with the terms of the merger agreement so early in the process raises significant concerns about Charter's ability to meet its obligations moving forward.” The cable operator's workforce appears to have “diminished in size and skill, leaving customers vulnerable to poor service,” despite it promising the PSC it would maintain its workforce, David said. The PSC shares the "concerns about Charter's commitment," a spokesman said Tuesday. "The PSC intends to vigorously enforce the terms of its merger order, as demonstrated by our recent $13 million settlement with Charter for missing its broadband buildout target last May, and we will immediately commence the additional review called for in Mr. David's letter." The agency approved the settlement last month (see 1709140041). In a Sept. 14 statement on the settlement, PSC Chair John Rhodes said Charter is "delivering on many" of its commitments but failed to expand its network to unserved customers as fast as it said it would. Rather than pay penalties, it agreed to pay $1 million in equipment grants to provide computer and internet access to low-income users and to set aside $12 million as a security to meet the network expansion commitment. The company blamed delays on slow pole-attachment and make-ready processes. Charter shares the governor's "goal of connecting more New Yorkers to our high speed broadband network and [is] working closely with the PSC to obtain the access to poles needed to do so," a spokeswoman said Tuesday. The company provides at least 60 Mbps across the state and hired more than 3,000 New Yorkers this year, she said.
“Verizon, and Verizon alone” is to blame if thousands of its customers in rural parts of Montana lose service if they fail to switch to the underlying carrier used by the company for roaming support or to agree to switch to a metered data plan by Dec. 1, Mike Kilgore, president of the Rural Wireless Association, wrote the Montana Legislature’s Telecom Interim Committee. “Under negotiated roaming agreements, Verizon and its rural roaming partners established commercially reasonable roaming rates and other commercially acceptable terms,” RWA said in a Monday news release. “Verizon implemented a competitive unlimited data plan in February of this year. Now that data usage is on the rise, Verizon has felt the impact on its bottom line and is pulling the plug on its rural customers.” Verizon didn't comment.
NATOA, the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and U.S. Conference of Mayors jointly asked the FCC to do a comprehensive review of RF emission rules. The current rules date to 1996, they noted. “Nearly four years ago, local government commenters urged the Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of its RF emission rules and work to provide timely updates in light of the best, independent scientific research from around the world,” the groups said in a Monday letter in docket 13-84. “The deployment of new technologies -- especially small cells -- in our communities has raised new concerns with the current standards. While local governments may not regulate the siting of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of RF emissions, local government officials are often faced with residents raising RF concerns with the siting of new wireless facilities in the public rights-of-way.”
The wireless industry welcomed Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo's (D) signing of the 13th state small-cells law pre-empting local authority for 5G infrastructure siting in the right of way (ROW). H-5224, signed into law last week, requires local authorities to charge a cost-based fee for processing small-cells applications and no more than $150 yearly for collocating small cells on poles in the public ROW. A small-cells application is deemed granted if the local government doesn’t act within 60 days of submission. It will help spur investment to bring 5G networks to Rhode Island, CTIA Senior Vice President-State Affairs Jamie Hastings said Friday. The Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns earlier raised concerns about the bill’s caps on annual pole attachment fees (see 1706210058). Friday, it declined comment. A similar bill in California awaits the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown (D). Mayors of five major California cities asked Brown to veto SB-649; the governor has until Oct. 15 to decide (see 1709220029).
The Texas Public Utility Commission lacks jurisdiction under the state’s small-cells law over installation of network nodes in the right of way (ROW), agreed PUC staff, Texas cities and Verizon in separate reply briefs last week in docket 47530. The new law’s Chapter 284 replaces the old section, Chapter 283, under which the PUC had authority, they said. “Those chapters cannot both apply to the same facilities as constructed by the same providers because those chapters irreconcilably conflict,” PUC staff replied. “The Commission does not have jurisdiction over complaints relating to access to municipal ROW for the construction of these facilities.” Wireless infrastructure companies ExteNet and Crown Castle agreed the PUC has no authority under 284, but said 283 still stands. “Chapter 283 was not amended during the last legislative session, and there is nothing in Chapter 284 that states that it supplants, modifies or supersedes existing law,” replied ExteNet. Comcast argued Chapter 283 still applies for providers that pay access line fees, and the PUC shouldn’t allow some providers but not others to pay compensation to municipalities for use of the ROW: “It is even more critical that the Commission ensure that carriers compensating the municipalities for rights-of-way access under Chapter 283 are not subjected to disparate treatment.” The agency said it may adopt an order Oct. 11 on the authority question (see 1708310022).
The National Governors Association opened a technology office to promote state innovation, the NGA said in a Wednesday news release. Led by former FBI analyst Timothy Blute, the NGA Future office will advise governors on technological disruption including in payments, automation, IoT and cognitive computers, NGA said.
The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates backed an FCC proposal to institute a rule against cramming, the inclusion of unauthorized charges on consumer phone bills. "Codifying the cramming prohibition for wireline and wireless carriers would act as a deterrent, provide further clarity and aid in enforcement," said late-filed (see 1709140023) NASUCA comments posted Tuesday in docket 17-169. "The cramming prohibition should extend to all providers of voice communications, regardless of technology, including wireless and interconnected VoIP." An NPRM proposed rule says, "Carriers shall not place or cause to be placed on any telephone bill charges that have not been authorized by the subscriber," and would apply to any bill with interstate telecom service charges. NASUCA also backed an FCC anti-slamming proposal to ban misrepresentative sales calls leading to changes in a consumer's preferred telecom service provider, and urged the agency to clarify that its rules don't pre-empt state efforts against slamming and cramming. The group said the comments were prepared Sept. 13 but inadvertently weren't filed. Replies are due Oct. 13.