Texas Public Utility Commission staff urged dismissal of Crown Castle’s complaint against Dallas because a Texas law enacted in June addressed issues raised in the case. Or, the PUC could open a separate proceeding about whether the law (see 1706120045) addresses the issues raised in the case, staff said in a Wednesday filing in docket 45470. The PUC shouldn’t grant Crown Castle’s motion for summary decision because the company failed to address the law change, staff said. AT&T agreed in an amicus-curiae response. The new Texas law “renders Crown's Complaint moot, and the Complaint should, therefore, be dismissed,” the carrier said. But just as ExteNet has argued against Houston, Crown Castle says it doesn’t have to pay fees to Dallas because the previous governing statute on franchise fees sets rates based on a company’s number of access lines and the wireless infrastructure company doesn’t have any. Crown Castle said the new law doesn’t supersede the old law or remove PUC authority to enforce it. Dallas responded that Crown Castle should have to pay the city under the old or new law.

The Minnesota State Capitol installed fiber and a distributed antenna system to enhance public-safety and security communication as part of an IT refresh, Minnesota IT Services blogged Wednesday. Other tech upgrades include new audio-visual systems, security cameras, TVs and upgraded broadcasting capabilities from hearing rooms and legislative chambers, the state said.

Citing effective competition for local services, the Iowa Utilities Board deregulated retail landline phone service quality in a Wednesday order in docket INU-2016-0001. Board members voted unanimously for the deregulation, which includes most customer service requirements, service quality standards and rules on service discontinuation. Iowa previously deregulated rates for local exchange services. The IUB still has jurisdiction over intrastate access and other wholesale services, alternative operator services, service territories and other wholesale matters, it said. Also, the IUB said it would continue to regulate essential communications services including dual-party relay service, delegated authorities from the FCC, telecom carrier registration requirements and customer complaints about landline service quality or lack of service. Customers facing problems can change providers or file a complaint with the IUB, which would try to resolve it and discuss options, it said. IUB will open a rulemaking to update rules related to the action, it said.

Alaska commissioners disagreed on the future of state USF, at their teleconferenced Wednesday meeting in Anchorage. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska voted 3-2 to seek more comments on proposed rule changes for what to do in a USF shortage situation, a short-term effort to stem bleeding of the fund. The RCA asked comment on a revised proposal reflecting some industry suggestions from the previous comment round, in which some telecom providers said they would prefer more comprehensive USF changes (see 1708010024). Commissioner Jan Wilson voted no, preferring comprehensive to “piecemeal” changes to the fund. Commissioner Rebecca Pauli voted against moving forward because she doesn’t see a financial crisis in the Alaska USF and she doesn’t believe the RCA should regulate telecom since the agency can’t keep up with communications technology, she said. “Things are moving too fast. … I’m just not sure what we bring to the table.” But Commissioner Bob Pickett said AUSF is of “major concern” because the contribution surcharge is rising fast and the fund is “largely unaccountable” as it runs on “automatic pilot.” He agreed the RCA may not be adding much value to telecom, but said: “Does that mean I’m going to sit here and watch a grant program go down the road, not directed by any coherent, discernible and verifiable public process? No, absolutely not.”

A Seattle transparency ordinance limits police surveillance through public involvement in the process but “has crucial gaps,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation blogged Monday. The ordinance, adopted July 31, requires the City Council to get public feedback before a law enforcement or other municipal agency may acquire surveillance equipment. It’s similar to a Santa Clara, California, law, and proposals in Oakland, St. Louis, New York City and statewide in California (see 1707120013 and 1706270059). Seattle’s law could be better, EFF Director-Grassroots Advocacy Shahid Buttar wrote: “The law's enforcement mechanism relies on private litigants, but unnecessarily limits their access to justice. In addition, broad exemptions carving out police body cameras and various sources of video surveillance exclude some of the most visible forms of surveillance from the ordinance’s protections.” But it’s a good start, he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine is suing Gov. Paul LePage (R) on behalf of two women who said their comments were deleted from the “Paul LePage, Maine’s Governor” Facebook page and they were blocked from commenting, said an ACLU news release Tuesday. The page is official because the governor and his staff use it to share official announcements, the group said. It said the page is "bound by a state policy" to use social media for state business and that doesn't include deleting comments or blocking users critical of a government official. LePage's office didn't comment. Elsewhere, seven individuals blocked on President Donald Trump's Twitter account are asking the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York to order him to unblock them as a lawsuit moves ahead, said the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which is representing the individuals. The institute wrote the court that the account is used for official communications, and blocking is "unconstitutional."

The New York Public Service Commission should approve ExteNet’s acquisition of Axiom’s dark fiber and wholesale customers in the New York City area, the companies said in a petition posted Tuesday in case 17-01731. The deal will make ExteNet more competitive, the companies said. Besides the new name, changes will be minimal for Axiom customers, they said. “Rates for existing customer services will not initially be changed, and any existing customer contracts will be honored according to their terms.” The companies didn’t disclose terms in Extenet’s July 26 announcement.

CenturyLink’s buy of Level 3 may reduce wholesale options unless conditioned, VoIP provider Telnyx said in Monday comments at the California Public Utilities Commission. Telnyx bought unbundled switched-network interoperability services from Inteliquent, but that company is exiting the market, Telnyx said. Two alternatives are Level 3 and Peerless, but Level 3’s sales team refused to sell the product to Telnyx “because after the merger the combined CenturyLink will not offer the product to competing service providers,” the VoIP company said. That leaves only Peerless, Telnyx said. But in California, Telnyx won’t be able to serve at least 21 rural rate centers because Level 3 is the only provider of the interoperability services, the VoIP company said. “If the Commission does not take action to prevent Level 3 from removing itself as a potential competitor in the market for any or all of these wholesale services, the Commission may indirectly increase rates for wholesale services and place additional barriers on competitors.” Telnyx’s late entrance to the fight isn’t unusual when the CPUC reviews major transactions, Tellus Venture President Stephen Blum blogged. “Consideration of the Level 3 deal is still in an early stage -- the scope of the review has not been established.” California and New Jersey are the only remaining state regulatory OKs that CenturyLink needs (see 1708010074). CenturyLink disputed similar Telnyx comments in April at the FCC, citing a "misunderstanding" about what the Level 3 sales staff told Telnyx and saying that no decision has been made about whether the combined company will offer the Level 3 services sought by Telnyx (see 1704280034).

Montana opted in to FirstNet, Gov. Steve Bullock (D) said in a Monday news release. It joins 11 other states or territories in accepting AT&T radio-access-network plans for the national public safety network. The Statewide Interoperability Governing Board unanimously recommended that Montana participate, the governor's office said. “As wildfires across the state impact our communities and our hometowns, it’s critical that we support the efforts of the men and women protecting Montana with all resources available,” Bullock said. Maine opted in Friday (see 1708040047).

Wisconsin awarded $1.5 million in broadband expansion grants to 13 projects in underserved areas, Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Friday, with $2.31 million in matching funds, after Public Service Commissioners voted 3-0 Thursday. TDS Telecom gets $285,917 to deploy broadband with speeds up to 25 Mbps to 300 underserved households in Vermont, Wisconsin, covering about half the build’s cost, said Vice President-External Affairs Drew Petersen. Other recipients: CenturyLink ($167,300), Amherst Telephone ($170,000) and a private-public partnership between Charter Communications and Dunn, Wisconsin ($106,395).