California hasn’t decided whether to opt out of FirstNet but wants to keep its options open on how to build a radio access network (RAN) for the national public safety network, a California Office of Emergency Services (OES) spokesman said Monday. OES sought alternative plans by Jan. 2 in a request for information last week posted to the state’s procurement website (Event ID 3563). “An opt-in or opt-out decision has not been made at this point,” the OES spokesman said. “We want to obtain as much information as possible of available options for building out California’s Radio Access Network.” California joined several other states seeking alternative FirstNet RAN plans (see 1611100049). By federal statute, governors will have 90 days to accept or opt out after FirstNet delivers plans to states, then 180 days to submit an alternative plan for FCC approval.

Maine requested FCC help on issues related to texting to 911 via IP. The state, calling itself an early adopter of texting to 911 via teletypewriter, deployed what it described as an "end-to-end" next-generation 911 system, and began working with carriers and their text control centers (TCC) on moving from 911 via TTY to 911 to text by message session relay protocol. A center responded to the state's request with multiprotocol label switching pricing including "a one-time project charge, monthly recurring charges for a three-year contract period, and recurring monthly costs for dedicated MPLS circuits (price to be determined), all to be paid for by the State of Maine," Emergency Services Communication Bureau Director Maria Jacques wrote the federal commission on Maine Public Utilities Commission letterhead. When Maine sought an alternative to the MPLS plan, asking to use a virtual private network, the TCC proposed monthly "recurring monitoring charges to help compensate for what the company views as a less than reliable service because it traverses the Internet," Jacques said in a filing posted Thursday to docket 10-255. "A different TCC, responding on the behalf of other wireless carriers, expressed a preference for connecting via VPN as opposed to MPLS circuits and thus far has not requested any compensation for the use of VPN. Clearly, there is disagreement." The state official asked in the letter to FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson for clarification on "where the point of demarcation is between wireless providers and Maine's NG911 network in order to appropriately assess costs." A CTIA spokeswoman declined to comment Friday.

The Philadelphia region is getting a third area code, as that market and other places deal with number exhaustion. Area code 445 was assigned to the existing 215/267 overlay area there, Neustar said in a Thursday news release. The company, in its role as North American Numbering Plan administrator, forecasts "that numbering resources in the 215/267 area code complex will be exhausted" by Q2 2018; the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission directed LECs to activate the new code. Pennsylvania is among states and territories adding new area codes, Neustar said recently (see 1611080012).

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers said Thursday that its top priority in 2017 will remain cybersecurity and risk management, rounding out a list that remains largely the same as it did headed into 2016. NASCIO’s other tech and policy priorities for the coming year include cloud services, consolidation, cost control and legacy systems modernization. NASCIO bases its annual priorities on the results of a survey of its members. “No major surprises in the priorities for 2017,” said Executive Director Doug Robinson in a news release. “State CIOs continue to recognize the importance of IT Governance as they address enterprise security, cloud services and drive IT consolidation.”

NTIA issued a smart-city toolkit for local officials and citizen groups as a guide for building public-private partnerships. The toolkit includes “what to look for in a partner, assessing each partner's contribution, and guidance on how to structure the most fruitful partnership agreements,” NTIA said in a blog post Wednesday. NTIA said it drew from the agency’s experience on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission may OK Verizon/XO Communications without conditions. In an initial decision posted Tuesday, Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge Mark Hoyer said the transaction benefits the state and poses no competitive harms. “Pennsylvanians live and work in an interconnected world and therefore will benefit from being served by a single, more expansive network that reaches more places and provides enhanced services,” Hoyer wrote. “That is particularly true of Pennsylvania businesses with multiple locations including offices out of state, which will benefit directly from improved out-of-state functionality because Verizon’s improved network will be able to serve them in a more unified and efficient manner. Within Verizon’s incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) territories in Pennsylvania, current XO customers for the first time will have access to a more comprehensive Verizon network and services that they did not have before, due to the enhancements that will be derived from the transaction.” Pennsylvania businesses still will have "numerous" competitive telecom options after the deal, he said. “XO’s exit as an independent competitor will not diminish competition. Verizon’s acquisition of XO will enhance competition by expanding the coverage and capacity of Verizon’s network, by achieving synergies and increased financial stability, and by increasing the breadth of products available to XO customers.” In a letter announcing the decision, the commission sought exceptions to the ruling by Nov. 28. If no objections arrive, the decision could become final without further commission action, or the agency may review and change the decision, it said. "Nothing is official until the Commission issues a final order, which takes place at a public meeting," a PUC spokesman emailed Thursday. "There’s no specific schedule for formal Commission action." The deal also still needs approval from the New York Public Service Commission, the FCC and the Justice Department. Verizon declined to comment Thursday.

A federal court consolidated two ISP lawsuits against Nashville over the city’s one-touch, make-ready pole attachments ordinance. In an order (in Pacer) Wednesday, U.S. District Court in Nashville granted a motion by the city to combine the similar complaint by AT&T and Comcast. AT&T supported the consolidation (see 1611030016).

Pennsylvania adopted updated federal eligibility rules for Lifeline ahead of the FCC’s Dec. 2 implementation deadline to align state rules. At a Wednesday meeting, the Pennsylvania Utility Commission voted to align its rules with the federal low-income program. The PUC “retains authority to designate ETC providers that offer fixed and mobile voice service or voice and mobile services combined and will continue to do so until voice only Lifeline support has been phased out on December 1, 2021,” it said of eligible telecom carriers in an order. Self-certification will not be permitted to determine initial eligibility, “but is allowed in some instances for recertification purposes until the National Verifier is deployed in Pennsylvania,” it said. NARUC will vote next week on a draft resolution asking the FCC to grant waivers for states that need more time to align Lifeline rules (see 1611020045). The Oregon Public Utility Commission filed a petition Tuesday for temporary waiver of the December Lifeline deadline until June 1. "Implementation of the new benefit port freeze regulation requires significant modifications to the OPUC's Lifeline database and operations," the OPUC said in FCC docket 11-42. Also at the Pennsylvania PUC meeting, commissioners adopted an order increasing the state USF contribution rate to 1.83 percent from 1.74 percent. The agency said it increased the rate after seeing a decrease in assessable carrier revenue and estimating a $1.5 million year-end 2016 cash balance for the fund. Revenue from contributions to state USFs has declined in multiple jurisdictions (see 1607010010).

The wireless industry raised alarm over reporting obligations proposed by the California Public Utilities Commission as it zooms in on telecom competition in the Golden State. The CPUC is considering a proposed decision that would order staff to review how competitive barriers may limit new telecom network entrants and increase prices for some services above “efficiently competitive levels” (see 1610190013). In comments Monday, CTIA said the CPUC didn’t propose any "unnecessary, market-interfering regulation," but the group raised concerns about burdensome annual reporting, confidentiality and findings not supported in the record. "These proposed reporting obligations would be imposed in perpetuity without any acknowledgement of the judicial limitations placed on an agency’s authority to collect data, and with nebulous guidance on how the requested information will be utilized,” CTIA said. Instead of reporting annually, carriers should report "only when the Commission is set to update its analysis," it said. Block-level data and middle-mile facility data should be treated as "strictly confidential and protected from disclosure to third parties," it said. CTIA disagreed with the proposed decision’s statement that advertised wireless broadband speeds regularly exceed speeds in the field, claiming that the finding was based on a report that used "an inadequate and flawed testing model.” Among other alleged errors, the proposal incorrectly claims that carriers do "micro-targeting" of customers, including adjusting prices on a ZIP code basis, CTIA said. Verizon Wireless said annual reporting would be costly without benefit to consumers. The carrier opposed CPUC regulating IP interconnection agreements because it would be inconsistent with ongoing FCC efforts. "A Commission requirement that IP interconnection agreements for VoIP traffic be subject to public disclosure and dispute resolution at the Commission could have a chilling effect on the negotiation of IP interconnection agreements,” it said. "Consumers have many options for their communications services, over multiple networks, platforms, and applications, and this is the successful end result of the Commission’s policies to create a choice architecture based on open entry, innovation, and respect for varied consumer preferences."

Verizon opposed expanding the District of Columbia Universal Service Trust Fund to support broadband for low-income households. "The Commission lacks jurisdiction over broadband services, and thus may not regulate the provision of broadband services," the company commented Monday on the D.C. Public Service Commission’s notice of inquiry in docket FC988. The D.C. Office of the People’s Counsel supported expanding the District’s USF to include broadband as a measure to close the digital divide. “Federal and state programs, like the Lifeline program, designed to facilitate universal access to communications services, must continually evolve to ensure that cost and social barriers do not foreclose the participation of low-income and marginalized consumers,” OPC commented. The USTF should be “updated to reflect changes to the manner in which District residents use communications technologies,” it said. It’s legal for the D.C. program to support broadband because the Communications Act allows states to adopt regulations that advance universal service consistent with FCC rules, and the federal program now supports broadband, OPC said. Section 706(a) directs state commissions to encourage deployment of advanced telecommunications capability, it said. To further close the divide, OPC said the PSC should set up a schools and libraries fund through USTF to supplement the federal E-rate program, and help subsidize the cost of computers for District schoolchildren who participate in the National School Lunch program. In an interview last week, PSC Chairwoman Betty Ann Kane said she expects the her agency will align Lifeline rules with the updated federal program ahead of the December implementation deadline but supports a NARUC resolution seeking waivers for states that need more time (see 1611020045). “It will be tight” meeting the deadline in the District, but doable, she said. Lifeline isn’t a statutory program there, so the PSC merely must make rule changes, she said. However, some other states need legislators to change the statute and probably won’t make the FCC’s deadline, she said.