Several public interest groups urged greater scrutiny of Frontier's proposed sale to Verizon in comments to the California Public Utilities Commission (see 2410210012). In joint comments in docket 24-10-006 posted Friday, the Utility Reform Network, Center for Accessible Technology and Access Humboldt said, "The application does not contain sufficient information to determine even whether a review of the proposed transaction is justified." In addition, the CPUC Public Advocates Office warned that the proposed deal could "diminish service quality and reliability" and "impede the deployment and adoption of broadband services." The office encouraged that the commission study the impact of the deal on fiber deployment in the state, noting that it's unclear in the joint application whether Verizon will "continue Frontier's trajectory of building fiber in California." The California Emerging Technology Fund didn't oppose the deal, although it encouraged that the CPUC "consider impacts in the short term and long term of the transaction on broadband access service." The group also noted the application "lacks specificity" on Verizon's commitment to infrastructure investments in the near term and suggested a public benefit framework with buildout commitments.

Florida arrested and charged two men for alleged money laundering and grand theft involving mobile SIM card swapping, Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) said Monday. In an investigation, the AG’s cyber fraud enforcement unit found that Thomas Simmons solicited and paid a cellphone store employee, Raymond Ortiz, to swap a customer’s SIM card so that Simmons could access the phone remotely and steal $280,000 from the customer’s bank account while the victim was on a flight, the AG office said. Moody said, “the only thing these [SIM] swap criminals will be trading is their freedom for time behind bars.”

The District of Columbia wants to relieve an “overtaxed” 911 system with a public campaign urging residents that they use the number only for emergencies, the Office of Unified Communications said this week. Of 1.12 million 911 calls that OUC handled during fiscal year 2024, the office estimated that nearly one-fourth weren’t emergencies. “Our goal is to provide quick and accurate emergency response to all D.C. residents and visitors,” said OUC Director Heather McGaffin. “In order to achieve this goal, we need to reserve the emergency system for emergencies.” Washington’s 911 center has faced much criticism from the D.C. Council and others for reported errors, including getting addresses wrong and delaying answering calls and sending help (see 2410230034).

NTIA on Thursday awarded Vermont more than $5 million in Digital Equity Act grant funding to implement its digital equity plan (see 2411070043). NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson praised the state's plan in a call with reporters. "I would say it's an excellent digital equity plan," Davidson said. The almost $5.3 million in funding will support a community-based digital skill and technical support program, device programs and workforce development initiatives.

Frontier Communications will provide automatic bill credits to Connecticut customers affected by missed appointments and service outages lasting at least 48 hours, the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority said Tuesday. PURA approved a settlement agreement, announced Nov. 14, between Frontier and the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC). Frontier will provide the automatic bill credits for three years, starting Jan. 1, the agreement said. Under the same pact, Frontier agreed it will pay $860,000 in bill credits to customers who suffered the same types of issues from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2024. The settlement also requires more detailed semi-annual reports from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2027. Prior to the settlement, Frontier faced a possible $2.5 million fine after a probe found it repeatedly failed to meet two metrics during a 108-month period. In written testimony last month, Frontier called the amount, which included a $860,000 fine for violating the service-quality metrics, plus $1.62 million for failing to file exception reports, “excessive and unreasonable” (see 2410070036). “Consumers across the state pay top dollar for the critical services Frontier provides, but when Frontier fails to live up to their end of the bargain, they have a debt to pay to their customers," Connecticut Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman said in a statement. "This settlement agreement will directly help those harmed by these failures and discourage future lapses." Due to the order, PURA canceled a hearing in the proceeding (docket 24-01-15RE01) that was scheduled for Friday.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) signed a bill updating the state’s 911 law Monday. The legislature passed the bill (HB-1304) last week. Legislators sought to modernize the law by setting rules for next-generation 911 and requiring implementation plans (see 2411140035).

The Maryland broadband office opened applications for $2 million in digital equity awards for use in expanding computer labs and centers, the Department of Housing and Community Development said Monday. The application window will close Nov. 29. “Ensuring high-speed internet access for all takes more than just building network infrastructure and connecting homes and businesses,” Department Secretary Jake Day said. “It requires expanding access to connected devices and educating people to use them effectively.”

Dismiss tech groups’ complaint against a Florida social media law “for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) argued Friday at U.S. District Court for Northern Florida (docket 4:21-cv-0220). The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled the First Amendment protects social media platforms’ ability to moderate content, sending the tech industry’s suits against Florida and Texas laws back to the lower courts (see 2407010053). The Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice earlier this month submitted an amended complaint asking the district court to permanently enjoin Florida’s social media law (see 2411040033). The plaintiffs lack associational standing to advance First Amendment claims, which “require a host of factual determinations about the members and their platforms,” said Moody. In addition, the amended complaint “is a shotgun pleading,” said the Florida AG. “Plaintiffs have not stated a claim under the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, or Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act,” nor a claim for injunctive relief for their members.

Charter Communications supported a USTelecom petition asking the California Public Utilities Commission to reconsider rules for implementing the state’s BEAD initial plan volume 2. However, consumer groups urged the CPUC to deny the application in a separate response Friday. USTelecom had raised concerns that state rules, including on required low-price plans, could discourage participation in the broadband grant program (see 2411010053). Charter agrees that the CPUC’s September order “contains legal errors,” including that “rate caps constitute impermissible rate regulation,” the cabler responded Friday in docket R.23-02-016. Also, Congress and the NTIA never asked for or required the CPUC’s proposed middle-class affordable service option, said Charter. And the CPUC may not require companies to participate in federal or state Lifeline programs, it said. The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and Center for Accessible Technology disagreed in a joint response the same day. USTelecom’s rehearing application “makes only narrow claims that the Commission errs by requiring participation in the state and federal Lifeline programs, which it does not, and also claims that the Commission errs by adopting affordability plans that create improper rate regulation, which is inaccurate and previously rejected by the Commission.” TURN and CforAT added, “Far from committing legal error, the Commission’s affordability programs and measures … represent a necessary and important step in the process of implementing a landmark opportunity to invest $1.86 billion in federal funding” for broadband.

After a delay, the U.S. Supreme Court distributed for the justices’ Friday conference a petition from ISP groups for writ of certiorari challenging the New York Affordable Broadband Act, said a text-only docket entry Monday (docket 24-161). The court previously distributed it for last Friday’s conference (see 2410300025). The court, in a Nov. 12 docket entry without explanation, said that it was rescheduled.