The California Public Utilities Commission's amended scoping memo on Frontier and Verizon's application for approval of transfer of control includes several issues about the physical condition of the Verizon wireline network, said CPUC Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer's ruling setting evidentiary hearings. Questions regard the condition of the network, its compliance with CPUC orders and the cost and extent of repairs required to bring the network into compliance with commission-imposed standards of safety and reliability. Evidentiary hearings are scheduled for Sept. 24 and 25, the ALJ said.

With a 4-0 vote, the Montana Public Service Commission approved a settlement agreement Tuesday with CenturyLink on service quality violations across Montana, said a news release from the PSC regarding docket N2014.3.38. The agreement is in response to the commission’s complaint in state District Court in Helena for violation of Montana administrative rule 38.5.3371, which requires that 90 percent of reported service problems across the state be fixed within 24 hours, the agency said. CenturyLink agreed to accept about $91 million over the next six years from the FCC Connect America Fund Phase II for broadband infrastructure investment in rural Montana, it said. CenturyLink also agreed to "augment" the CAF II funding with investments of its own to amplify the effects of the federal funds, the PSC said.

California made $50 million available for schools to enhance broadband connectivity, said a Monday news release from the California Department of Education. This is the second round of Broadband Infrastructure and Improvement Grants, with the first round providing 227 schools with nearly $27 million for network enhancement in January, said another release from the department. Schools and districts can start applying now for the second round of grants through the K-12 High Speed Network, it said.

Fifteen library jurisdictions -- 110 libraries -- joined the High-Speed Broadband in California Public Libraries project in the second year of the initiative, said the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California. CENIC is a nonprofit that operates the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a high-capacity, 3,800-mile fiber network designed to support more than 20 million users. The projectbegan in December. In the first year, 75 library jurisdictions and their 447 individual libraries joined the project, CENIC said. These libraries are now connected to CalREN and most libraries have 1 gigabit of connectivity, CENIC said.

Minnesota customers of TerraCom's Lifeline services may be eligible for a year of free credit monitoring due to a data breach at the company, said a Tuesday news release from the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. An investigation after a 2013 data breach found that TerraCom failed to protect consumers' personal information, the release said. The FCC did a similar investigation, finding that TerraCom's vendor stored customers' personal information on unprotected servers that were accessible over the Internet, the release said. The FCC reached a $3.5 million settlement with TerraCom and a related company in July (see 1507090035).

Birch Communications expanded its BirchNet Broadband Internet footprint by more than 60 percent, adding services to 14 states across and adjacent to the northern tier, Rockies and Pacific Northwest, said a Monday news release from the company. It said BirchNet Broadband is now available in 36 states.

Information from the FCC Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) is important for the California Public Utilities Commission to be able to access during and after natural disasters, said a CPUC ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 15-80. Having access to wireline and wireless outage data during emergencies in rural areas especially is critical for residents and emergency responders, the CPUC said. It emphasized the importance of granting California and other states direct access to state-specific outage data in NORS because of the immediate need for states to address public safety and other concerns that arise during and after outages.

FirstNet reached out to the 56 state and territory single points of contact (SPOCs) in July, said a blog post from the organization Thursday. The calls were to remind the SPOCs of the importance of data collection for informing FirstNet’s acquisition of a comprehensive network solution and state plans development, understand everyone’s current data collection status, and determine if any more support may be needed from FirstNet, the post said. Most SPOCs said they plan to provide data by the Sept. 30 deadline, FirstNet said. Most also reported a high level of outreach and consultation with metropolitan and rural areas within their states and territories, with some making direct calls or holding in-person meetings with agencies at all levels of government on the data collection process, it said. Tribal engagement has also been going well, with the biggest successes seeming to be in states that work through their governor’s office, it said.

The comment period for a study of telecom in New York state was extended to Oct. 23, said a notice issued Wednesday in case 14-C-0370. There were several written requests to extend the deadline for comments that would be prepared by industry experts and academics who were likely to submit substantive comments and may have been away on break or vacation because of the season, the notice said. Frontier Communications also sought an extension to allow a more thorough review of the comments made at the recent public hearings and to review comments that are due next month in related FCC matters, the notice said.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) created the Kentucky Communications Network Authority (KCNA) and its governing board to manage the KentuckyWired open-access broadband network, said a news release from his office. Over the next two to three years, more than 3,000 miles of fiber infrastructure will be built for the project, which aims to bring high-speed Internet to every corner of the state, it said Tuesday. The project will cost about $324 million. The members of the authority will manage the Next Generation Kentucky Information Highway line-item capital project and the Next Generation Kentucky Information Highway Fund, both authorized by House Bill 235 in the 2014 General Assembly, said Beshear's office. KCNA's governing board will be made up of the secretary of the governor’s executive cabinet, the state budget director, the executive director of the public service commission, the chief information officer and the CEO of the Center for Rural Development, it said.