A bipartisan group of 51 attorneys general warned nine carriers Wednesday that they were responsible for transmitting high-volume robocall campaigns. All Access Telecom, Lingo, NGL Communications, Range, RSCom, Telcast Network, Voxox, Commio and Global Net Holdings received letters from the multistate anti-robocall litigation task force warning them of legal action if they fail to stop transmitting the unlawful call traffic. The letters also said the task force shared its findings with the FCC Enforcement Bureau. The robocalls included government and financial impostors, credit card interest rate reductions, Medicare scams, political impersonations, cable discount scams and utility disconnect scams.

A proposed California Public Utilities Commission decision would require AT&T to pay The Utility Reform Network (TURN) $259,173 following the carrier's failed efforts to end its carrier of last resort (COLR) and eligible telecom carrier obligations (see 2502050049). The decision, written by Administrative Law Judge Thomas Glegola, may be considered at the CPUC's May 15 meeting. It noted that AT&T failed to meet its legal obligations or burden of proof to support its request "multiple times during the proceeding." AT&T's request was "effectively an overhaul of the Commission’s COLR rules" and "would have had significant and possibly detrimental impacts on disadvantaged communities throughout California." The proposed decision also noted that TURN's involvement in the proceeding "resulted in a unique contribution to the record about the availability and viability of alternatives to AT&T, which was a central issue and finding of the commission's final decision dismissing the application."

Metronet has settled litigation with Colorado Springs in which it claimed the city was denying it access to public rights of way that it was allowing for other fiber operators, including the city's municipal fiber system. The suit was filed in March with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (docket 1:25-cv-00191), but Metronet filed a notice of dismissal Monday.

During the past 45 months, the number of unserved or underserved broadband-serviceable locations in South Carolina has dropped from more than 300,000 to 28,724, the South Carolina Broadband Office said Tuesday. Its $546.5 million BEAD allotment will address remaining unserved and underserved locations "and permanently solve the digital divide," it said. In the interim, it will use money from the state’s original $400 million American Rescue Plan Act funding to reduce the number of locations that will require BEAD funding.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission wants comments by April 10 on Ziply Fiber's application to be designated as an eligible telecom carrier. If approved, the carrier will be allowed to offer Lifeline services. Comments are due in docket ZWL-T-24-02.

A bipartisan Colorado bill (S-213) introduced Monday would allocate $842,346 for broadband to serve the Buena Vista Correctional Complex, San Carlos Correctional Facility and Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office on Monday opened a second request for information window for ISPs to comment on its proposed network expansion territories (NETs). The agency noted that NTIA updated its eligible locations for the BEAD program to account for awarded tribal broadband connectivity program funding (see 2503250035). Only the updated NETs are available for RFI submissions. Filings are due April 9.

Pioneer Telephone Cooperative launched its first two projects in rural Oklahoma, the state Broadband Office announced Friday (see 2503250035). The projects, totaling $878,000, were funded by the Department of Treasury's Capital Projects Fund and will connect 86 homes and businesses with fiber. A third infrastructure expansion program will be awarded "in late summer," the Oklahoma Broadband Office said. "Today’s launch is about more than just laying fiber -- we’re laying the foundation of opportunity, growth and connection for the entire state of Oklahoma,” said Executive Director Mike Sanders. “Rural Oklahomans are no longer being left behind, and we’re getting it done one community at a time.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Thursday announced nearly $50 million in additional funding for broadband infrastructure throughout the state. The latest round of funding expands New York's ConnectALL program to nearly $300 million, which includes an infusion from the Department of Treasury's Capital Projects Fund. "Phase 4 of the municipal infrastructure program builds on our ongoing efforts to address broadband gaps in areas that have been overlooked and underserved by traditional internet service providers," Hochul said. Applications are due April 25.

Connecticut reached an agreement with Verizon and Frontier as part of their $20 billion all-cash deal, the state's Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) said Thursday in a letter to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (see 2409050010). The office asked that the agreement and joint application by Verizon and Frontier be approved. "OCC fully supports the Authority’s approval of the settlement agreement in its entirety," it said. The agreement included several consumer protections, including the elimination of junk fees, expanding low-income broadband discounts, and other public safety measures. "At a time when the federal government is dismantling protections for telecommunications consumers, it is up to states to step in and protect the public," said OCC Counsel Claire Coleman.