The Massachusetts Senate passed a bill Thursday that would ban the use of cellphones by students during the school day. S-2561 would apply to all public school districts and require that policies be in place ahead of the 2026-27 school year. The state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education plans to release best-practice guidelines within 180 days of the enactment of the law. About 80 districts already have phone-free policies, said a news release. "While many school districts have already implemented some type of cell phone restriction, this bill takes a uniform approach to this problem," said Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues (D). The bill now goes to the House for further consideration.
USTelecom wants the FCC to address burdensome state and local permitting rules that it said are slowing broadband expansion. In a letter filed Thursday in docket 17-84, the group said many of its members face major delays, unpredictable approval timelines and excessive fees when trying to build networks. The letter aimed to show how these barriers are preventing providers from meeting federal broadband goals and deadlines, including projects funded by programs like the American Rescue Plan.
Debate is intensifying at the California Public Utilities Commission over how to define “facilities-based” VoIP providers, which could expand regulatory obligations (see 2410160044), according to reply comments posted Thursday (No. 22-08-008).
Verizon and Frontier agreed to invest $8 million in Arizona's Navajo and Apache counties as part of a settlement with the attorney general's office, AG Kris Mayes (D) said Wednesday. The agreement includes enforceable commitments to "invest in rural broadband infrastructure, fix public safety-related service outages and protect ratepayers from unfair costs," said a news release.
WISPA urged state broadband leaders to keep any BEAD funds not spent during deployment to invest in non-deployment needs, such as fixed-wireless access networks. Whether BEAD funding could be used for non-deployment initiatives was an initial concern when NTIA amended its BEAD rules (see 2506180077). However, WISPA State Advocacy Director Steven Schwerbel said in an email to state officials Tuesday night that eligible entities by statute may award BEAD subgrants for broadband adoption and other non-deployment purposes. He encouraged states to plan non-deployment programs, noting that investing in fixed-wireless networks and other technologies will "pay dividends" in getting communities online faster and developing targeted programs for broadband workforce and digital literacy efforts.
The West Virginia Public Service Commission issued an order Tuesday authorizing the use of temporary attachments on utility poles. Order No. 261.3 came in response to a petition from DQE Communications for a temporary attachment modification to the commission's rules to accelerate broadband deployment. "The commission expects the utility owners of the necessary infrastructure, the utility poles, to expedite, not hinder, attachments," said the order, which took effect immediately.
Four broadband expansion projects in southeastern Oklahoma totaling $58.8 million were officially launched Friday, the Oklahoma Broadband Office announced. Once completed, Pine Telephone Company will connect 1,512 homes and businesses with fiber. Funding came through a combination of federal grants and matching contributions. The company received $39.7 million from the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board last year and contributed $19.1 million in matching funds.
Oregon wrapped up the first of its two remaining phases in the BEAD grant process on Sunday. The Oregon Broadband Office closed its scoring phase that night, having reviewed and scored all submitted grant applications. The office now enters the negotiation phase, during which it will collaborate with applicants to finalize project locations and costs. It has until Sept. 4 to submit its final plan, including selected projects, to the NTIA.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed a bill Thursday expanding the definitions of telephone solicitation and auto-dialer to include text messages. HB-3865 also restricts the time, frequency and manner of such texts and clarifies that they may not be placed before 8 a.m., after 8 p.m. or more than three times in 24 hours. It also defines "established business relationship" as any transaction between a solicitor and recipient within the previous 18 months. The law exempts auto-dialer callers from time and frequency limitations for established business relationships, debt buyers subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, public safety or law enforcement agencies, school districts and direct response to a message received.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved $1.2 million in digital literacy and broadband grants during an agency meeting Thursday. The grants, backed by the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) and CASF Broadband Public Housing Account, will support 10 initiatives. Building Skills Partnership received $211,895 to expand its digital literacy and AI program. Digital Equity West received $793,081 to launch eight digital literacy projects across Los Angeles County. EveryoneOn received $175,564 for its digital connections program throughout Los Angeles. The projects are expected to provide training to 1,831 people in underserved communities, said a news release.