A New York bill would require that voice service providers use stronger verification techniques to combat spoofing and robocalls. S-8470, introduced Wednesday by state Sen. John Liu (D), would require all providers operating in New York to "clearly and promptly display verification status to the call recipient." It notes that while the authentication protocols that providers use "ensure that calls are from the numbers they display," making it easier to trace illegal calls, providers "are not required to indicate a call's verification status to customers." If adopted, the bill would take effect one year after becoming law.
Alaska's Regulatory Commission wants comment by Aug. 28 in docket U-25-026 on an AT&T petition to discontinue service, it said in a notice Thursday. The carrier petitioned the commission Aug. 1 to discontinue intrastate interexchange long-distance service in Jim River Camp, with only one customer requesting to disconnect and consenting to the discontinuation. AT&T said in its motion that it wants to discontinue service by Oct. 31.
The Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force launched a new crackdown Thursday. Made up of 51 state attorneys general, it sent warning letters to 37 providers calling on them to stop letting such calls be routed through their networks. Operation Robocall Roundup told the providers that they either failed to respond to numerous traceback notices from USTelecom's Industry Traceback Group or transmitted suspicious robocall campaigns regarding tax debt, loan approval and, in one instance, ISP impersonation. "We are giving these companies three weeks to start following the rules so we can shield people from these annoying and illegal robocalls," said North Carolina AG Jeff Jackson (D). The task force also sent letters to 99 downstream providers that accept traffic from the 37 companies. Seven of the 37 providers targeted by the task force were among those removed from the FCC's Robocall Mitigation Database this week (see 2508060041).
Massachusetts awarded $31.5 million in federal broadband grants through the Massachusetts Broadband Institute on Wednesday. The funding is for four ISPs' broadband deployments in public housing throughout the state. The residential retrofit program, backed by the Treasury Department's Capital Projects Fund, will serve more than 13,700 housing units with fiber, said a news release, making it the largest statewide investment in public housing internet. Aervivo received about $10.5 million; Archtop Fiber $481,955; Comcast $12.9 million; and CBN Geneva $7.6 million.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will consider launching a rulemaking to update the California Teleconnect Fund (CTF), which offers schools, libraries, clinics and nonprofits a 50% discount on charges for advanced communication services. The CPUC will analyze who qualifies, what services should be covered, and whether the $5 million revenue cap for nonprofits should be raised. The cap was lowered from $50 million to $5 million in 2019, said a draft proposed decision. In addition, the CPUC is considering ways to improve how the program is run. The item would explore administrative updates such as how the program is implemented, monitored and evaluated. Comments are due within 30 days, with reply comments 15 days after that. It's not the first time the California Teleconnect Fund has been tweaked. Previously, voice services were dropped, eligibility for funding was revised, and mobile and satellite broadband were added, the draft item noted.
The Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to stay its proceeding on Verizon's acquisition of Frontier. The group asked in a motion filed Friday that scheduled hearings be taken off the commission's calendar so that there's enough time for discovery. A July 23 CPUC ruling ordered both companies to submit third supplemental testimony (see 2502200056). "The testimony from Joint Applicants is lengthy, and both Verizon and Frontier’s testimonies include extensive revisions of past statements of diversity commitments which are ambiguous, unsupported, or dubious," CforAT said: "Listing and detailing those flaws will be a lengthy and time-consuming process."
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.