Telephone companies must allow New York state customers to use preferred names and pronouns, under a new Home Energy Fair Practices Act regulation adopted Thursday by the New York Public Service Commission. All utilities in New York state, including telephone service providers, must "provide residential customers and applicants for residential service with an option to request the use of a preferred name and/or preferred pronouns in all written or oral communications," the rule said. "These regulations continue our advancement for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society,” said New York PSC Chair Rory Christian. “Acknowledging a person’s gender identity is an essential step along that path.” Also Thursday, commissioners unanimously supported adopting a draft order to require local exchange carriers to notify customers at least 45 days before transitioning their service to fiber from copper (docket 22-C-0540). Also, commissioners agreed to renew the state USF through December 2026 but freeze it to current recipients (docket 15-M-0742). ILECs seeking to further extend the fund must petition the PSC by Sept. 1, 2025, and include at least one alternative that would target support to at-risk consumers rather than the ILEC as a whole. Any ILEC seeking state USF funding after 2026 must file location and financial data showing availability of competitive and substitute services by Dec. 31, 2025. In the same docket, commissioners decided to allow nine small ILECs facing revenue losses from the FCC’s mandated phase out of intercarrier compensation charges to get additional state USF support.
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FCC commissioners and panelists at the Practising Law Institute’s Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation Thursday outlined expectations for 2023 involving employment data collection, enforcement and the USF, but many speakers were focused on cyber and national security, such as compromised apps and obsolete devices. “It’s time to turn our attention to the millions of wireless devices in our country that are insecure,” said Commissioner Nathan Simington. “There’s an industry-wide acquiescence to careless practices.”
Senate Communications Subcommittee members from both parties targeted FCC and NTIA implementation of connectivity programs created in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and COVID-19 aid measures Tuesday, as expected (see 2212120064), including concerns about deficient data the commission used to develop its new broadband maps. Lawmakers also touched on other telecom policymaking matters they hope Capitol Hill can address during the lame-duck session or in the next Congress. Senate Commerce Committee leaders saw a potential one-week extension of their talks on one lame-duck priority, a compromise spectrum legislative package (see 2212070068), appear via a proposed continuing resolution to fund the federal government past Friday.
A Tuesday Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing on implementation of broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other recent measures is likely to include a heavy focus on GOP leaders’ concerns about federal agencies’ oversight of those disbursals, lawmakers and other officials told us. There also may be discussion about other pressing issues, including recent pushes to include additional money for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program in a FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package (see 2212070068) and to enact legislation that ensures broadband funding from IIJA and the American Rescue Plan Act doesn’t count as taxable income, observers said.
Carriers raised concerns in response to an FCC Further NPRM proposing to extend USF support to eligible mobile and fixed carriers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, approved by commissioners 4-0 in October (see 2210270046). The proposals fall short of meeting ongoing needs, commenters told the agency, posted Monday in docket 18-143.
A possible Pennsylvania USF review must be comprehensive, said Commissioner John Coleman at a livestreamed Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission meeting Thursday. Commissioners voted 5-0 for an order setting a Pennsylvania USF budget and surcharge for 2023 (docket M-00001337). The PUC will increase the USF surcharge to 2.53% of 2021 average monthly intrastate retail revenue, from 2.13% of 2020 average revenue, an increase of about 19%, the order said. The fund administrator says the contribution base may need to be expanded due to continuing declines in the base and annual reported revenue, which caused increases to the surcharge, noted Coleman. “Any review of the fund should not be done on a piecemeal basis” or “limited to the contribution base alone.” Commissioner Ralph Yanora agreed. Also at the meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a settlement with Lumen’s CenturyLink in an investigation into alleged outages and unreliable service (see 2209150025). The telco agreed to pay a $45,000 civil penalty and implement remedial measures including a quality assurance program and required public service announcements to educate the public on how to report damaged facilities (docket M-2022-3028754).
States are marching ahead with plans to get as much broadband money as possible through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). NTIA announced planning grant awards to many more states Thursday for broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and digital equity programs. NTIA can and should give states a couple of more months to submit challenges to FCC maps to ensure BEAD money gets allocated properly, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson said Thursday at the Maine Broadband Summit.
The government's Alaska USF plan wouldn’t preserve universal service, Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) said in Tuesday comments at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). The carrier lambasted the staff proposal to extend the AUSF sunset by two years to June 30, 2025, while reducing support (see 2210260076). The Alaska attorney general’s office sought a longer sunset, and CTIA urged the commission not to let up.
Some Arizona Corporation Commission members signaled possible support for repealing state USF as soon as next month. At a livestreamed meeting Tuesday, Utilities Division Director Elijah Abinah said staff will bring forward an item to decide the fund’s future at the January or February meeting. “The most appropriate way to clean up this appendage from yesteryear would be to just repeal the rules,” said Commissioner Jim O’Connor (R). Commissioner Justin Olson (R), departing the commission at year-end, also said he supports repeal. Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson (R) said she wants to vote in January on repealing or modifying AUSF rules. Commission staff listed state USF options including repeal in a memo last week in docket T-00000A-20-0336 (see 2211300009). Arizona USF's sole recipient, Frontier Communications, didn't comment Tuesday.
The Universal Service Administrative Co. projected USF Q1 revenue will be $8.75 billion, said a filing Friday in docket 06-122. That's about "$125.7 million more than the previous quarter," emailed analyst Billy Jack Gregg, noting the quarterly contribution factor will rise from 28.9% to 32.6% (see 2211030028).