Service was restored after a 911 outage that affected only landline calls in Tama County, Iowa, said a spokeswoman for the county's Emergency Management Agency. The outage was caused by an electrical surge the agency said was likely from a thunderstorm late Friday, Aug. 28. The problem wasn't brought to the agency's attention until Sunday, Aug. 30, when the county lost all three 911 trunks in the early morning and the outage began, the spokeswoman said. The outage couldn't be corrected until the replacement parts were delivered Tuesday and the outage lasted about 36 hours, she said. Neighboring counties answered landline calls that were rerouted during the outage, the spokeswoman said.

The Communications Workers of America asked phone regulators in six states and Washington, D.C., to open investigations into the deterioration of Verizon’s copper landline networks, a Wednesday CWA news release said. In July, Verizon said in a letter to the FCC that it had spent $200 million over the past seven years to maintain its copper landline network in 11 states and D.C., the union said. The $200 million investment is less than 1 percent of the amount phone and DSL customers pay Verizon for service, CWA said, and is 0.39 percent of the $50.7 billion Verizon spent on its wireline network from 2008 to 2014. CWA’s letters also mention Verizon’s peer-to-peer online forums and recent FCC filings by Verizon customers alleging the company is neglecting copper facilities and lines, CWA said. The union and telco are in a labor contract dispute (see 1507310059). CWA leadership’s claims are "absurd" and nothing more than a "tired tactic" from the union playbook to avoid serious negotiations on a fair contract for their members, a Verizon spokesman said. Verizon’s commitment to invest heavily in its wireline network is well documented and unquestioned, the spokesman said: "No company has invested more in broadband; last year alone we invested almost $6 billion in our wireline networks."

The Atlantic City Police Department, in conjunction with the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, deployed secure and portable technology during two concerts, allowing reliable, uninterrupted transmission of video, voice and radio communications without reliance on commercial broadband providers, said a news release Wednesday from Mutualink. Heavy usage during large events tends to result in poor data transmissions and dropped and incomplete calls, which has been a challenge for first responders, the vendor said. But JerseyNet, a FirstNet early builder project and the only statewide NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunity Program in the U.S., was able to successfully operate emergency communications during those events, it said. JerseyNet focuses on deployable assets equipped with microwave backhaul and Mutualink interoperable communications technology, JerseyNet said. During the concerts in Atlantic City, the police department’s Mobile Communications Unit and several trailer-mounted surveillance cameras were connected to JerseyNet, allowing unobstructed sharing of data between the field resources and the police command. This data was shared within the command structure and across the network with other supporting agencies, including the New Jersey State Police and emergency medical service providers, who were able to view the information and video on fixed workstations and portable smart devices using Mutualink.

Internet Order and its CEO, Daniel Roitman, were ordered to repay consumers more than $1 million for unfair and deceptive practices, said a news release from Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson's (D) office. The Philadelphia-based online company was accused of using deceptive “negative option” marketing to lure consumers into buying language instruction courses in violation of the federal Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act and the state Consumer Protection Act, it said. The lawsuit alleged consumers who bought the introductory set for $9.95 were unknowingly and automatically enrolled in a “negative option” purchase plan that obligated them to receive up to four advanced-level additional courses at a cost of $256 each for a total of as much as $1,024. To avoid charges, consumers were required to ship the advanced-level courses back to the company at their own expense within 30 days. If they failed to do so, they were automatically charged $256 on the credit card they used to buy the introductory “Quick and Simple Course.” The suit also alleged consumers who refused to pay were hounded with letters and threatened with collection agency action. Internet Order must pay the states of New York, Pennsylvania and Washington $288,000 of any future profit from Pimsleur Language Learning sales made between July 2016 and June 2019, Ferguson's office said. Internet Order has always aimed to be fair, honest and transparent in its marketing efforts to its consumers, said Roy Hibberd, Internet Order general counsel. The "negative option" marketing model the company uses is a lawful model as recognized by the FTC, he said. The company has taken corrective action to its online marketing and how it deals with customers, Hibberd said. The company's language learning method was never in question, he said: "The issue had to do with the extent of disclosure of our pricing model and we entered the settlement on that basis."

The California Public Utilities Commission released a resolution to adopt a $43.3 million expense budget for fiscal year 2016-17 for the state high-cost fund during its Oct. 1 meeting, said resolution T-17491. Comment will be accepted on this budget proposal until Sept. 21, and should be focused on factual, legal and/or technical errors in the draft resolution, said a public notice. The budget includes $1.45 million for state operations; $41.8 million for local assistance; $41,000 for fiscal; and $237 for the state controller's office.

Switched copper voice service and switched fiber voice service provide the same local exchange services, even though they don't operate in an identical matter, said the D.C. Public Service Commission Tuesday in an opinion and order in the investigation into the continued use of Verizon's copper infrastructure to provide services (case No. 1102). But residential and business customers will lose certain features associated with LECs if they choose FiOS digital voice service, the order said. Because fiber facilities are more resistant to environmental factors, the facilities may be less prone to service outages, the order said.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster's office filed a lawsuit against Florida-based MSB Consultants and its president, Michael Bendett, for violations of Missouri’s No-Call law, said a news release from the Koster's office. The lawsuit alleges MSB Consultants illegally made automated telephone calls to Missouri residents who were on the state’s No-Call list, the release said. MSB Consultants called Missouri consumers with a recorded message, attempting to sell them health insurance. The Attorney General’s Office received 20 complaints about the company from consumers who are on the No-Call list but still received the unwanted calls, the release said. The suit follows a recent FCC order, supported by Koster (see 1507220054), that allows phone companies to utilize call-blocking technologies to better protect their customers from robocalls and scams.

Midwest Connections and Midwest Energy Cooperative launched gigabit speed Internet in southwest Michigan, said a news release from Midwest Energy Cooperative. Midwest Connections is an unregulated service of Midwest Energy Cooperative, a regional electric distribution system with about 36,000 customers across southern Michigan, northern Indiana and Ohio. Together they make up TeamFiber, which launched fiber Internet in small markets in parts of rural southwest Michigan in 2014 and then committed to a five-year build-out of its entire southwest Michigan service territory, the release said.

Wireless services company 5 Bars agreed to develop Sacramento's fast broadband wireless master plan, said a Monday news release from the distributed antenna system and Wi-Fi company. When that network is fully implemented, it will provide the ability for all citizens to publicly access high-speed wireless Internet in key areas, 5 Bars said.

CenturyLink got a contract from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to provide managed IP-based voice services to the agency's more than 400 statewide locations, said a CenturyLink news release Monday. CenturyLink said it will manage the agency's existing phone infrastructure, which includes IP-based and analog phone systems, and analog users eventually will transfer to a cloud-based VoIP and unified communications platform.