Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of loans to build broadband infrastructure in rural areas, along with changes to the program required by the 2014 Farm Bill, said a Thursday USDA news release. In a notice in the Thursday Federal Register, USDA said it's establishing two funding cycles to review and prioritize applications for the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee program, the release said. USDA also is setting a minimum level of acceptable broadband service at 4 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up, it said. To be eligible for funding, an applicant must serve an area where at least 15 percent of the households are unserved, it said. USDA is accepting comments on the changes through Sept. 28, the release said. Applications are due Sept. 30.

Mayors from Syracuse and Kingston, N.Y., joined workers at a bargaining session with Verizon in Rye, New York, Thursday, said a news release from the Communications Workers of America. Four other elected officials from New York state -- mayors of Albany, Utica and Rome and the Town Supervisor of Brookhaven -- wrote letters urging Verizon to stop ignoring their communities' need for high-speed Internet and TV service, the release said. The calls to build out FiOS come as the buildout of FiOS has become a bargaining issue between Verizon and both the CWA and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers as they negotiate a new contract (see 1507290062).

Lawyers for Chattanooga and Wilson, North Carolina filed a joint motion with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati to consolidate the municipal broadband cases and modify the briefing schedule, said a filing Tuesday. The cases petition for review of a single FCC Order which pre-empted laws in both Tennessee and North Carolina, which is why the lawyers said it makes sense to combine the cases. For the same reason, the briefing schedule should be modified, as well, the filing said (see 1507210034).

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission ruled that the FCC didn't pre-empt state regulation of the fixed, interconnected VoIP service provided by Charter, said an order released by the state commission Tuesday. The MPUC also said Charter’s VoIP service constitutes local telephone service. The MPUC ordered Charter to make a compliance filing in accordance with the finding to explain how it intends to comply with the order and to provide a draft notice to its customers informing them that Charter provides a regulated telephone service and outlining the customer protections provided by law, the order said.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives plans a public hearing at 1 p.m. on Aug. 24 for HB-1417, which creates a freestanding act maintaining the state's Universal Service Fund. The Rural Telephone Access and Availability Act would extend the life of the Pennsylvania USF until 2022.

Frontier Communications and the Communications Workers of America District 9 signed an agreement bringing them one step closer to completing Frontier’s planned acquisition of Verizon’s wireline business assets in California, said a news release from Frontier. CWA, representing about 3,400 Verizon employees in California, supports the proposed acquisition and believes approval of the transaction is in the public's and employees’ interests, the release said. Under the agreement, after the transaction closes in the first half of 2016, Frontier will increase its workforce in California with at least 150 new, union-represented positions, the release said.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tentatively set Oct. 27-29 for the argument session for Montgomery County, Maryland, v. U.S. in docket 15-1240, said a notice from the court. Notice of motions or conflicts with this date are due July 27. The case is about tower siting.

Connecticut joined the other New England states and New York in creating a special agency to promote access to broadband, said a news release from Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz. The Connecticut State Broadband Office will be a part of the Office of Consumer Counsel, it said. The broadband office will facilitate the availability of broadband access and increase adoption of ultra-high-speed gigabit capable broadband networks, it said.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission plans four hearings about whether effective competition for phone services exists, said the PUC in a news release Thursday. The hearings will begin at 4 p.m. and end by 7 p.m. on Aug. 3 in Fort Morgan, Aug. 4 in Denver, Aug. 5 in Colorado Springs and Aug. 6 in Delta. The PUC said it's looking at relaxing regulation and eliminating high-cost funding in 104 wire centers, owned by CenturyLink and subsidiaries. Last year, the PUC did the same for 56 CenturyLink wire centers that were determined to offer multiple providers for basic local phone service, it said.

Most Minnesota customers will have a choice of how their telecom service provider delivers white pages directory information beginning Monday, said a news release from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Thursday. An amendment adopted by the PUC lets the service providers choose to provide the white pages electronically, if a customer wants, it said. The amendment doesn't make the choice a requirement, nor does it phase out the printed copy of the directory, the PUC said.