The Colorado Public Utilities Commission extended comment and reply comment dates and pushed back a public hearing on possible revisions to its 911 rules in response to recent legislation and in response to recent events that affected 9-1-1 network reliability in Colorado, including recent catastrophic fires and floods, said a notice from the PUC mailed on Wednesday. The deadline for comments is June 25, with replies July 17. The public hearing is June 26, the filing said.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster encouraged FCC members to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal to protect Americans from unwanted robocalls, spam text messages and telemarketing calls (see 1505270048), said the AG in a news release. Last September, Koster and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller submitted a letter signed by 37 other state and territorial attorneys general to the FCC urging the commission to recognize call-blocking filters as legally allowable, if requested by customers, the release said. The FCC will vote on the chairman’s proposal at the commission meeting June 18. Koster said his office received more than 52,000 complaints last year about unwanted calls, most of which were robocalls, it said. “Missouri’s no-call law has been very effective, but newer technologies enable unwanted callers to place hundreds or even thousands of robocalls in an instant. I urge the FCC to allow phone companies to offer customers a way to block unwanted calls,” Koster said.

A petition requesting a declaratory ruling under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act facilitates the critical public policy goal of ensuring the safe, reliable and efficient provision of utility services to citizens of Houston, the city said in an ex parte letter posted Wednesday in docket 02-278. Edison Electric Institute and the American Gas Association have requested a ruling that a customer who provides a telephone number to a utility constitutes "prior express consent" under the TCPA for purposes of receiving automated, serviced-related utility contacts, the filing said. It's essential for utility providers to communicate in real time with customers about matters that directly affect their service, such as planned or unplanned service outages, it said. Absent such communications, the exchange of critical information can be delayed and already strained municipal services may be further taxed as a result of having to direct customer calls that would otherwise be avoided through the use of an automated, utility notification program, the filing said.

The FCC should consider adopting safeguards that allow all wireless providers equal opportunity to secure critical spectrum resources in the upcoming 600 MHz auction, said Rep. Robert Godshall, majority chairman of the Pennsylvania House Consumer Affairs Committee, in a letter to the FCC in docket 12-268. The commission should consider increasing the size of the reserve in each market to reduce market concentration and protect consumers, government and business from paying more for wireless service than they would if the market were more competitive, he said. Preserving competition in the wireless market will benefit consumers through increased choices, lower prices, and higher quality and more reliable services, Godshall said.

A law that eliminates the requirement that a communications services provider allow a physical connection by other providers to its system was signed into law May 4 by Gov. Mike Pence (R) the Indiana General Assembly website said. The Wireless Telecommunications Investment Act (HB-1318) also establishes a uniform statewide procedure for applications for and issuance of permits for the construction and modification of structures and facilities for the provision of wireless services and specifies that local planning and zoning laws apply to the issuance of permits for communications structures and facilities under the new provisions, the bill text says. The law also requires applications for permits to show evidence of compliance with criteria in applicable zoning ordinances. The law will help increase the availability and capacity of wireless broadband services in every region of the state, said Jonathan Adelstein, president of PCIA-The Wireless Infrastructure Association. "The new law will help deploy innovative small wireless facilities by defining them using a PCIA-developed volume-based and technology-neutral methodology," he said. "The bill will also establish certainty regarding key statewide definitions and set timelines that will increase investment, thereby providing a path for Indiana’s consumers, business, and public safety entities to enjoy increased broadband coverage and capacity.”

The case North Carolina recently filed against the FCC was moved to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, after a petition to move and consolidate the case with the one in Tennessee was granted in docket 15-506 (see 1505150043). North Carolina and the U.S. did not oppose the motion, the document said. In the same docket, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) requested leave to intervene in support of North Carolina in the proceedings. The member commissions are, like municipalities, creatures of the state and they have their authority and jurisdiction specified by the state, said NARUC. Any federal effort here through pre-emption has obvious and direct implications for NARUC members, it said. The 4th Circuit in Richmond said the filing is considered moot and that the 4th Circuit doesn't intend to act on the motion. Lawyer William Kirsch also requested leave to intervene in the case because North Carolina is “correct that the FCC pre-emption is otherwise contrary to law,” he said in a filing with the 4th Circuit. The FCC denial of a fee waiver for information about rural telecom cooperatives is contrary to law as a failure to consider alternatives, Kirsch said. From the standpoint of constitutional federalism, the action the FCC has taken in regard to North Carolina and Tennessee is one of the most problematic ever taken by the commission, said Seth Cooper and Randolph May on the Free State Foundation's website. "The FCC's claims of preemptive authority to interfere with the exercise of states' discretion over their political subdivisions clash with fundamental principles of constitutional federalism," they wrote. "The Supreme Court's jurisprudence has long recognized that states have broad discretion to delineate the powers local governments may exercise."

Alaska Communications is bringing VoIP to businesses in Fairbanks, Juneau and some parts of Kenai, said a news release from the company Tuesday. Employees also can access their business' phone system on any device, anywhere they're connected to the Internet, Alaska Communications said. Packages include phones, business-class features, dedicated voice network access, the Alaska Voice mobility app for smartphones and voicemail with Web access, it said.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the True Origin of Digital Goods Act into law Thursday, said a news release from the Republican's office. The legislation requires online retailers whose primary business is distributing commercial music and movies to provide their contact information on the site so consumers know who they are and how to contact the website owners, said a Thursday RIAA news release.

Idaho, Maine and Nebraska telecom commissions support North American Portability Management's intent to "engage the North American Numbering Council as a mechanism through which industry stakeholders, including small providers and state regulators, can participate and ensure that their concerns have been adequately addressed," said the Joint State Commissions in comments to the FCC in docket 07-149. The Joint States Commissions recommended that the Local Number Portability Administration Working Group be the forum for the industry stakeholders to raise technical concerns regarding the expected transition between Neustar and Telcordia.

Wave raised an additional $130 million to further expand its gigabit ethernet fiber network from northern California to the Canadian border and through certain markets in Oregon and Washington, said a news release from the company Thursday. The cable ISP said it plans to grow its gig-E network into areas surrounding Seattle, Portland and San Francisco with the addition of more than 1,500 route miles of fiber in 2015. Wave also plans to expand residential gigabit Internet service to an additional 10,000-plus residents this year in Seattle, with expansion to San Francisco and other markets this year. It also said it hired an executive and promoted another (see separate report in this issue).