Two California lawmakers with competing broadband bills last session will co-author a single bill to revamp and fund the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D) Monday introduced SB-4 (see 2012030032). Gonzalez’s previous bill stalled in the Assembly, where member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) had a different CASF bill (see 2008310034). "We each made great individual progress this year in building support for universal connectivity in, and funding for, both urban and rural communities,” said Aguiar-Curry. “Together ... we will deliver a 21st Century program that will support advances in distance learning, telehealth services, remote work, and small business.” Other supporters, all Democrats, include Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg; Sens. Mike McGuire, Scott Wiener, Anna Caballero, Henry Stern, Nancy Skinner and Maria Elena Durazo; and Assembly members Buffy Wicks, Eduardo Garcia, Lorena Gonzalez, Luz Rivas and Wendy Carrillo. SB-4 would require the California Public Utilities Commission prioritize projects in unserved areas with at most 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds, with a goal of upgrading those places to at least 100 Mbps downstream. It would remove the existing 2022 funding sunset on CASF and require a maximum surcharge of 23 cents monthly per access line. The CPUC raised the CASF surcharge to 1.019% of intrastate revenue in October. The California Cable & Telecommunications Association has no position yet. It looks forward to working with Gonzalez "on broadband policy that will benefit all Californians," emailed CCTA President Carolyn McIntyre.
Three entities won more than $3.6 billion of the $9.2 billion awarded through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction to deploy broadband to more than 10 million Americans, said an FCC Wireline Bureau release Monday. It was below the $16 billion approved by the FCC. LTD Broadband received the largest amount, $1.3 billion to service 528,088 locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Colorado, Indiana, South Dakota, Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, Ohio and Kansas. Charter won $1.2 billion for 1.06 million locations in Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri, Oregon, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Illinois, California, Vermont and New Mexico. The Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium gets $1.1 billion for 622,147 locations in Missouri, South Dakota, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, Montana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Kentucky, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, New York, Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, Indiana and Wisconsin. California will receive $695 million in rural broadband funding, Mississippi $495 million, Arkansas $424 million, Minnesota $408 million and Illinois $378 million. About 85% of serviced locations will receive gigabit-speed broadband, with the rest getting at least 100/20 Mbps. Winning bidders must submit a post-auction application for support by Jan. 29 and requests to assign some or all of their winning bids to related entities by Dec. 22. With $6.8 billion left over from Phase I, $11.2 billion will now be available for the RDOF Phase II auction, FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry tweeted Monday. “We have looked at the auction as a compelling way for Cable companies, specifically Charter, to expand their footprint with compelling returns,” New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors Monday: “The results of the auction point to a more competitive auction than we expected resulting in fewer subsidies awarded. Charter was the biggest winner, but won fewer markets than we expected.” New Street sees the auction as “an opportunity for Cable to further accelerate subscriber growth.” The Wireless ISP Association seeks “lessons learned that can help improve Phase II of the RDOF auction, which will even more granularly identify and then bring service to those who remain in the digital divide,” emailed Louis Peraertz, vice president-policy.
The FCC should explain parameters of the deployment subsidy adjustment factor in the 5G Fund and require applicants and recipients adopt equal opportunity procurement policies, said the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens and 24 other diversity groups in a petition for partial reconsideration posted in docket 20-32 Tuesday. The recon petition said the commission should explain how the adjustment factor used in the fund will ensure that “historically underserved or unserved areas will receive support in the Phase I auction based on need, low wealth, persistent poverty, and the digital divide." Equitable procurement practices would “ensure broad dissemination of contracting opportunities,” the filing said. The deadline for recon petitions was Monday; no others were posted Tuesday.
The Wyoming Business Council should "immediately release" coverage maps for broadband network projects funded by Cares Act grants and "halt any funding for projects that will result in subsidized overbuilding," said FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly in a letter to Gov. Mark Gordon (R) Wednesday. Local fiber and cable-based broadband providers raised concerns about the duplication of networks in already-serviced areas. O'Rielly said such duplication would "artificially impair the value of" FCC USF subsidies, because at least one of the grants will allegedly overbuild a recipient of Connect America Fund Phase II auction funding. Gordon's office didn't comment Monday.
Eligible telecom carriers subject to broadband public interest obligations in 2021 must offer a minimum monthly usage allowance of 350 GB, said the FCC Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics Monday in an annual urban rate survey. ETCs must certify by July 1 that the pricing of monthly basic residential voice services is no more than $54.75, two standard deviations above the average rate of $33.73. The survey included broadband rate benchmarks for various service offerings, with higher rates for Alaska.
Home Depot settled with more than 40 states Tuesday for $17.5 million over a 2014 data breach that affected some 40 million customers. The settlement requires the company to “tighten its information security program to prevent future breaches,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D): It includes “a comprehensive information security program to protect the integrity and confidentiality of consumers’ personal information.” The company is glad to “put this matter behind us and continue to focus on serving our customers,” a spokesperson emailed, citing free identity protection services, free credit monitoring for customers and heavy investment since 2014. Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro (D) noted the agreement requires employing a “duly qualified Chief Information Security Officer” reporting to senior executives and directors. “The data security measures required by this settlement will help protect the personal information of Marylanders and other consumers throughout the country,” said Maryland AG Brian Frosh (D).
ISP associations suing over Vermont’s net neutrality law agreed with the state to extend a stay to March 31. It would have expired Jan. 30, but parties agreed to extend it in light of a Jan. 26 hearing in a separate case challenging California’s open-internet law, said Monday's stipulation (in Pacer) at U.S. District Court in Burlington. The court originally agreed to pause the case to see what happened in California (see 2009250073).
A Pennsylvania bill to appropriate $5 million for a broadband grant program in FY 2020-21 headed to the governor’s desk Friday. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) "intends to sign the bill," a spokesperson said Monday. SB-835's offset is repealing a $5 million tax credit for mobile broadband. Senators voted 49-0 Friday to concur with House amendments. The House voted 202-0 Wednesday.
Hawaii released a broadband plan to update a 2012 strategy, the Senate majority said Wednesday. It sets goals of reaching all residents, including those on islands other than Oahu that lack broadband up to FCC standards or any connection at all, and to increase digital inclusion and adoption. “Broadband connectivity is the critical infrastructure that builds resilience and ties all of Hawaii’s residents to the global economy,” said Gov. David Ige (D).
Traditional video service still has life "in my neck of the woods" in ways it might not on the coasts, said Patty Jo Boyers, president of southeast Missouri-based cable ISP Boycom Vision, on C-SPAN's The Communicators, to be televised this weekend. She said part of Boycom's customer base is elderly poor who can't access over-the-top service. She said cord cutting slowed during the pandemic, and the company had a big increase in broadband customers, due partly to OTT demand. Asked if the FCC is "an ally," Boyers, who's also ACA Connects chairman, said, "Today, yes. In the past, not so much." She said Chairman Ajit Pai's administration "has been refreshing" with its work on reversing onerous regulatory burdens. She said the way U.S. broadband networks handled a deluge of demand during the COVID-19 pandemic was proof of that approach. "We consider [all FCC administrations] allies," though it will sometimes disagree, ACA President Matt Polka said.