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.
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).
Cox Communications' gigabit broadband, G1gablast, is expanding to some residential markets in Louisiana, the company said Thursday. Cox already offers G1gablast in parts of Orange County, California, and Phoenix, and in Las Vegas and Omaha, and plans to have residential 1 Gbps speeds across its entire footprint by the end of 2016.
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.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to accept Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks' motion to withdraw their application to transfer control, closing the proceeding officially in the state. Other potential courses of action that were on the agenda were officially withdrawn. Another option was to approve the transfer of control subject to conditions, which would also close the proceeding but would require Comcast to provide enhanced service and information to VoIP users about safe operation during power outages and 911 calls. The other proposal on the agenda was to deny the application in the state and close the proceeding, which would maintain the current ownership structure of all involved parties.
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.
Philips said it teamed with the Silicon Valley Plug and Play Tech Center to mentor and partner with IoT innovators. The Plug and Play Tech Center introduces start-ups to corporations and investors to accelerate commercial development of products. The center will work with Philips to filter “hundreds of IoT-orientated start-ups” that match the company’s technology needs in sensor data, analytics and connected lighting for buildings and smart cities. The ability to connect LED lighting to IP networks, sensors and software control systems is “transforming the lighting industry,” Philips said in a Thursday news release.
The California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to discuss Thursday how it will proceed with the now-dead Comcast purchase of Time Warner Cable and resulting divestitures to Charter Communications, and if it needs to investigate the condition of the state’s aging copper phone networks, said a Tellus Venture Associates blog post by Steve Blum. Blum is president of Tellus, which consults on developing community broadband systems. The commission can wrap up the Comcast deal in three ways: Approve it to establish a precedent for review of future transactions, deny it or allow Comcast to withdraw the application, Blum said. The CPUC previously approved a study of the aging copper networks, but the new agency President Michael Picker wants to scrap that and rely on the telcos to repair and maintain the networks, Blum said. Other commissioners are interested in going through with the study, he said. CPUC didn't comment.
The Agriculture Department approved $74.8 million in telecom loans and $11 million in community connect grants that will increase access for rural Americans in seven states, said a USDA news release Monday. Included in the grants is $6 million for Minnesota's Northeast Service Cooperative to provide broadband service to subscribers on the Fond du Lac Reservation. South Carolina is one of the states that received a loan from the USDA, for $12.38 million to upgrade its wireless network to 4G/LTE.
Emergency call dispatchers across Kansas will soon have access to vital 911 caller information due to an agreement with AT&T, said the company in a news release Monday. The Kansas 911 Coordinating Council awarded a contract to AT&T to provide a next-generation 911 emergency communications system statewide, it said. AT&T will use cloud, wireless and wireline technology to improve the system, it said. The new 911 system is expected to improve emergency response capabilities statewide, allowing individuals in rural areas to receive the same level of service as their big city counterparts in Kansas City and Wichita, it said.