Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications filed a joint application July 2 to execute a transfer and encumbrance with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, said a notice from the commission. Anyone who wants to intervene in or participate as a party in the proceeding needs to file a petition for leave to intervene, or under the commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, file other appropriate pleadings to become a party, within 30 days after the date of the notice, the filing said. Commission staff must file any objection, notice of intervention or other appropriate pleading within seven days after the notice expires, it said.
The FTC filed a joint complaint with the Florida Attorney General charging New York-based Lifewatch with using "blatantly illegal and deceptive robocalls to trick older consumers into signing up for medical alert systems with monthly monitoring fees," a news release from the FTC said Monday. The U.S. District Court in Orlando late last month halted an Orlando-based operation that the FTC and Florida Office of the Attorney General said "bombard[ed] consumers" with "massive robocall campaigns designed to trick them into paying up-front for worthless credit card interest rate reduction programs" (see 1506290049). Since 2012 Lifewatch has been bombarding consumers -- primarily elderly consumers -- with millions of unsolicited robocalls, the complaint said. Last year one of Lifewatch’s telemarketing firms, Worldwide Info Services, agreed to be banned from making robocalls or engaging in other deceptive conduct, to settle charges brought by the FTC and the state of Florida, the release said. The FTC and Florida's AG allege that Lifewatch knew of, and is responsible for, the illegal activities in that case, and that Lifewatch simply continued its telemarketing campaign using a variety of other telemarketers after Worldwide was shut down, the release said. “This company violated the Do Not Call Registry to deceive seniors, not only in Florida but across the country,” state Attorney General Pam Bondi said. The agencies are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the defendants’ use of illegal robocalls and deceptive telemarketing claims, plus funds for eventual restitution to victims. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court in Chicago, one of the locations where the firm does business.
New York City Economic Development Corporation launched a $5.3 million public-private partnership to build access to high-speed Internet in industrial business zones (IBZs) by expanding broadband infrastructure in underserved areas, said a news release from Xchange Telecom, among the partners. The program will create high-speed commercial broadband networks in the southwest Brooklyn, Long Island City, North Brooklyn and Greenpoint-Williamsburg IBZs, which are among the city’s “digital deserts,” said the company Wednesday. The networks in the four IBZs will be designed, constructed, maintained, and operated by Stealth Communications Services and Xchange Telecom, two New York City-based ISPs, it said. NYCEDC will provide over $1.6 million for the program from the New York State Connect NY Broadband Grant Program, it said.
Ten of the top 20 fastest broadband regions in the world are in the U.S., said a recent report from Akamai, according to an analysis of the data from NCTA. Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Virginia come in at three, four and five on the list with average peak connection speeds of 85.6, 79.2 and 79 Mbps respectively. Singapore is No. 1 with 98.5 Mbps. Maryland and California are 19 and 20 on the list with average peak connection speeds of 64.4 and 64.3 Mbps, NCTA said. The rankings are reflective of infrastructure and technology, as well as basic geography, it said. Each of the nations at the top of the list is small and densely populated while many of the U.S. states on the list share similar geography, the analysis from NCTA said.
NARUC will consider resolutions commending FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council IV recommendations, calling for action on net neutrality and on designations for Lifeline broadband services, at its summer meeting July 12-15 in New York City. The resolution urging congressional action on the open Internet would encourage Congress to pass legislation upholding the FCC order as outlined by NARUC resolutions, said Washington Utilities and Transportation Commissioner Philip Jones in an interview Wednesday. Previously, NARUC backed open Internet rules as they are, minus Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband, Jones said. The CSRIC resolution aims to commend the work that working group IV did to enhance cybersecurity risk management in the communications sector, said Jones, a sponsor of the resolution and former NARUC president. He said it doesn’t encourage states to do anything yet, but it’s the beginning of a “deeper conversation.” The third resolution urges the FCC to refrain from disrupting the existing federal-state partnership in the provision of Lifeline services by pre-empting the authority of states to designate eligible telecom carriers for the provision of advanced telecom services. Jones said that the net neutrality resolution shouldn't be all that controversial because it's only asking Congress to act, but the resolution about Lifeline broadband services could have some "robust discussion." A "lot of people haven't read the full order that they [the FCC] approved last month and there will be concerns about cost," he said of Lifeline. "I think a lot of [state public utility] commissioners will be concerned [whether] the cost of this program will be at the expense of other programs."
Forty state attorneys general lent their support to Mississippi AG Jim Hood Monday, filing a joint amicus brief backing his bid to overturn the U.S. District Court in Jackson’s ruling granting Google a preliminary injunction against his enforcement of a subpoena of the company’s search practices. Hood, a Democrat, filed an appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in late March, after U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate ordered the preliminary injunction because there was a “substantial likelihood” that Google would prevail in its lawsuit against Hood on claims he violated Google’s First Amendment rights (see 1504010029). The AGs -- led by Kentucky's Jack Conway, a Democrat; Arizona's Mark Brnovich, a Republican; and Louisiana's Buddy Caldwell, a Republican -- said that they aren’t taking a position on Hood’s investigation but believe Google’s suit was premature. Wingate’s preliminary injunction “would provide a roadmap for any potential wrongdoer subject to a legitimate state law enforcement investigation to attempt to thwart such an inquiry,” the AGs said. “Such an outcome would undermine Attorneys General’s powers, granted to them by state constitutions and state statutes, to protect the general citizenry from violations of state law. It would also flood the federal courts with what amount to state-law discovery disputes.”
More than 100 U.S. communities can access gigabit broadband as part of an Adtran campaign, said the company in a news release Tuesday. The program showcases how innovative technologies are being used in cities, towns and communities to support economic growth and urban development.
Taking control and becoming directly involved in plans for broadband deployment is "incredibly exciting," said Gigi Sohn, counselor to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, during a fiber launch party in Westminster, Maryland, Friday. The city chose to engage in a private-public partnership with Ting, which will provide Westminster with what it calls “crazy fast fiber Internet,” she said. Sohn said she admires how strategic the city and county leaders have been in moving the fiber network forward. The open access model that Westminster has with Ting is an approach that Sohn said will benefit the citizens of the city for years to come. The network will let about 10,000 homes and businesses in the community receive up to a 1 Gbps Internet connection, which puts Westminster up there with U.S. cities Chattanooga, metropolitan Kansas City and Austin and cities around the world like Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo, she said. "What is happening today is a great example of local communities and their leaders taking control of their broadband future."
AT&T launched its U-verse with AT&T GigaPower for residential and small businesses in Florida in parts of Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Hollywood, Miami and surrounding communities, the company said in a news release Monday. It said the telco committed that upon approval of its proposed acquisition of DirecTV, the company will expand the AT&T GigaPower network to an additional 2 million customer locations.
Per a promise in May, AT&T's U-verse with GigaPower is now available for residents and small businesses in parts of Chicago, said a company news release. Customers who subscribe to U-verse with GigaPower will also have access to U-verse TV and voice services, it said. AT&T plans to expand its 100 percent fiber network in up to 25 markets, it said. U-verse with AT&T GigaPower has launched in parts of the Atlanta; Austin; Charlotte; Chicago; Cupertino, California; Dallas; Fort Worth; Houston; Kansas City; Nashville; and Raleigh-Durham and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, markets. Plans have been announced to launch AT&T GigaPower in parts of the Greensboro, North Carolina, Jacksonville, Miami, St. Louis and San Antonio markets, said the telco.