The California Public Utilities Commission should write a broadband plan, said the agency’s independent Public Advocates Office (PAO) in comments posted Tuesday in docket R.20-09-001. The agency opened the rulemaking last month to get more involved in broadband despite jurisdictional questions (see 2009180038). The CPUC should assess whether current state subsidy funds will be enough and consider contribution revisions, PAO said. Small LECs warned not to take an overly generous view of jurisdiction. Charter Communications urged the CPUC to focus on removing regulatory barriers, including those on permitting and pole access. If the CPUC is considering utility-style broadband regulation, it “risks exceeding its jurisdiction and interfering with federal law,” the company warned. Crown Castle said “the quickest and most cost-effective reform” would be to require local and state authorities to approve broadband permits within 90 days, with a deemed granted remedy if the shot clock runs out. California’s previous governor vetoed a bill to streamline small-cells deployment by preempting localities in the right of way.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) tagged $50 million for broadband and signed an executive order to create a state broadband office, her office said Thursday. Stanley Adams, currently broadband initiatives director for the Kansas Commerce Department, will lead the department’s new Office of Broadband Development, it said. The broadband funding for 67 fiber and fixed wireless projects comes from federal coronavirus relief. Also Thursday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) announced $12.7 million in broadband grants. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission voted 2-1 Thursday to spend about $5.3 million of federal coronavirus relief on 12 broadband projects.
Revised low-income subsidy amounts and standards adopted unanimously by the California Public Utilities Commission will increase free and low-cost mobile broadband for state LifeLine participants, the CPUC said Thursday. The proposal in docket R.20-02-008 adds options for higher mobile data buckets and subsidies for VoIP bundled with fixed broadband. The commission estimated the decision will reduce LifeLine costs by up to $9.2 million yearly by cutting subsidies for wireline measured rate plans. The order requires providers to change to flat rate plans. President Marybel Batjer urged the state’s five largest broadband companies to participate “so all low-income Californians have improved -- if not free -- affordable, high speed connections.” The decision “brings broadband service for the first time into our LifeLine proceeding as the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of broadband access for all Californians,” said Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma. Carriers resisted CPUC changes as the FCC mulls federal Lifeline minimum increases (see 2009250043).
AT&T denied Mississippi Public Service Commission claims the carrier sent false information to Universal Service Administrative Co. Commissioners asked the FCC last week to audit AT&T on its use of more than $283 million in Connect America Fund support to expand broadband to 133,000 Mississippi locations (see 2009300023). USAC earlier this year upgraded its portal to allow bulk corrections to data, and AT&T hasn’t revised the data because it first wanted to review and validate geocoding of its entire CAF II locations inventory, the carrier said in a Wednesday letter to FCC Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith and Inspector General David Hunt. AT&T isn’t deceiving by advertising internet as available at a location but then finding it’s unable to install service after the company’s technician measures signal strength, it said. The telco said it will comply with interim buildout milestones and exceed the 100% requirement by year-end in Mississippi and all 17 other CAF II states. Mississippi PSC Commissioner Brandon Presley tweeted Thursday that he asked commission staff to investigate reports that AT&T will stop expanding DSL. “While DSL is not an optimal choice for internet service, it’s all that many have and is better than other services.” AT&T provided us a statement in response (see 2010080066).
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has “currently no plans to call a special session,” a spokesperson emailed Tuesday in response to calls by Next Century Cities, Electronic Frontier Foundation and local officials to reconvene the legislature to address the digital divide (see 2010060059). The groups support SB-1130 to increase the state internet speed standard to 25 Mbps symmetrical from 6/1 Mbps. The Senate passed the bill; the Assembly didn’t put it up for a floor vote.
Vermont awarded more than $4 million in broadband grants using federal COVID-19 relief funding, the Department of Public Service said Tuesday. The largest grants were $1.9 million to Tilson and nearly $1 million to Topsham Telephone, both for fiber projects. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Wednesday the state will spend $30 million of federal pandemic relief for broadband in underserved areas.
Next Century Cities supported calls to reconvene California's legislature to pass SB-1130 to increase the state internet speed standard to 25 Mbps symmetrical from 6/1 Mbps (see 2009290064). “Access to the internet in our rural and urban areas makes the difference between whether people got evacuation orders and are able to access critical information,” Next Century Cities quoted Santa Cruz County Third District Supervisor Ryan Coonerty saying, in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). COVID-19 makes the digital divide more acute, says Second District Supervisor Zach Friend.
Tell the FCC by Nov. 20 if interest remains in 10 pending petitions from 2003-05 to preempt state consumer protections against unwanted robocalls and faxes, says Tuesday’s Federal Register. Unless the Direct Marketing Association and other requesters object, their petitions will be dismissed with prejudice.
The Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee scheduled a virtual meeting Oct. 29-30, starting at 11 a.m. EDT each day, the FCC said Tuesday. BDAC will vote on reports and recommendations from the Increasing Broadband Investment in Low-Income Communities, Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Job Skills and Training Opportunities, and Disaster Response and Recovery working groups.
Amazon Sidewalk will bring connected devices together for a “seamless user experience,” blogged Texas Instruments Product Marketing Manager Casey O’Grady, after Amazon’s Sidewalk announcement (see 2009210032). The sub-1GHz long-range, low-power network will enable a sensor “that lets you know when it’s time to water" the backyard garden. TI devices for Sidewalk include wireless controllers supporting sub-1 GHz and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and a wireless microcontroller with an integrated power amplifier for extended range. Developers can use the TI devices to build apps supporting the Sidewalk protocol; BLE allows “easy commissioning or over-the-air firmware updates,” she said. Semtech’s LoRa supports a long-range, low-power wide area network to connect a range of home devices or sensors, said CEO Mohan Maheswaran.