Pay for Wi-Fi hot spots and other devices for students through the California Advanced Services Fund, commented the state Education Department Thursday to the California Public Utilities Commission. U.S. E-rate doesn’t cover that, Ed said. The department would apply and disseminate devices to students through county education offices, it said in docket R.12-10-012. Others supported rolling application deadlines. CalTel and other small rural LECs urged the same for infrastructure. “This will allow providers to assess areas of need in light of evolving information and react to changing broadband usage patterns brought on by the statewide ‘shelter-in-place’ order,” the small telcos said. The California Cable & Telecommunications Association isn’t against rolling deadlines if limited to addressing COVID-19 and opposes “wholesale changes to the CASF program made under pressure during a [COVID-19] crisis.” Streamline procedures for awarding and administering CASF infrastructure grants, commented AT&T. GeoLinks sought increased upfront costs to expedite projects. Fund public housing deployment, said San Francisco. The Electronic Frontier Foundation urged sought network performance and outage data to analyze “why ISPs have seemingly yielded wildly different results across the state when it comes to delivering broadband access during the pandemic.” Fiber seems to best absorb increased demand, EFF said. Consumer and rural advocates seek changes (see 2004090056).
EPB of Chattanooga, with 108,000 broadband customers, had demand increase sharply during the workday after the COVID-19 crisis started, below early evening average peak hours, said Ryan Keel, vice president-technical operations. Primetime peak demand is up as more people stay home, he told a Fiber Broadband Association webinar Wednesday (see 2004080054). EPB hasn’t had “very many issues in total” and addressed some downstream electronics problems, he said.
Libraries are expanding digital reach while closed, said a Public Library Association survey released Thursday. More than 80% report they left on Wi-Fi, and 12% expanded it during COVID-19. Some checked out mobile internet hotspots or used bookmobiles for internet access.
Frontier Communications asked the West Virginia Public Service Commission to reject a Freedom of Information Act request to release an unredacted version of commission’s audit, citing “nonpublic, trade secret and confidential sensitive information,” it said Wednesday in case 18-0291-T-P (see 2002200022). The telco said it “faces serious operational and financial challenges in West Virginia.” The agency ordered parties to respond to the request by April 18. The carrier must respond to the audit report April 20. Comments are due May 11.
Three more Colorado towns will opt out of a 2005 state restriction on municipal broadband. Fredrick, Johnstown and Monument residents voted on SB-152 questions Tuesday. More than 100 of Colorado’s approximately 270 municipalities have opted out (see map), said Colorado Municipal League Legislative and Policy Advocate Brandy DeLange.
Borrowers in the Rural Utilities Service ReConnect broadband subsidy program should be the only ones eligible to bid on census blocks serving the same territory in the upcoming FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, NTCA and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association recommended, posted Tuesday in docket 19-126. Borrowers "would by no means" be guaranteed to win USF support for the same area, the associations acknowledged. The groups spoke Monday with Preston Wise, rural broadband adviser to Chairman Ajit Pai.
Environmental Systems Research Institute representatives spoke with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff on the capabilities of 3D software and data relative to better vertical location accuracy of wireless calls to 911. Software can do geocoding and 3D data extrusion, ESRI said. “Creation of a 3D base map by a federal entity at a national level would result in cost-savings from both lidar and parcel based vendors, and would ease in standardization and adoption.” The filing was posted Monday in docket 11-117.
New York’s final state budget includes neither net neutrality nor an industry-backed section to streamline small-cells deployment by pre-empting local governments. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced highlights Thursday; the telecom provisions disappeared from S-7508. COVID-19 response and opposition from localities and workers’ union derailed the 5G measure (see 2003200042).
The Washington state facial recognition bill Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed Tuesday (see 2003310051) is “a reasonable compromise among innovators, law enforcement and the privacy interests of Americans,” said CTA President Gary Shapiro Thursday. “This is a balanced model for other states and should be open to revision with experience."
The Colorado Broadband Office launched a COVID-19 website with news and resources on internet connectivity. Georgia Public Service Commission members, staff and interested parties may join Thursday’s meeting only via the web, the PSC said Wednesday.