State Commissioners Test Telecom Waters Despite Authority Limits
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Utah's revamping USF contributions and New York's convening pole-attachment talks are examples of how states continue to act as “labs of democracy,” even as many jurisdictions reduce their telecom regulation, said Monday NARUC panelists. Telecom authority varies by state and often is limited, but state commissioners said broadband remains top of mind. "I don't make a single decision in telecom" without asking if it will bring faster and more affordable internet, said New York Public Service Commissioner Gregg Sayre.
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The Utah PSC shifted to connections-based USF contribution earlier this year, becoming the first state to change from a revenue-based mechanism (see 1804260067). Revenue coming into the fund had become “volatile,” said PSC Chairman Thad LeVar. Utah is only a half year into the USF method change, but it “seemed to stabilize the revenue stream,” LeVar told us later. “I’m hopeful that it will mean fewer changes to the surcharge amount.” Utah is one of the first six states to use the Lifeline national verifier under the FCC’s soft launch last month (see 1806180054). The state’s contract for its previous system expired June 30. While early, LeVar told us he hasn’t heard from eligible telecom carriers about any problems.
The New York PSC is having success speeding broadband deployment through pole attachment stakeholder meetings, said Sayre. He offered to share more information with any other interested states. The state broadband grant program and Charter Communications' network expansion effort exposed slow make-ready processes, Sayre said. Weekly meetings with pole owners and attachers are helping to resolve disputes and expedite the process, he said. With 5G facilities coming, streamlined pole attachments must be the “new normal,” the commissioner said. New York reverse auctions using Connect America Fund money “have been very successful and we’re in the implementation stage,” Sayre said. He's concerned about the PSC’s intensifying dispute with Charter over the company’s progress expanding its network as required to buy Time Warner Cable (see 1807060029): "I am afraid that we are heading down the road to very long and bitter litigation.”
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission seeks to fill wireless coverage gaps by participating in the challenge process for the Mobility Fund Phase II Auction, said Commissioner Chris Nelson. The PSC found some census blocks that didn’t have service where at least one carrier said otherwise, and now has a contractor checking that on a square-kilometer level as required by the FCC, Nelson said.
Washington state is now enforcing net neutrality under the law that took effect last month as FCC net neutrality deregulation became effective, said Washington Utilities and Transportation Commissioner Ann Rendahl. The UTC won’t have a big role since lawmakers tasked enforcement to the attorney general, she said. There haven’t been any enforcement actions or court challenges of the state law, but both seem likely, Rendahl said.
ILEC withdrawals worry Ohio Public Utilities Commissioner Daniel Conway. An AT&T request to relinquish its status as a Lifeline ETC (see 1806290033) is complicated by the FCC weighing a plan to end support to alternative ETCs that don’t have facilities, Conway said. The PUCO is reviewing ILEC wireline network withdrawal requests, which are allowed with a determination that competitive service is available. Conway fears PUCO won’t be able to do anything if the competitive service later exits; a proceeding on what to do in such a situation remains unresolved.