Delay in getting a fifth member on the FCC is preventing the commission from acting on some key issues for local governments, said NATOA annual conference panelists Tuesday. Localities may need to explore new ways to maintain franchise fee revenue as more people cut pay TV for over-the-top services like Netflix, said others.
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
T-Mobile and Dish Network executives clashed at a California Public Utilities Commission hearing Monday (see 2109200065) on how long T-Mobile agreed to keep its CDMA network, in the Boost Mobile divestiture agreement brokered with DOJ. The partly virtual hearing on the CPUC’s August order saying the carrier may have misled the agency (see 2108160021) started at 10 a.m. PDT and went overtime, with the lights at the state commission’s headquarters automatically turning off before it ended after 6 p.m. PDT.
California Public Utilities Commission judges pressed T-Mobile at a Monday hearing on the reasonableness of a promise to give Dish Network six months’ notice before shutting down Sprint’s CDMA network. The virtual hearing was on the CPUC’s August order saying the carrier may have misled the agency (see 2108160021). T-Mobile Technology President Neville Ray testified he and the company didn't mean to conceal anything: "It was never our intent or my intent to mislead the commission in any way or form as to how this transaction and subsequent divestiture would unfold."
Some states are responding to a possible federal phaseout in Lifeline support for voice-only services, but many have no plans to replace lost support, state commission officials said. The FCC plans to phase out $5.25 in voice support Dec. 1 except in census blocks with only one Lifeline voice provider. Some industry and community groups applauded states stepping in but said it’s up to the FCC to ensure no one is disconnected from voice service. “In the absence of federal support, state Lifeline subsidy programs fill a critical gap for those in need,” said Next Century Cities (NCC) Policy Counsel-State and Local Initiatives Corian Zacher.
Inmate calling service providers could shift costs to video calling if the California Public Utilities Commission caps only voice rates, said public advocates Wednesday at a CPUC prehearing conference. After last month capping voice intrastate ICS rates at 7 cents a minute on an interim basis (see 2108190046), the commission is preparing for a phase two that might include rates for text and video services, despite some ICS providers disagreeing they're under the agency’s jurisdiction. Some providers sought a several-month delay so the effectiveness of new interim rates can be analyzed.
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Danielle Forrest and Mary Schroeder asked about FCC preemptive authority after reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title I service, at oral argument Tuesday on ISP associations challenging a lower court denying preliminary injunction against California’s 2018 net neutrality law (case 21-15430). Judge Clifford Wallace asked why the 9th Circuit should bother with a preliminary appeal.
Bills to extend and enlarge the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) will go to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), after the Assembly voted 60-7 Thursday to concur with Senate amendments to AB-14. The legislature cleared Senate companion SB-4 earlier that day despite industry resistance (see 2109090049). Newsom declined to comment Friday. His office was involved with the bills and he's expected to sign before an Oct. 10 deadline. The bills, contingent upon each other's enactment, would include extending the CASF by 10 years and raising the surcharge cap to $150 million yearly from $66 million. “Both houses have approved a historic investment to close the digital divide,” Assembly sponsor Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) said Thursday. “Broadband for All is one step closer to becoming a reality,” said sponsoring Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D). SB-4 and AB-14 “get the money correct, but fall short on critical upgrades to a state that is more dependent than ever on broadband infrastructure,” emailed Mike Montgomery, executive director of CALinnovates, an advocacy group with partners including AT&T and Uber. “What is really needed is to focus spend on delivering services to underserved communities in need, coupled with wraparound education to encourage uptake in these communities.” Consumer Reports Senior Policy Counsel Jonathan Schwantes applauded lawmakers Friday “for taking action to help bridge the digital divide.” Also Thursday, the Assembly concurred with Senate amendments to AB-74 to require various California LifeLine enrollment and recertification processes. The Senate concurred with Assembly changes to SB-28 to increase CPUC authority to check if state video franchisees are deploying enough broadband and to SB-341 on telecom outage reporting (see 2109080071).
Industry groups that sued Florida for its social media law said Friday they're mulling next steps in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a similar law Thursday. “We’re exploring our options,” emailed a NetChoice spokesperson. The group had said a lawsuit was possible; see our report here. The Computer and Communications Industry Association “is exploring all legal options to ensure industry has the necessary tools to protect Internet users from malicious actors online,” its spokesperson wrote. The Internet Association, which didn’t sue Florida but filed a brief supporting CCIA and NetChoice’s challenge, declined to comment. Thursday, NetChoice, CCIA and IA condemned the law as unconstitutional. Texas Democrats and industry tried to stop the bill to prohibit larger platforms from blocking, deplatforming or otherwise discriminating against users based on viewpoint or location (see 2109030048). The law is about protecting free speech, Abbott said. Social websites “are a place for healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely,” he said, “but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas." TechNet’s Texas Executive Director Servando Esparza countered Friday that the law “recklessly forces companies to leave objectionable content in the public eye or otherwise face huge liability risks, and it limits how email service providers protect users form an influx of spam emails.”
The Senate half of a major California broadband proposal passed the legislature Thursday. Senators voted 29-8 without debate to concur with Assembly amendments to SB-4, which narrowly passed the other chamber Wednesday amid opposition by cable industry and other business interests. Senators later Thursday voted 28-8 to pass companion measure AB-14, which would still need final Assembly approval by Friday, the last day of session. Supporters expected Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to sign the bills to extend and update the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).
California Assembly members voted 60-0 for more telecom outage reporting Wednesday. SB-341 by Sen. Mike McGuire (D) would direct the Office of Emergency Services to adopt rules for public mapping telecom outages and share information with the California Public Utilities Commission. The bill would require telecom providers that provide 911 access to post outage maps on their websites and codify recent CPUC 72-hour backup power requirements for telecom providers. SB-341 next returns to the Senate to concur with Assembly changes. The legislature was expected to have voted later Wednesday on California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) update bills SB-4 and AB-14. A Supporter, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warned that “several legislators intend to vote no on SB 4/AB 14 this week, potentially dooming the bills.” EFF later blamed legislator defections on cable opposition. CPUC Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves earlier warned that the cable industry might be trying to distract legislators from the CASF bills (see 2109070050). "For those of my colleagues who want to stick with the status quo, multi-billion dollar corporations deciding when they will grace Californians with service, they will have to answer to their constituents and be judged by history," said AB-14 sponsor Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry in a statement emailed to us. SB-4 sponsor Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D) sought to rally legislators’ support, saying that “these bills are critical to ensuring the state can provide greater access to high-speed broadband to Californians, especially in unserved and underserved communities throughout the state.” Tracy Rhine, senior legislative advocate for supporter Rural County Representatives of California, expected a close vote, particularly on SB-4, with details about the CASF surcharge up for contention.