New York wouldn't enforce its cheap-broadband law as part of a settlement with ISP associations including the New York State Telecommunications Association, USTelecom and CTIA.
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.
State telecom commissioners seek smart broadband spending in a federal infrastructure package, they said in virtual and in-person interviews during NARUC’s Denver conference this week. COVID-19 highlighted broadband gaps and will forever change how policymakers look at internet issues, they said. “One of the only good things to come out of the pandemic is the realization that we need broadband,” said Alexandra Fernandez-Navarro, Puerto Rico Public Service Regulatory Board associate member.
The NARUC Telecom Committee advanced proposed resolutions on the emergency broadband benefit, outage and disaster information sharing and recommendations by the association’s broadband task force. At the panel’s partially virtual Tuesday meeting, members revised the EBB measure’s language on how long to extend EBB, after South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chairman Chris Nelson objected to NARUC seeking the benefit’s renewal. The proposals still require OK by the NARUC board Wednesday.
NARUC won’t remove from a draft resolution on the emergency broadband benefit a clause asking Congress to phase bypassing the state eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation process, said measure sponsor Crystal Rhoades on Friday. NCTA unsuccessfully asked to remove that clause Thursday at a NARUC Telecom Subcommittee meeting (see 2107150056). The EBB resolution and two other drafts are up for vote at NARUC’s Telecom Committee meeting Tuesday in Denver.
The New York Public Service Commission agreed 6-0 to a $2.7 million Frontier Communications settlement for the carrier’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias, at a Thursday meeting livestreamed from Albany. Members also unanimously cleared a $425 million investment by Searchlight Capital Partners in Consolidated Communications to enhance customer service. The Frontier settlement resolves a notice of apparent liability against the carrier for failing to keep a critical central office operating and not providing timely, accurate notices to the Department of Public Service (see 2102110066). The pact will increase redundancy and ensures continuous 911 service in future severe weather, said DPS Assistant Counsel Nicholas Forst. This includes reporting requirements and a Frontier promise not to pass costs to customers, the official said. PSC Chair John Howard asked if staff is “satisfied that Frontier’s 911 systems are fully operational” and can be relied upon by customers. “We are very confident,” replied Forst, saying redundancies from the pact will “not only provide Frontier benefit but also other 911 service providers.” Commissioners praised the speed of the one-year investigation into energy and communications providers. “Utilities need to know that poor performance will be met with swift and effective regulatory action,” said Howard. Rory Christian, one of three new commissioners at the meeting, applauded getting new infrastructure and resiliency investments amid “increasing severe storms and operating conditions.” The PSC earlier adopted a $72 million settlement with Altice for Isaias response failures (see 2103180022). Frontier didn't comment.
NARUC's Telecom Subcommittee advanced three draft resolutions to the full committee for a Tuesday vote at the state regulators' policy summit in Denver. The proposals relate to Broadband Task Force recommendations, the emergency broadband benefit (EBB) and disaster outage reporting (see 2107070053). At Thursday’s virtual meeting, the subcommittee’s staff-level officials declined to vote on proposed amendments by industry to the EBB draft. NCTA suggested removing a clause recommending that Congress, in any EBB extension, “phase out the current partial bypass” of the state eligible telecom carrier designation process. Changing course now could disrupt service for customers whose EBB providers don’t yet have ETC status, said NCTA Vice President-State Affairs Rick Cimerman. TruConnect asked to add clauses urging the FCC to allow Lifeline ETC requests to use an alternative verification process in California, Texas and Oregon for EBB enrollment, and asking Congress to give money to states that haven’t been able to connect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program databases to the Lifeline national verifier. About 15 states haven’t connected SNAP databases, with most saying it’s because they lack funding to update interfaces, said TruConnect attorney Judson Hill. The full committee could still take up industry’s proposed changes at its business meeting, said Subcommittee Chair Joseph Witmer, counsel to Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Gladys Brown.
Oklahoma could soon join a small and growing list of states adopting USF connections-based contributions. In Oregon, parties are discussing other rule changes, and in Texas, small rural LECs are taking the Public Utility Commission to court for not fully funding USF. Other states mulling changes include California and Kentucky.
California's legislature could be close to finalizing billions of dollars for broadband deployment and related bills to update the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), stakeholders told us. Three preemptive telecom bills also are sailing toward passage despite warnings by some local governments.
ISPs balked at a possible probe into whether broadband deployment practices lead to digital inequity, in comments posted through Tuesday at the California Public Utilities Commission. As part of its broadband docket (R.20-09-001), the CPUC sought feedback on three digital redlining studies by the Greenlining Institute; University of Southern California; and Communications Workers of America and National Digital Inclusion Alliance (see 2105280014). Advocates urged further investigation.
Florida plans to “immediately appeal” to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday's decision by the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee to freeze Florida’s law regulating social media, said a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Thursday. Hours before the law was to take effect, Judge Robert Hinkle granted NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association’s motion for preliminary injunction (see our bulletin). Plaintiffs and supporting amici told us they’re confident the 11th Circuit won’t overturn the lower court.