California state legislators advance broadband bills, including to renew and revamp the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) with a goal of upgrading to at least 100 Mbps downstream. Bills to preempt local governments on wireless deployment are advancing this year, after former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoed a 2017 attempt (see 1710170026).
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.
New York state privacy and robocalls bills advanced to the Senate floor Tuesday. One Consumer Protection Committee member voted against the privacy bill (S-6701) by Chairman Kevin Thomas (D). Sen. Jim Tedisco (R) said he was voting no due to nonprofits' concerns. Three voted yes, while two voted aye without recommendation, meaning they wanted to move it to the House floor while reserving their full support. The comprehensive privacy measure “creates transparency, control and oversight,” said Thomas at the livestreamed hearing. It would require companies to get consumer opt-in consent, and authorizes attorney general enforcement, private rights of action and class actions. The panel voted unanimously for the robocalls bill (S-6267), which would require that telecoms block calls from subscribers who requested blocking of their own numbers. Providers would have to block calls from numbers that aren't valid North American numbering plan numbers, that are valid but not allocated to a provider, or that are allocated but unused.
Texas legislators' attempt to stabilize state USF is nearing the finish. The Senate Rural Affairs Committee voted 8-0 Tuesday for HB-2667 to expand the TUSF contribution base to include VoIP providers, while redefining high-cost areas. RLECs had sued the Public Utility Commission for not acting to prevent insolvency (see 2103290060).
States want to extend temporary relaxations of telehealth restrictions made on an emergency basis during the pandemic, legislators and experts said in interviews. Nearly every state is “trying to grapple with what just happened with COVID and telehealth,” said American Telemedicine Association Director-Public Policy Kyle Zebley, citing 550 telehealth bills in 49 states this year.
Cable operators and electric cooperatives supported a Texas pole attachments bill at a livestreamed Monday hearing. HB-1505 would create a broadband pole replacement fund using $75 million in federal pandemic relief, said a summary. The state would reimburse up to $5,000 paid by ISPs or pole owners to replace a pole for supporting broadband in places without 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. The bill would apply Texas pole attachment rules for cablers to all broadband providers. HB-1505 would lower barriers to broadband deployment and provide nondiscriminatory pole access, Texas Cable Association President Walt Baum told the Senate Transportation Committee. The latest version addressed concerns about safety and shifting broadband building costs onto co-ops, said Texas Electric Cooperatives Senior Vice President-Government Relations Eric Craven. The committee didn't vote.
Washington lifted municipal broadband restrictions Thursday when Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed HB-1336 and SB-5383, passed last month (see 2104260061). While together they remove limits, the Senate bill would add a reporting requirement specific to unserved areas. Reporting requirements will vary and localities “can do whatever they want,” and Inslee "believes expanding access to broadband is important to equity and increasing opportunity for Washingtonians facing barriers to internet connectivity," a spokesperson said Friday. Rep. Drew Hansen (D) replied Friday to a tweet by Institute for Local Self-Reliance Director-Community Broadband Networks Christopher Mitchell, who raised concerns the Senate bill might keep some muni limits. Mitchell later told us “decades of history of the raw political power of large cable and telephone companies makes me wary of any doubt in whether there are barriers to local Internet choice but unless I hear differently at this point, my impression is that Washington has removed its barriers to publicly-owned networks.” Also Thursday, Inslee signed HB-1477 implementing 988. He signed SB-5009 on strategic lawsuits against public participation Wednesday (see 2104150028).
Maine’s attorney general is “very comfortable” defending a bill calling IPTV operators utilities and raising minimum franchise fees, but that’s no guarantee the state would win, Chief Deputy AG Christopher Taub told the Maine Joint Energy, Utilities and Technologies Committee at a work session streamed Thursday. The committee voted 7-4 to temporarily table the bill and consider it later. Industry opponents say the plan (LD-920) would violate the federal Cable Act, an argument they made against three previous Maine cable laws in cases that went to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "This is definitely a defensible bill," but "there's certainly a possibility that a court would find that either some or all of this bill would be preempted,” said Taub. Such cases are “extremely complicated” and it’s “very difficult to predict on any given issue how it's going to come out,” he warned. Two issues are “thorny,” said Taub: Opponents might argue a proposed regulatory surcharge is an “end run around” the federal 5% cap on franchise fees because the bill also sets 5% as the floor for Maine franchise fees, he said. They might say the Cable Act prevents treating companies as utilities, but Maine could argue that -- other than calling them utilities and applying a regulatory surcharge -- the state wouldn’t be regulating them as utilities, said Taub. A skeptical State Sen. Trey Stewart (R) responded, “If it quacks like a duck.”
The Michigan Public Service Commission decided to seek comment by June 10 on ExteNet’s petition to update state pole-attachment rules (see 2104290038). Commissioners voted 3-0 for the notice at their videoconferenced Thursday meeting. ExteNet appreciates the order and urges the PSC "to develop, consolidate and publish its pole attachment rules and regulations," said Senior Counsel-Regulatory Affairs Haran Rashes. "Such a proceeding will assist attachers by developing a predictable pole attachment process for the future." The PSC unanimously approved a consent agenda including several items on the federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Commissioners granted a temporary license for SpaceX’s Starlink to provide basic service, a required step toward eligible telecom carrier designation, the PSC said. The FCC awarded StarLink nearly $9.9 million in Michigan. At the FCC, Dish Network opposed SpaceX getting ETC OK in some states (see 2105130040). The commission granted Thumb Electric for eligible telecom carrier status so it can use $59.4 million in federal RDOF support. The PSC also granted Thumb’s application for a permanent license to provide basic local exchange phone service. Thumb bid in the RDOF auction with other electric co-ops as the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative.
The New York Public Service Commission voted 4-0 to clear a Frontier Communications action plan for emerging from bankruptcy. The telco submitted the plan in January required by the PSC in its October OK of the Chapter 11 reorganization (see 2010160044). It describes how Frontier will enhance service quality and network reliability. "We will have to remain very vigilant on this company in particular” to make sure they meet performance standards, said interim Chair John Howard at the commission’s livestreamed Thursday meeting. It exited Chapter 11 two weeks ago (see 2104300058). The approved plan includes $12.5 million for projects in 24 central offices identified as needing improvement, said the PSC. The company didn't comment.
Nebraska's Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to expand the state USF’s connections-based method for residential services to now include business and government lines. At another Tuesday meeting, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission delayed shifting to a per-line monthly surcharge from a revenue-based mechanism.