T-Mobile data on California’s foster youth pilot program “was so flawed that Program youth and their social workers and caregivers may have been provided with wrong phone numbers and device information,” iFoster CEO Serita Cox told the California Public Utilities Commission in a Monday letter. “The T-Mobile data problem not only impacts the Program’s integrity, but has real life impacts on the foster youth who rely on their devices for their safety and vital communications.” T-Mobile recently reported data discrepancies with the pilot (see 2309130016). Due to the problems, iFoster will withdraw several active participant usage reports from February through August, said Cox. The nonprofit will put new orders on hold until it talks more with T-Mobile; validated applications received after Sept. 25 will be waitlisted, she said. “iFoster is frankly unsure when it can provide replacement Usage Reports, given the serious data issues from T-Mobile but iFoster will continue to work closely with T-Mobile to obtain accurate data to re-file its Usage Reports and keep the Commission staff updated.” The CPUC received comments last week on making the foster youth pilot a permanent part of the state LifeLine program (see 2309270021).
Wisconsin shouldn’t exclude wireless from state broadband funding, said the Wireless Infrastructure Association and other wireless industry groups in a Thursday letter to the state legislature’s Senate Utilities Committee. They opposed SB-325, which would limit future funding to fiber-only projects. “While fiber will be a critical component of every state broadband program, it is not the only technology capable of bridging the digital divide and comes with its own set of tradeoffs,” said the wireless groups: Adopt rules that allow the most applicants to compete for funds. Joining WIA on the letter was CTIA, Competitive Carriers Association, NATE, the Rural Wireless Association and the Wireless ISP Association.
The California Public Utilities Commission asked the public to talk Nov. 8 about lacking internet. The public participation hearings are to be at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. PST, Administrative Law Judge Thomas Glegola ruled Wednesday in the CPUC's rulemaking to implement NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment program (docket R.23-02-016).
The South Carolina Public Service Commission seeks comments by Nov. 15 on edits to state USF guidelines proposed by the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS), said a Wednesday notice in docket 2023-301-C. Parties seeking to intervene should file petitions by Nov. 1. ORS asked in a Sept. 1 petition to clarify certain USF procedures, including by specifically listing interconnected VoIP providers as USF contributors, incorporating a South Carolina confidentiality law and adding a deadline for contributors to dispute required contributions. In the same petition, ORS seeks a waiver of USF guidelines so it can provide a refund to Cox subsidiary Palmetto Net for overreporting assessable revenue in a 2022 worksheet, which resulted in an overpayment.
Michigan could take a broader view of underserved locations as it looks to distribute money from NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office posted the first volume of its draft initial proposal Thursday. The state plans to adopt NTIA’s model challenge process with some changes, including treating as underserved all DSL locations and places considered served on the national map where speed tests show service “materially below 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream,” the document said. Also, Michigan plans to treat as underserved multiple dwelling units with at least 20 units identified served on the national map “that are located in Census tracts that have high broadband availability but high rates of households reporting no internet subscription,” it said. It will also consider underserved those locations where fixed wireless is the only technology satisfying served requirements, the draft said. Comments are due Oct. 31. Also, the state broadband office said it seeks early feedback by Oct. 13 on the subgrant process it will describe in the upcoming volume two of its BEAD initial proposal.
Dish Wireless may provide Lifeline service in Michigan, state commissioners decided Thursday. The Michigan Public Service Commission voted 3-0 to grant Dish’s application for eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation (case U-21382). “The Commission is persuaded that ETC designation for DISH promotes the availability of universal service and is in the public interest,” said the order. Also Thursday, the commission unanimously supported granting permanent licenses to Altafiber (case No. U-21449) and EarthGrid (case U-21417) to provide basic local exchange service statewide in areas served by AT&T and Frontier Communications. The PSC granted those companies temporary licenses last July.
The Treasury Department awarded Oregon $156.7 million through the Capital Projects Fund Wednesday. About $149 million of the award will be used for broadband infrastructure projects to connect more than 17,000 homes and businesses through the state's broadband deployment grant program, said a news release. The remaining $7.7 million will be used for administrative purposes. “This unprecedented funding will strengthen Oregon’s broadband infrastructure and expand access to quality internet service,” said Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D).
The California Public Utilities Commission’s top goal for transitioning its foster youth pilot into a permanent program "should be ensuring that few youth lose service during the program transition,” said iFoster, the nonprofit that led the pilot. In comments Tuesday in docket R.20-02-008, iFoster said it knows “many foster youth lose their service during transitions of service providers and program administrators.” For example, during the migration from Boost to T-Mobile, “only about 25% of the foster youth successfully transitioned,” it said. Major changes proposed by staff could make the transition complex, said iFoster. The plan “contains many fundamental changes,” including a transition of users to California LifeLine at age 18 instead of 26, more service providers and possible changes to eligibility requirements, said the nonprofit. Every transition from the pilot into LifeLine has failed so far, even when LifeLine approves foster youth as eligible, iFoster said. “As an example, a foster youth successfully transitioned to the LifeLine program, and received a new device. Two days later, the youth was notified of termination as the youth was deemed to already have [affordable connectivity program support] in the form of at-home Internet. This was not the case.” The Utility Reform Network supports making the pilot permanent to "reduce foster youth’s barriers to accessing LifeLine services, particularly for minors,” TURN commented. The CPUC sought comments earlier this month on the proposal to make the foster youth pilot permanent (see 2309050080). T-Mobile recently said it found data discrepancies with the pilot (see 2309130016).
Renew funding for the affordable connectivity program, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) urged his state’s congressional delegation this week. “We can run fiber broadband to every home in North Carolina, but if the residents can’t afford the service, they still risk being left behind,” said Cooper in letters shared Wednesday by the governor’s office. ACP funding could dry up this April, said Cooper: “Without bipartisan collaboration between Congress and the White House to continue the ACP, nearly 20 million households enrolled nationally could lose connectivity as well as all the essential services that come with it.”
Ohio must find a “long-term solution” to fund 988, said state Rep. Gail Pavliga (R) at an Ohio House Finance Committee hearing livestreamed Tuesday. Pavliga’s bipartisan HB-231 proposes a 10 cent fee on VoIP, wireline and wireless monthly bills and each retail sale of a prepaid wireless service in the state. The state has relied on federal funding for the mental health hotline, but that won’t last forever, said Pavliga. In its first year, Ohio's 988 program received 8,671 calls and 3,368 texts and chats per month, she noted. The committee didn’t vote.