North Carolina will award $61 million in broadband grants through the American Rescue Plan Act, the state broadband office said Monday. AT&T, Brightspeed and Charter Communications won many of the awards. In California, the Public Utilities Commission said Friday that the agency will vote Aug. 1 on a proposed resolution (T-17833) to approve about $95 million in last-mile grants through its federal funding program. The CPUC estimated that 71% of the locations that would receive service are in low-income areas, while 76% are in disadvantaged areas. The California awardees would include Comcast ($26.6 million), AT&T ($12 million), Frontier Communications ($2 million), the Golden State Connect Authority ($7 million) and the Fort Bidwell Indian community ($23.9 million).
A top California communications lawmaker pushed back on industry opposition to a bill that would require $30 affordable internet plans as a condition of receiving California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) infrastructure grants. The Assembly Communications Committee voted 8-2, with two Republicans voting no, to advance SB-424 at a Wednesday hearing. In addition, the committee voted 10-0 for bills that set broadband labor standards (SB-1460) and expand eligibility for CASF public housing broadband grants (SB-1383). All three pieces of legislation, previously passed by the Senate, will go to the Appropriations Committee.
Contrary to some expectations, a draft order and Further NPRM allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services wasn’t expanded to include fixed wireless access and partnerships with nontraditional providers, based on the text of the draft released Thursday. Commissioners will vote July 18.
A California Senate panel scaled back what the California Public Utilities Commission could require from cable companies under a proposed update of the state’s 2006 video franchise law, known as the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act (DIVCA). At a hearing webcast Monday, the Senate Communications Committee voted 12-4 to approve the Assembly-passed AB-1826 with amendments. The Senate committee delayed receiving testimony on an Assembly-passed equity bill (AB-2239) that would ban digital discrimination as defined by the FCC (see 2405230012).
The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday denied AT&T relief from carrier of last resort obligations, while opening a rulemaking to take a fresh look at COLR rules. Also at its meeting, the CPUC approved broadband grants, acted on enforcement items and set annual budgets for the California Advanced Service Fund (CASF) and state video franchise law.
The House Appropriations Committee continued debating Thursday afternoon the Financial Services Subcommittee’s FY 2025 funding bill, which increases the FCC’s annual allocation to $416 million and decreases the FTC’s annual funding to $388.7 million (see 2406050067). Communications policy lobbyists said panel Democrats might attempt removing riders from the measure that bar the FCC from using funding for implementing its net neutrality and digital discrimination orders, but they hadn’t sought votes on such amendments at our deadline.
Federal and industry officials raised concerns about the impact of pole attachments and replacements as states prepare for NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. In addition, make-ready processes and economic incentives can complicate efforts to expand high-speed internet -- and rules aren’t always enough, a panel of state officials said during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition symposium Thursday.
The FCC’s Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040) “is both appropriate and lawful,” the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and eight other educational groups said in a 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court amicus brief Monday (docket 23-60641) in support of the commission's ruling.
A Senate Commerce Committee spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon the panel remains on track to mark up the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) Wednesday, but negotiations between leaders signaled the situation remained extremely fluid, lobbyists told us. Senate Commerce postponed two May markups of S-4207 amid strong opposition from top committee Republicans (see 2405010051). The measure would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029. It would lend the commission more than $10 billion in FY 2024 funding for the expired affordable connectivity program and fully pay for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The Senate Commerce meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
The FCC urged the 6th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court Friday to move the challenge to the FCC’s net neutrality order to the D.C. Circuit (docket 24-3450). The FCC also issued an order declining to stay the rules, which take effect July 22, pending judicial review.