Phone and cable companies sought to stop California from adopting affordability metrics for the communications sector. The California Public Utilities Commission plans to vote Thursday on a June 10 proposed decision to apply an affordability framework across its regulated industries. In Friday reply comments in docket R.18-07-006, consumer advocates urged the CPUC to reject the communications industry’s due process and other concerns.
Keep things simple when weighing possible changes to the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) broadband infrastructure account, Frontier Communications cautioned the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC received replies Tuesday to last week’s comments in docket R.20-08-021 (see 2206280032). Historically CASF has been underutilized, said Frontier. “The more contingencies and complexities are attached to grant applications, the less accessible the funding will be.” The California Cable and Telecommunications Association urged the CPUC not to be swayed by consumer advocates asking to shift focus from unserved communities to “separate issues like affordability and adoption.” While important, addressing those subjects here would exceed the scope of the infrastructure account, CCTA said. The CPUC’s independent Public Advocates Office urged the commission to reject Verizon claims that providing an incentive for offering a low-income broadband plan would be rate regulation. “Participation in CASF is optional,” PAO replied. Also, the CPUC should keep a proposed $15 monthly low-income broadband plan requirement and reject Verizon’s recommendation to allow a CASF grantee to get additional funding if its subsidiary provides state or federal Lifeline services.
Alaska’s attorney general disagreed with CTIA seeking no major changes to Alaska USF. The AG’s Regulatory Affairs and Public Advocacy Section (RAPA) supported -- while CTIA opposed -- switching to a connections-based contribution method, in comments last month at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (see 2206140074). CTIA’s suggestion that the RCA sunset AUSF rather than repurpose it for broadband “is counter to the long-standing federal and state communications policy goals of universal service,” RAPA replied Tuesday in docket R-21-001. RCA hasn’t found “that preservation of universal service is no longer accomplished through the AUSF” or that the fund “no longer promotes the efficiency, availability, and affordability of universal telephone service in Alaska,” it said. CTIA sees “broad opposition” to repurposing AUSF for broadband, said the wireless association. Incoming federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is “extremely relevant” to RCA’s consideration and “weighs strongly against taking action at this time.” GCI supports continuing a limited state fund, it said. “AUSF support for broadband is illegal under Alaska law and not supported by good policy,” as would be including broadband in the contribution base, said the carrier: GCI would be OK with shifting to a connections-based method or keeping the current revenue-based surcharge. Alaska Communications supported “many aspects of RAPA’s proposal, in that it would refocus support to areas with the greatest need.” The company doesn’t agree “the RCA should require AUSF recipients serving both high and low density areas to meet generalized service metrics to show they have used support for the purposes intended,” it said. Adopting RAPA’s plan to assess broadband connections “would be inviting possible future invalidation of part or all of the AUSF program either through a direct legal challenge to the Commission’s regulations or indirectly through other state or federal litigation,” warned the Matanuska Telecom Association. The Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition urged the RCA to adopt connections-based contribution and focus subsidies on remote areas not connected by roads.
The FCC has been deluged with comments by SpaceX supporters in recent days on a possible opening up of the 12 GHz band to 5G, but that input likely won't matter in an agency order, administrative law and commission experts told us. The real audience for the comments might be Congress, they said. The commission didn't comment.
Broadcasters, MVPDs, ISPs and other entities argued over the state of competition in the broadband and video marketplaces and how to address it, in comments posted by Friday’s deadline in docket 22-203 for the agency’s biannual State of Competition in the Communications Marketplace report to Congress, due in Q4. Regulations premised on lack of competition “should be repealed,” said NCTA. The FCC “must consider the real-world consequences of imposing, in a highly competitive marketplace, a burdensome and outdated regulatory regime,” said NAB.
The FCC expanded the interstate Telecom Relay Service Fund contribution base to include intrastate and interstate end-user revenue, to ensure "fair treatment of intrastate and interstate communications services and users in the funding of relay services," said an order released Thursday in docket 03-123 (see 2206280060). The order modified contributions for video relay and IP relay services based on the "total interstate and intrastate end-user revenues of each telecommunications carrier and VoIP service provider." It denied an NTCA request to limit the contribution cost of rural providers' intrastate end-user revenue and set a compliance date of July 1, 2023. The order takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. Also released Thursday was a second order amending VRS and IP captioned telephone service rules, an NPRM proposing to modify certain VRS rules, and a declaratory ruling on COVID-19 pandemic waivers. The second order gave VRS and IP CTS providers a two-week "grace period" to be compensated for "providing service to new and porting-in customers ... after initial submission of the consumer's registration data." The change will allow users to "immediately start making and receiving relay calls," the order said. The NPRM seeks comments on increasing the percentage of a VRS provider's monthly minutes a communications assistant (CA) may handle from home to 80% and reducing or eliminating the requirement that CA's have at least three years of interpreting experience. The notice also seeks comment on whether to allow VRS providers to contract interpretation services for "up to 30% of their monthly call minutes." The commission also waived its cap on the rules for one year. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, 60 days for replies. The declaratory ruling clarified that the maximum period a VRS provider may be compensated for calls originating abroad by a VRS user is one year.
The California Public Utilities Commission stood by a 7-cent cap on intrastate per-minute rates for incarcerated person calling services (IPCS) in state court Wednesday. The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), also named in a May lawsuit by Securus, said the CPUC’s interim order was “well-reasoned and provides desperately needed relief” to IPCS users. Meanwhile, a California bill to make IPCS calls free and require a CPUC service-quality rulemaking cleared another Assembly committee despite continuing opposition from sheriffs.
The Arizona Corporation Commission directed staff to create a memo and proposed remedy order on Frontier Communications’ June 11 outage. At the West Virginia Public Service Commission, Frontier agreed to a settlement with 911 officials over outages in that state. Arizona commissioners grilled the company at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday about its response to the gunshot-caused outage, and earlier problems (see 2206280065). After discussing legal options in closed executive session, including a possible order to show cause (OSC), commissioners decided they will vote at their July 12-13 meeting on a proposed remedy order. Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson (R) said it would require Frontier to (1) quickly interconnect with the state's Comtech 911 system, (2) provide an emergency response plan, (3) actively pursue state and federal funds for network redundancy and diversity, (4) give a biweekly status update on Frontier’s progress getting funds, (5) identify areas that lack redundancy and diversity and provide a hierarchy of priorities for vulnerable areas and (6) have high-level, senior executives attend emergency town hall meetings in St. Johns, which experienced the June 11 problems. ACC Utilities Director Elijah Abinah said staff is considering July 14 for a St. Johns town hall. Peterson added, “We would like this to include enforcement provisions.” Saint Johns Police Chief Lance Spivey and Assistant Fire Chief Jason Kirk said they would have preferred the commission consider stronger enforcement action in the form of an OSC. The West Virginia PSC posted a Frontier 911 pact Tuesday in four dockets including 22-0274-T-C. Frontier agreed to “review and update its change management policy to assure regular, preventative maintenance routines,” improve network card tracking and inventory management, standardize a process for individualized route diversity education for county 911 officials, give PSC staff the West Virginia part of its FCC 911 reliability certification report and give county 911 directors documents on using Frontier’s rerouting tool, upon request. Before it can take effect, West Virginia commissioners “would have to approve, reject or modify the settlement,” a PSC spokesperson emailed Wednesday.
Industry groups disagreed whether the FCC should adopt a new cost allocation framework and rules for pole replacements, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 17-84. The proceeding stems from a 2020 NCTA petition asking the FCC to clarify its pole replacement rules. The FCC adopted the Further NPRM in March in lieu of acting on the petition, noting the group “revealed inconsistent practices by utilities" on cost responsibility for pole replacements (see 2203180074).
NTIA supported the FCC’s move to address receivers, in comments posted Tuesday in response to a notice of inquiry on receiver performance and potentially standards adopted by commissioners 4-0 in April (see 2204210049). NTIA noted it already collects receiver data. Other commenters generally support the inquiry, with most opposing regulation.