CPUC Flags Competitive Bottlenecks in Telecom
Competitive barriers limit new telecom network entrants and may mean higher prices for some services above “efficiently competitive levels” in the state, the California Public Utilities Commission said Tuesday. The CPUC released a proposed decision on telecom industry competition (docket…
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I.15-11-007); commissioners may vote on it as soon as Dec. 1, the agency said in a news release. If commissioners adopt the proposal, they will order staff to “(a) continue to monitor developments in the telecommunications market; (b) obtain, compile, and publish actual residential broadband speeds obtainable by consumers throughout the state; (c) promote safe and non-discriminatory access to utility poles and conduits by cable and wireless companies; and (d) ensure that Public Purpose Programs, such as California LifeLine and the California Advanced Services Fund, continue to close the digital divide,” the CPUC said. “One particular bottleneck is access to utility poles, where the CPUC’s safety mandate meets, and must be reconciled with, the CPUC’s goal of a competitive market.” The agency said it’s not sure if wireless and VoIP growth has kept prices for landline services reasonable, or whether that question is relevant in a market where voice is usually bundled with broadband and other services. As technology advances, the digital divide has widened between geographic and economic groups in state, the CPUC said. Voice and internet access has rapidly converged, with wireless and cable-based VoIP quickly displacing landline telephones, and that has multiplied the economic and social importance of the telecom network, it said.