A possible Pennsylvania USF review must be comprehensive, said Commissioner John Coleman at a livestreamed Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission meeting Thursday. Commissioners voted 5-0 for an order setting a Pennsylvania USF budget and surcharge for 2023 (docket M-00001337). The PUC will increase the USF surcharge to 2.53% of 2021 average monthly intrastate retail revenue, from 2.13% of 2020 average revenue, an increase of about 19%, the order said. The fund administrator says the contribution base may need to be expanded due to continuing declines in the base and annual reported revenue, which caused increases to the surcharge, noted Coleman. “Any review of the fund should not be done on a piecemeal basis” or “limited to the contribution base alone.” Commissioner Ralph Yanora agreed. Also at the meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a settlement with Lumen’s CenturyLink in an investigation into alleged outages and unreliable service (see 2209150025). The telco agreed to pay a $45,000 civil penalty and implement remedial measures including a quality assurance program and required public service announcements to educate the public on how to report damaged facilities (docket M-2022-3028754).
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.
The government's Alaska USF plan wouldn’t preserve universal service, Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) said in Tuesday comments at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). The carrier lambasted the staff proposal to extend the AUSF sunset by two years to June 30, 2025, while reducing support (see 2210260076). The Alaska attorney general’s office sought a longer sunset, and CTIA urged the commission not to let up.
Karima Holmes won’t return as 911 director for the District of Columbia’s Office of Unified Communications (OUC). Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) withdrew the controversial nomination Monday after D.C. Council members signaled they would reject confirmation. Bowser, Holmes and others fought to save the nomination before a Tuesday D.C. Council vote. Withdrawal was “overdue," D.C. 4B01 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Evan Yeats said in an interview: "We wasted a lot of time and energy on this fight that could have been invested in improving OUC."
The Nebraska Public Service Commission awarded about $20.3 million under the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program (NBBP), the PSC said Tuesday. The agency's four Republican commissioners voted to adopt an order to award 37 grants to 14 providers. Democratic Commissioner Crystal Rhoades, not present for the vote, previously raised process concerns (see 2203220078). The PSC narrowed down an initial list of 115 applications through challenge and scoring processes, it said. Awarded projects must be completed by June 6, 2024. The commission spent many hours reviewing applications and challenges and continues to make improvements to the grant process, Commissioner Tim Schram (R) said at the livestreamed meeting. The NBBP program’s second year surpassed the first, Chair Dan Watermeier (R) said in a statement. “We have a good process in place and are eager to provide funding to continue broadband buildout to unserved and underserved Nebraskans.”
Some Arizona Corporation Commission members signaled possible support for repealing state USF as soon as next month. At a livestreamed meeting Tuesday, Utilities Division Director Elijah Abinah said staff will bring forward an item to decide the fund’s future at the January or February meeting. “The most appropriate way to clean up this appendage from yesteryear would be to just repeal the rules,” said Commissioner Jim O’Connor (R). Commissioner Justin Olson (R), departing the commission at year-end, also said he supports repeal. Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson (R) said she wants to vote in January on repealing or modifying AUSF rules. Commission staff listed state USF options including repeal in a memo last week in docket T-00000A-20-0336 (see 2211300009). Arizona USF's sole recipient, Frontier Communications, didn't comment Tuesday.
New Jersey's Assembly Telecom Committee unanimously cleared three telecom bills at a livestreamed hearing Monday. The panel voted 8-0 for A-1544, which would ban wireless carriers and mobile app developers from disclosing customer GPS data to third parties under certain circumstances. The committee voted 8-0 for an amended A-1768 to require telecom companies to provide prorated refunds for service outages lasting longer than 72 hours. The adopted amendments would limit the bill credits or adjustments to residential customers, exclude events where there was significant damage to the electrical grid, and allow the state Board of Public Utilities to add other exemptions. Also, the committee voted 8-0 for A-1884 to require telecom, cable TV and ISPs to allow customers to end contracts when a physician refers them to a long-term care facility. The committee discussed that bill at an October hearing (see 2210130025).
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to challenge a federal court decision tossing businesses’ challenge to the Maryland digital ad tax’s pass-through ban, the Chamber said Monday. At oral argument last week, U.S. District Court for Northern Maryland Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby signaled she would dismiss without prejudice due to a state court striking down the tax as unconstitutional. In the Friday opinion, Griggsby also denied as moot Maryland’s motion to dismiss and plaintiff U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s motion for summary judgment.
West Virginia pole owners are negotiating to streamline the attachment process amid scrutiny from the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The PSC granted a staff petition Wednesday to open a show-cause proceeding meant to speed broadband attachment reviews by joint pole owners Frontier Communications and Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison (MP/PE). The PSC gave Frontier and MP/PE until Dec. 15 to file a proposed addendum to their 1988 joint use agreement to speed up and reduce costs to process third-party attachment requests. The company may alternatively file a new agreement replacing the 1988 pact, said the commission: MP/PE must also file by that date their “policy and procedure” for reviewing applications. “Mon Power and Potomac Edison expect to file the information the PSC has requested by the timeline set by the Commission,” parent FirstEnergy’s spokesperson emailed Friday. “We are working with Frontier to streamline the application process for other companies that want to attach to our poles.” West Virginia PSC staff asked the commission May 13 to require Frontier to show cause why the PSC shouldn’t stop the carrier from requiring duplicative pole-attachment applications, timelines and fees from third parties seeking to attach broadband facilities. Due to the 1988 agreement, attachers have had to file applications to both Frontier and MP/PE. Staff said that may cause delays. Frontier responded Oct. 5 that the issue could be resolved outside of a commission proceeding, and PSC staff said Nov. 10 it had met with the pole owners to negotiate an agreement. While praising pole owners and PSC staff for their progress, the commission said Wednesday it remains concerned “about the timeliness and efficiency of the review process and the costs charged for review of pole attachment applications.” Pole attachments “should continue as expeditiously and economically as possible while also ensuring adherence with safety standards,” it said. The PSC also granted a Citynet petition to intervene. The telecom company says it has “been prejudiced in the past by the Joint Use Agreement and generally by Frontier’s ineffective response to pole attachment requests,” the PSC said. In the past decade, Citynet says it submitted at least 828 applications for attachment to joint-use poles and other Frontier poles, paying nearly $529,000 in application fees to Frontier, the PSC said. Frontier and Citynet didn't comment now.
State broadband leaders asked the FCC and NTIA to extend deadlines for the broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) grant program. The National Governors’ Association is participating in the effort to seek more time for broadband map challenges, said Maine Connectivity Authority President Andrew Butcher at an MCA board virtual meeting Friday. “The maps are far from accurate.”
The Massachusetts government unveiled digital equity efforts, at a livestreamed event Thursday. The state will launch a digital equity partnership program to help regional planning agencies, philanthropic foundations, and public and nonprofit service providers create programs to promote digital literacy, device availability, outreach and education, said Massachusetts Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy. Also, the state will have a municipal digital equity planning program to help local governments better understand their citizens’ needs and design strategies for future investments, he said. The efforts are key parts of the next stage of the state’s broadband strategy, which will tap about $350 million in state and federal funding, said Kennealy. Massachusetts seeks feedback on a new state mapping tool that went online Thursday, said Community Development Undersecretary Ashley Stolba: "We still have gaps ... all across the state." Also, the state is forming a broadband and digital equity working group composed of top industry officials, she said. Broadband “is like running water and electricity,” said outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who didn’t seek reelection and will be succeeded by current Attorney General Maura Healey (D). Broadband is “basic infrastructure,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito (R).