Adam Bender

The California Privacy Protection Agency board weighed draft changes Friday to proposed state privacy rules required by the 2020 California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). The board, meeting virtually, showed support for several proposed modifications, which were posted with explanations earlier this month (see 2210170048), while flagging some issues for follow-up in later rulemakings. It was the first board meeting since California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) appointed real estate developer and CPRA author Alastair Mactaggart a member.

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission aims to amend inmate calling service rules by year-end, Associate General Counsel Russell Fisk told us Thursday. No one spoke for or against the changes at a Thursday virtual hearing due to a commission rule preventing oral comments from parties that filed written feedback. The New Mexico PRC received positive feedback earlier this month in docket 20-00170-UT on a proposal to reduce an existing cap of 15 cents per minute on intrastate rates to 12 cents for state prisons and 14 cents for large local jails (see 2210030053). The record is set to close Tuesday. However, New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association attorney Carol Clifford of The Jones Firm said she planned to file a motion to extend the date so her client could file documents about a pending New Mexico Second Judicial District Court case on attorney-client calls from jails. The PRC would consider the possible motion and any responses, then decide whether to keep the record open longer, Fisk said.

Back with a full complement of commissioners, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to let T-Mobile exit federal Lifeline in Pennsylvania. In the unanimous voice vote, PUC members granted T-Mobile’s Sept. 1 petition to relinquish eligible telecom carrier designation for low-income support effective Dec. 31. “We find that T-Mobile has given appropriate and sufficient notice to us regarding its planned abandonment,” said the PUC order in docket P-2011-2275748. T-Mobile’s 90-day written notice and other planned communications will give Lifeline customers “detailed information” and “ample time to obtain service from an alternative Lifeline provider operating in that same geographic region,” it said. T-Mobile on Sept. 30 sent the PUC a copy of a letter notifying customers that the carrier was ending Lifeline participation. T-Mobile’s petition noted the carrier provides “a variety of low-cost service plans” and subsidiary Assurance Wireless and MetroPCS participate in the federal affordable connectivity program. Thursday’s meeting was the PUC’s first since April 16, 2020 with commissioners in all five seats. The Pennsylvania Senate last week confirmed Katie Zerfuss, deputy secretary for legislative affairs for Gov. Tom Wolf (D), and Stephen DeFrank, former chief of staff for state Sen. Lisa Boscola (D), and reconfirmed Commissioner John Coleman, whose term had expired Oct. 1 (see 2210190042). “Retirement for two weeks was great,” remarked Coleman at the livestreamed meeting. The PUC elected DeFrank as vice chairman Friday, said Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille. T-Mobile didn’t comment.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) rejected state USF changes proposed by industry. Many of the state’s local exchange carriers worked on and supported the proposal to shift Alaska USF (AUSF) to connections-based contribution (see 2210110036). At a virtual meeting Wednesday, commissioners took separate 4-0 votes to oppose the plan and instead open a 30-day comment period on a staff proposal to extend AUSF’s sunset date by two years to June 30, 2025 (docket R-21-001). Commissioner Robert Pickett concluded that if the RCA adopted rules based on the industry proposal, they would be dead nearly on arrival at the Alaska Department of Law. Pickett said the RCA requested and received DOL’s legal analysis on the industry proposal. Commissioners voted 4-0 to waive attorney-client privilege and release the DOL memo. “This is absolutely going to require a legislative fix,” said Pickett, but if this isn't fixed this upcoming session, “it's not going to get fixed.” Chair Keith Kurber said he supported extending the current fund to give the legislature time. Saying expanding AUSF into broadband is “problematic,” Commissioner Jan Wilson supported continuing AUSF up to three years to support telephone service. DOL’s legal analysis flagged two big problems with the industry proposal. A 2019 deregulation law known as SB-83 removed “significant statutory authority from virtually every section proposed to be revised,” it said. “Second, there are two situations where apparently similarly situated telecommunications utilities are treated differently based on distinctions that are not supported by statute, although they may have been prior to enactment of SB 83. This creates a probable equal protection problem.”

The Nebraska Public Service Commission heard telecom complaints Wednesday about network reach, reliability and customer service at Windstream, Frontier Communications and Lumen’s CenturyLink. Commissioners and staff heard customers’ negative experiences -- and grilled companies -- at the hearing, which was for the PSC’s telephone service-quality investigation in docket C-5303/PI-240.

Wisconsin officials promised Tuesday to take big strides to close the state’s digital divide. Local governments should engage with the state on plans for NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program and do more to increase participation in the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP), said Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq at a partially virtual broadband forum co-hosted by NTIA and the Wisconsin PSC: “We cannot leave any part of our state behind.”

The California Public Utilities Commission wants “a big tent approach” as it collects input for developing a five-year plan for spending federal infrastructure support under NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment program, said CPUC President Alice Busching Reynolds during a state webinar Monday to kick off BEAD planning. Reynolds wants to bring as broad a group as possible to the table since California is a big, diverse state, she said. Expanding internet services will improve access to government services, which is especially important for “historically disenfranchised” groups, the CPUC president noted. More than 2 million Californians lack access, said state Chief Information Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins: Those at the table should be "reflective of those individuals.” The CPUC expects to receive BEAD planning funds in the next couple of weeks, said CPUC Communications Division Director Rob Osborn: California filed its application for that support Aug. 12 and the application moved to formal NTIA review Sept. 1. Meanwhile, the agency is “working through the bulk challenge process” for the FCC’s broadband fabric, Osborn said. “It’s quite labor intensive.” The CPUC plans to share a summary analysis either through the FCC or the CPUC website at a later date, he said.

New York state can speed broadband deployment by requiring pole owners to share pole replacement costs with attachers, cable companies said in comments last week at the New York Public Service Commission. Pole owners disagreed, suggesting using the influx of state and federal broadband funding to pay for replacements. Some other attachers urged the PSC to act quickly on less controversial issues in docket 22-M-0101, especially with the FCC considering similar issues in its docket 17-84.

State telecom regulation is needed to reach rural areas, two Democrats running for utility commissions in red states said in interviews ahead of Nov. 8 elections. Facing one such challenge, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chair Chris Nelson (R) told us his state has made “tremendous progress” rolling out broadband in recent years. Alabama, New Mexico and some Colorado voters will have ballot questions on broadband next month.

Keep the existing challenge process for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) broadband infrastructure grant account, telecom companies commented last week at the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC received comments Thursday in docket R.20-08-021, before a possible Nov. 3 vote on a proposed decision to adjust rules for the broadband support program (see 2210030069). Proposed challenge process changes would “result in legal and technical error,” said the California Cable and Telecommunications Association. "Comparing a challenger’s existing service plans with the plans proposed in an application is inapt and practically impossible," including because the proposed plan might not materialize, said CCTA. Requiring challengers to provide billing statements for all customers in the challenge area raises privacy concerns and would make it tougher to submit timely challenges, and requiring them "to commit to serving all locations 'in perpetuity' is vague and holds similarly situated carriers to different standards," it said. The proposed challenge process “remains deeply flawed, and should be reconsidered to avoid enabling inefficient overbuilding projects just because existing providers cannot reasonably navigate the rigid and expedited challenge procedure,” said Frontier Communications: It's too fast and includes "tangential" requirements to the task of ensuring adequate infrastructure. Proposed changes would put "unreasonable and unjustified burdens on potential challengers that are likely to invite overbuilding projects and encourage a misuse of limited CASF resources simply because challengers cannot efficiently navigate the onerous challenge process or because the Commission rejects valid challenges based on policy issues or tangential information that does not relate to whether an area is already adequately served,” said CalTel and other small telcos. The Utility Reform Network, Center for Accessible Technology and the CPUC’s Public Advocates Office mostly supported the draft rules. They "implement statutory requirements and are tailored to encourage providers to use the public funds to serve communities that have historically been left behind, including low-income and Environmental and Social Justice communities,” said TURN.