Telecom companies seek to “suppress key evidence in a state administrative proceeding,” claimed the California Public Utilities Commission in a filing (in Pacer) at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The court on May 20 temporarily banned the CPUC from enforcing a May 3 ruling compelling top ISPs to disclose Form 477 and other data to The Utilities Reform Network, or any third party, as part of a state investigation of market competition. The form includes information about phone and broadband deployment that AT&T, Comcast, CTIA, Verizon and other industry plaintiffs say is confidential. But June 28, the telecom entities said a CPUC division, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates, already violated the preliminary injunction by disclosing the data to an outside consultant, Lee Selwyn, president of Economics and Technology Inc. (see 1606290061). “Plaintiffs have made serious misrepresentations” to the court, the state commission or both, said the California commission, opposing the telco motion to enforce the preliminary injunction. Selwyn is an agent of ORA, not a third party, and regardless, the ORA staff disclosed data to him before the May 20 injunction, the defendants said. “Plaintiffs’ admit that access to subscription data by a representative of a state agency is consistent with FCC rules. Plaintiffs were aware that Dr. Selwyn had received access to subscription data in prior CPUC proceedings without objection. Plaintiffs failed to timely raise any objection to Dr. Selwyn’s access to this data, in the underlying proceeding before the CPUC, despite being on notice that he had access to such data.”

The New York Public Service Commission granted a second extension to Verizon for filing testimony in the PSC’s copper probe. The new due date is Aug. 1. Testimony was initially due May 20, but the PSC gave Verizon until July 18 because of the East Coast union strike. Last week, Verizon asked for another two weeks, saying it “underestimated” how much time it would take to prepare testimony. But the Communications Workers of America objected, saying Verizon hadn’t given a “rational basis” for an extension (see 1607110013). In a letter Tuesday to Verizon, PSC Secretary Kathleen Burgess said she found the company's request to be “modest” and the telco’s explanation “reasonable and plausible.” She said requiring Verizon to file only part of its testimony by July 18, as suggested by CWA, isn’t a good compromise: “The Commission and the parties have a strong interest in a clear and complete filing from Verizon.”

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission plans hearings next month on the imminent exhaustion of the 717 area code, the commission said in a news release Wednesday. Neustar, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), predicted the area code will run out of numbers during Q3 2018. In March, the PUC sought comments on a NANPA petition recommending the PUC overlay a new area code throughout the existing 717 area code and require customers to dial 10 digits for every call. Alternatively, NANPA said the PUC could split the area in half and require half the region’s residents and businesses to use a new area code. The hearings will be held Aug. 9, with one at 1 p.m. and a second at 6 p.m., at the state commission’s HQ and webcast.

NARUC doesn't plan to vote on any big telecom items at its summer meeting in Nashville next week, according to a list of draft resolutions released Tuesday. The deadline for submitting resolutions was Monday. The meeting schedule does list Telecommunications Committee panel discussions on several current topics including special access, 5G wireless, rate-of-return reform, phone number portability, Next-Generation 911, the Connect America Fund Phase II auction and the FCC Lifeline order challenged by states in federal court.

San Diego will upgrade its public safety communications network to enhance emergency response capabilities, under a deal with Nokia, the company said in a news release Monday. Using Internet Protocol/multi-protocol label switching and packet microwave radio technology, the network will provide backhaul for San Diego’s P25 digital trunked radio system and support other municipal agencies and services, Nokia said. It supports voice and data communications, video surveillance, supervisory control and data acquisition and other applications, the company said. Nokia will provide routers, switches and other equipment and services, it said.

Some Charlotte residents and businesses can now sign up for Google Fiber, including broadband, TV and phone services, said Google in a blog post Tuesday. Service is available first to the Highland Creek neighborhood and will come to other Charlotte areas over time, Google said. In addition to a 1,000 Mbps broadband plan for $70 monthly and a 100 Mbps plan for $50, Google Fiber will introduce a low-income plan offering 25 Mbps for $15 a month, it said. The company announced Fiber for Charlotte and three other markets in January (see 1501270053). Also Tuesday, Google Fiber revealed three new monthly plans for small businesses: 1,000 Mbps for $250, 250 Mbps for $100 and 100 Mbps for $70. Each plan includes up to 13 static IP addresses. The plans are available now in Charlotte and will expand to other Google Fiber markets Aug. 1.

The Arizona Corporation Commission reorganized its Utility Division to enhance efficiency, accountability and service to consumers and utilities, the ACC said in a news release Monday. The division includes 60 staffers and monitors 685 companies, it said. The division now will be composed of six departments: Revenue and Audits, Policy and Programs, Engineering, Consumer Services, Administration and the Director’s Office. The division gave more definition to employee roles and reassigned some employees to different departments. Major cases will be assigned to a deputy director sponsor within the Director’s Office, the ACC said. It’s a “long overdue re-organization,” Chairman Doug Little said. Last month, the ACC said it’s considering an ethics code, following the investigation and subsequent resignation of ex-Chairwoman Susan Bitter Smith (see 1606150009).

Verizon revealed four Boston neighborhoods to be getting Fios in late 2016 after polling customers about where the company should prioritize its fiber rollout. Verizon will bring fiber first to West Roxbury, Roslindale, Dorchester and the Dudley Square Innovation District in Roxbury, it said in a news release Monday. Verizon announced the $300 million Boston Fios deployment in April (see 1604120057).

Verizon quarreled with the Communications Workers of America over the due date for the company's testimony in a New York Public Service Commission investigation of the telco's copper service quality. Verizon last week asked for a two-week extension (see 1607080040) from the current July 18 due date. It would be the telco’s second extension; comments were originally due May 20, but Verizon got more time because of the East Coast union strike. “Verizon has failed to provide a rational basis for a second delay,” CWA said in a letter Friday to the PSC. “It asserts only that it erred in calculating the time needed to comply. It does not assert that it is unable to comply.” Verizon fired back in a letter to the commission Monday. CWA hasn’t “identified any reason why it would be prejudiced by a modest two-week extension,” the telco said. “Before Verizon can submit any of its testimony, it must validate the data it is collecting, ensure that it is being presented in a consistent manner, assess the cogency of Verizon’s positions in light of that data, and make sure that those positions are consistent with each other.”

Verizon is seeking a two-week extension to file testimony in the New York Public Service Commission investigation of the telco's copper service quality. If the extension is granted, the testimony would be due Aug. 1 instead of July 18. The PSC already granted Verizon an extension May 12 after the company said the strike of its union workers made it difficult to meet the original May 20 deadline. "In retrospect, Verizon underestimated the amount of time that would be required for the company -- including the numerous individuals involved in the preparation of the testimony -- to return to a ‘business as usual’ status quo following the end of the strike," Verizon said in a letter to the state commission Friday. "Given the breadth of the issues raised by the Commission’s order, it has proven more time-consuming than we had anticipated to gather and analyze the vast amount of data required to prepare our testimony, to research relevant issues, and to thoroughly vet the company’s positions, analyses, and arguments to ensure that they are accurate, cogent, and complete." New York is one of multiple states investigating Verizon copper (see 1606160054).