A federal district court extended deadlines for responses to Comcast’s motion to dismiss a complaint by two Georgia counties on a dispute about collection of 911 charges. The counties have until May 16 to respond to the motion, and Comcast has until June 30 to reply to the counties, said the order (in Pacer) dated Thursday. Comcast and the counties had jointly sought the extension after the court grouped the case with several similar complaints by the counties against telecom companies, and transferred them to Judge Amy Totenberg in a March 31 order (in Pacer). The Georgia counties of Cobb and Gwinnett filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, alleging Comcast failed to bill, collect, report and remit the appropriate amount of 911 charges from customers. The counties seek to collect the charges from Comcast. The operator asked the court to dismiss the case because it said the counties don't have authority to hold telecom providers liable for unpaid 911 changes (see 1603280040). The counties' other complaints are against Bandwidth.com, Broadvox, Cbeyond, Charter Fiberlink, Inteliquent, Level 3, Network Telephone, Peerless Network, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, XO Communications and YMAX Communications.

Five states will attend a policy academy on emergency communications interoperability, the National Governors Association said Thursday in a news release. Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Utah and West Virginia will participate in the academy, which will focus on developing strategies to strengthen statewide interoperability plans, including assessing governance structures and standard operating procedures, the NGA said. An NGA policy academy is an interactive, team-based process in which multiple states develop and implement a plan to address a complex public policy issue. Participating states receive guidance and technical assistance from NGA staff and faculty experts, plus consultants from the private sector, federal agencies, research organizations and academia. “All governors share the priority of ensuring first responders are prepared and equipped for an emergency,” Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said in a statement. “In Alaska’s vast and forbidding terrain, it is essential that all levels of response work together. This opportunity with NGA will help states plan for the constantly changing emergency communications landscape.”

County police are looking forward to the rollout of a nationwide public safety broadband network, the National Association of Counties said Tuesday. Police officers voiced enthusiasm for the network in an article about the FirstNet request for proposal on the NACo website. FirstNet released the RFP in January, and proposals are due May 13 (see 1603160052). Sheriff Jim Voutour from Niagara County, New York, said one immediate benefit with FirstNet is using smartphone apps connected to a secure network. The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office has launched several apps, including one that provides access to real-time detention center data with mug shots, charges and other information. The app includes push notifications for Amber Alerts and news about escapees and searches. “In Niagara County we take technology very seriously. We are always looking forward,” Voutour said. “The cops we are hiring today grew up with technology; they’ve had smartphones since they were 10 years old.” Meanwhile, in Texas, the public safety network “has made the laptop in a patrol car the equivalent of a network PC,” Brazos County Lt. Thomas Randall said. “We have gone from dial-up to a smartphone overnight.”

State education boards are well positioned to shape and guide student data privacy policies by strengthening data protection, informing parents and others about how information is used and protected, establishing model rules and laws, and improving training to reduce data security incidents, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) said in a report Monday. At least 36 state boards have some legal authority over student data privacy and states continue to consider expanding such powers, wrote NASBE Education Data and Technology Director Amelia Vance, the study's author. But those boards that haven't weighed in on privacy need to, she added. "Data privacy will be ever more important as education becomes more personalized and dependent on technology." There is significant activity in this area. In 2013, 34 states passed new laws on student data privacy while "an even larger number" have created new policies and regulations, Vance wrote. Last year, 187 bills in 48 states were introduced, up from 110 in 2014 (see 1601050064). The report outlines current and proposed state and federal bills and model legislation put forth by other stakeholders such as the American Civil Liberties Union. But many bills and policies "unintentionally restrict educational technology use and innovation," Vance said, and it's vital boards review and address such issues. She also said that it's "a matter of practicality" for schools to partner with companies with far more expertise and money to provide up-to-date security, and that schools convey that to parents who worry about companies' access and use of student information.

Consumers and small businesses in five states received 1 Gbps Internet service on Monday, according to announcements from Windstream and GCI. Windstream launched a 1 Gbps speed tier in Lincoln, Nebraska; Lexington, Kentucky; Sugar Land, Texas; and seven North Carolina communities. Separately, GCI continued its 1 Gbps rollout across Alaska, announcing an expansion of the fiber service to Juneau.

Verizon dismissed union rallies in New York as “like a bad April Fool’s joke.” Hundreds of union workers rallied Thursday at Verizon’s offices in New York City and White Plains, New York. The workers, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, protested about job security and health and retirement benefits amid a labor contract dispute with Verizon. “Verizon’s CEO makes more than 200 times as much as the average frontline worker, but the company refuses to bargain the fair contract Verizon workers and their families need and deserve,” said CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor. “It’s time for management to stop slashing frontline workers’ job security and living standards.” A Verizon spokesman replied that it's “simply foolish to believe these meaningless disruptions have any impact on the bargaining process.” Verizon is committed to the long-term success of its business, he said. “We hope union leaders would feel the same.” CWA has also been on the attack at the New York Public Service Commission, where it has successfully petitioned the commission to open an investigation into the quality of the telco’s copper-based services (see 1603230044).

A California bill authorizing telcos to end legacy copper service in 2020 will get a hearing April 13 in the California State Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee. The bill (AB-2395) would authorize telcos to discontinue legacy telephone service in 2020, as long as they first educate consumers about the transition. The bill’s sponsor, Assembly Member Evan Low (D), has said the bill will keep California at the forefront of technology (see 1603300054). But consumer groups are coordinating to fight the proposal, which they say would authorize AT&T to strand many Californian customers who still rely on the copper network, including people in rural areas, low-income households, seniors and people with disabilities (see 1603290055). The hearing starts at 1:30 p.m. PDT and will be webcast.

A bill in the California State Assembly to push telecom customers toward IP services (AB-2395) will keep California at the forefront of technology, said a spokesman for the bill’s sponsor, Assembly Member Evan Low (D). The bill would authorize telcos to discontinue legacy telephone service in 2020, as long as they first educate consumers about the transition. Consumer group The Utility Reform Network slammed the bill Tuesday (see 1603290055) because it said the proposal would authorize AT&T to strand many Californian customers who still rely on the copper network, including people in rural areas, low-income households, seniors and people with disabilities. Low, who represents the Silicon Valley, believes it’s time to push adoption of IP telecom services in California, his spokesman said. “This bill is the nexus in terms of advancing California’s innovation economy.” Other states have passed similar legislation and this is a case of California playing catch-up, he said. The bill includes “backstops” recognizing that IP infrastructure might not be an option for all Californians, he said. Under the bill, customers can petition the state commission to review availability of IP service at their location if a telco gives notice it's discontinuing legacy telephone service. If the commission finds there's no provider, the commission can help the customer find an alternative, or order the withdrawing telco to continue providing voice service to the customer for another 12 months. A committee hearing in the California State Assembly is expected on AB-2395 in April.

AT&T, Sprint and Verizon made the list of top utilities and telecom companies in a California supplier diversity program in 2015, the California Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday. The 30 companies in CPUC’s program procured more than $8.9 billion in goods and services in 2015 from women-, minority- and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises, the CPUC said. In 2015, AT&T California spent $1 billion to diverse firms, or nearly 48.6 percent of total procurement buys, while Sprint spent $585.2 million (44.5 percent) and Verizon spent $82.7 million (51.23 percent), the commission said. Supplier diversity reports filed by the companies are on the CPUC website.

The FTC supported a telehealth bill in the Alaska legislature that would remove a requirement that physicians be located within the state. Telehealth provisions in SB-74 would allow licensed Alaska physicians located out of state to provide telehealth services in the same way as in-state physicians, and would allow certain Alaska-licensed behavioral health professionals to provide services remotely. It would authorize regulations to establish a standard of care for physicians prescribing medications without a physical examination. The Alaska Senate passed SB-74 March 11; the House referred the bill to the Finance Committee March 14. Telehealth provisions in SB-74 would make "a procompetitive improvement in Alaska’s telehealth law,” the FTC said in a letter to state Rep. Steve Thompson, the Republican co-chairman of the House Finance Committee in the Alaska legislature. FTC Office of Policy Planning Director Marina Lao, Economics Bureau Director Ginger Zhe Jin and Competition Bureau Director Deborah Feinstein signed the letter. “These provisions would likely increase the supply of telehealth providers, enhance competition, and reduce health care costs, thereby benefiting Alaskans, especially underserved populations with limited access to health care,” the letter said. But the FTC said parts of the bill could discourage patients who are concerned about privacy. “While SB 74 might encourage greater use of telehealth by behavioral health professionals, its requirement that behavioral health professionals providing services remotely, unlike those providing services in person, share sensitive mental health records with a primary care provider could discourage its use for patients who wish to keep such records confidential,” the agency said. Also, a proposed requirement for special standards of care for remote health providers could hurt competition, it said. “A telehealth provider who has not made a physical examination is already subject to the state’s licensure requirements, including an obligation to meet the state’s existing standard of care. The development of additional ‘safeguards’ solely for telehealth providers might lead to the adoption of unnecessary restrictions that would only serve to restrict competition, and thereby undermine SB 74’s goal of enhancing access to telehealth services.” The FTC vote to issue the staff comment was 4-0.