The Oregon Public Utility Commission should approve without modification Lumen’s “fair” pact with PUC staff on a successor price plan, the settling parties said Friday in docket UM 1908. It’s "a meaningful compromise between the positions of formerly adverse parties,” they said. Intervenors Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board (CUB) and Lumen customer Priscilla Weaver don't oppose most of the agreement, including rates from a proposed price plan that "uniquely restricts CenturyLink’s ability to raise prices based upon the Company’s performance across a number of service quality measures,” said Lumen and PUC staff: Intervenors oppose removing previous protections only for Jacksonville, Oregon, customers. But the Jacksonville orders “are no longer necessary and apply only to a very small group of approximately 100 customers,” the settling parties said. Under the agreement, most protections “will continue to apply to the rural Jacksonville customers and … to 40 times more customers who are similarly situated." Oregon CUB agreed it objects only to deleting the Jacksonville orders. Lumen relies on broadband "as a solution even though it may not be available until" Dec. 31, 2024, and it hasn't "provided a plan to address near-term service quality issues," the consumer group said. Weaver urged the PUC not to accept the plan, which she said would "nullify without cause" the Jacksonville orders. The proposed plan’s protections "are almost non-existent, and nowhere close to the same as in the Jacksonville Orders,” she wrote.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission plans to vote Jan. 18 on state USF and Lifeline rule changes and Feb. 8 on other telecom rule changes, said notices of proposed rulemaking released Friday. Commissioners voted 3-0 Thursday (see 2311300057) to issue the notices on proposed revisions to Chapter 55 rules for telecom services (docket RM2023-000017), Chapter 56 rules for interexchange telecom service resellers (RM2023-000018), Chapter 57 rules for operator service providers telecom services (RM2023-000019) and Chapter 59 rules for Oklahoma USF and Lifeline (RM2023-000021). Written comments in the USF and Lifeline docket are due Jan. 9 and the commission will hold technical conferences Dec. 14 and Jan. 11. The commission sought written comments for all three other dockets by Jan. 15 and set technical conferences for Jan. 4 and Jan. 25.

Consumer advocates urged the California Public Utilities Commission in a virtual meeting Wednesday to dismiss AT&T’s petition to relinquish carrier of last resort (COLR) obligations, the CPUC’s independent Public Advocates Office and The Utility Reform Network said in an ex parte filing Thursday in docket A.23-02-003. The advocates discussed the PAO’s motion to dismiss with aides to CPUC Commissioners John Reynolds and Darcie Houck, it said. “As a matter of law and a foregone conclusion, with no need to determine facts at an evidentiary hearing, AT&T’s Amended Application cancels the safety net provisions of the Universal Service Rules adopted by the Commission and is incompatible with the state’s ongoing commitment to universal service.” TURN said AT&T’s request “is fundamentally about dismantling the cornerstone of universal service and AT&T has failed to provide an adequate basis for the Commission to consider such drastic action.” AT&T urged quick approval of COLR relief in a virtual meeting with a Reynolds aide last month (see 2311070043).

Texas Public Utility Commissioners unanimously backed a sweeping update to the state’s Chapter 26 substantive telecommunications rules at a Thursday meeting. Commissioners voted 4-0 for a staff proposal posted last week in docket 54589 (see 2311210054). The Texas Telephone Association applauded the decision. “This was a significant overhaul of telecommunications rules in Texas, paired with new rules for the implementation of sweeping legislative changes earlier this year,” TTA Executive Director Mark Seale wrote in an email.

The California Public Utilities Commission set a Dec. 13 meeting in a rulemaking to consider changes to video franchise requirements under the state’s Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act (DIVCA). The agency will consider the proceedings scope, schedule and need for evidentiary hearings during the 10 a.m. PST pre-conference hearing, said Administrative Law Judge Margery Melvin in a Wednesday ruling in docket R.23-04-006. A 2021 law revised DIVCA to require the commission to adopt video and broadband customer service requirements and adjudicate customer complaints, Melvin said. “The Commission may also consider potential ways to modernize and make the implementation of DIVCA more efficient and effective.” In comments in June, the cable industry said there’s no need to revamp how it is treated under DIVCA (see 2306050051).

Charter Communications plans to spend $1.3 billion to upgrade and expand broadband across Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Thursday. “Texans who live across the big and beautiful reaches of our great state will have the same internet access that those in big cities do,” Abbott said. Charter said in a separate news release that it plans to spend $700 million to upgrade its Texas network to provide symmetrical and multi-gigabit speeds. The project will be “substantially complete” by the end of 2025, it said. Also, the cable company will spend nearly $620 million to expand the network to about 140,000 unserved and underserved locations, Charter said.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission voted 3-0 at a Thursday meeting to post NPRMs on amending four telecom chapters of commission rules. The notices, which weren’t available immediately, will open proceedings on revising Chapter 55 rules for telecom services (docket RM2023-000017), Chapter 56 rules for interexchange telecom service resellers (RM2023-000018), Chapter 57 rules for operator service providers telecom services (RM2023-000019) and Chapter 59 rules for Oklahoma USF and Lifeline (RM2023-000021).

Kansas awarded $28.5 million for high-speed internet infrastructure through the state’s Lasting Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (LINC) program, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said Wednesday. It will fund projects bringing users at least 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds, as well as middle mile and an internet exchange point, the governor’s office said. Connected Nation received a $5 million grant, with a $2.6 million match, for an internet exchange point in Sedgwick, Kansas. The largest broadband infrastructure awards went to local entities, including $4.2 million to KwiKom, $3.9 million to IdeaTek and $3 million to the Prairie Band Pottawatomi Nation. On Monday, Kelly said the state awarded $5 million in Kansas broadband acceleration grants to eight ISPs that will add $6.6 million in matching funds. The biggest recipients were Kansas ISPs KwiKom ($1.4 million) and IdeaTek ($1 million).

Half the 50 states submitted volume one of their initial proposals for the broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, said NTIA’s Wednesday update to its proposal progress dashboard. Six states submitted both volumes, it said.

Noting a lack of objections to proposed tweaks to South Carolina USF rules, the state’s Office of Regulatory Staff urged the Public Service Commission on Tuesday to grant its petition in docket 2023-301-C. ORS asked to clarify certain USF procedures, including by specifically listing interconnected VoIP providers as USF contributors, incorporating a South Carolina confidentiality law and adding a deadline for contributors to dispute required contributions (see 2309280010). In the same petition, ORS seeks a waiver of USF guidelines so it can provide a refund to Cox subsidiary Palmetto Net for overreporting assessable revenue in a 2022 worksheet, which resulted in an overpayment.