Shentel has agreed to a $227,200 fine stemming from a VoIP-related 911 outage between April 6-22, 2022, in four West Virginia counties, per an Enforcement Bureau order Monday. The cable operators also will put in place a compliance plan that includes it developing or improving its identification of risks that could result in 911 disruptions and its response to those outages, the order said. Shentel didn't comment.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed two 911 bills Thursday. The governor signed SB-316 to ask the statewide 911 board to study interoperability of computer-aided dispatch systems used by public safety answering points. Also, Holcomb signed SB-43 to stop state public safety agencies from setting residency requirements for 911 call takers.

The California Assembly Communications Committee cleared amended bills including on video franchising, local broadband permits and low-income benefits at a webcast hearing Wednesday. Also, the committee unanimously passed a consent agenda including bills on 911 public education (AB-296) and grants for emergency communications on fairgrounds (AB-415). The committee voted 10-2 to send to the Appropriations Committee a bill (AB-41) aimed at tightening digital equity requirements in the state’s video franchise law. Sponsor Chris Holden (D), who chairs the Appropriations panel, said the 2006 Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act approach of self-regulation through competition failed to spread services to everyone within franchise areas. The California Broadband & Video Association thinks the proposed replacement, the Digital Equity in Video Franchising Act, would be “generally unfeasible,” said Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy Director Amanda Gualderama. The state cable association was joined by USTelecom in opposition. The Communications Committee voted 13-0 for AB-965, which would set a 60-day shot clock for local governments to decide broadband permit applications or have them deemed granted. It will go to the Local Government Committee next. Supporters included Crown Castle, CTIA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association. But the California Municipal Utilities Association raised concerns it duplicates previous rules including the FCC’s small-cells order. The Assembly panel voted 13-0 for AB-1231 to allow low-income consumers to stack benefits from California LifeLine, federal Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program. It goes next to Appropriations. "The bill is needed because the CPUC has prohibited Californian consumers from combining their California LifeLine and ACP benefits to maximize the amount of data they receive,” said TruConnect Chief Compliance Officer Danielle Perry, who is also a National Lifeline Association board member. The Utility Reform Network worries the bill doesn’t provide enough accountability on providers, said TURN lobbyist Ignacio Hernandez: Lawmakers should strengthen it or allow the CPUC to make rules. The commission already has an open proceeding on the issue, he noted. Supporting AB-1231, Communications Committee Chair Tasha Boerner Horvath (D) said she thinks the CPUC has overly restricted access for low-income people.

As the FCC looks at a nationwide approach to managing the 4.9 GHz band, it should maintain the overarching goal of protecting and preserving the spectrum for public safety use, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance said Thursday in docket 07-100. It said the commission, rather than sticking with local licensing, should issue a single nationwide overlay license to an entity with the expertise to deliver services to first responders. That licensee would establish an operational framework that enables full use of all 50 MHz of spectrum in the 4.9 GHz band by first responders while overseeing and doing dispute resolution regarding secondary usage and band operations, it said. The band must be operable with the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, and existing point-to-point and geographic licenses should be converted to site-specific authorizations to operate for incumbents and limited to services in use by incumbents today. If the FCC allows aeronautical mobile use in the band, it should set parameters for a future band manager that would protect radio astronomy and it should restrict unmanned operations to public safety and critical infrastructure use, NTIA said. The 4.9 GHz band is a potential avenue to provide enhanced broadband communications services, features, and capabilities, plus 5G for public safety, FirstNet said. Any use of the spectrum for the National Public Safety Broadband Network would be for public safety on a primary basis, it said. The International Association of Fire Chiefs backed a single national band manager, with the selection committee including representation from fire and emergency medical services, law enforcement, 911 dispatch centers and other public safety answering points, public safety technology development, spectrum management professionals and communications industry and other broadband stakeholders.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission approved a settlement between Frontier Communications and the state’s Morgan County to resolve the county’s complaint about 911 service. Commissioners agreed Wednesday with staff’s recommendation to adopt the pact as the resolution to case 22-0686-T-C (see 2303240063).

Indiana public safety agencies may not set residency requirements for 911 call takers, said a state bill passed by the legislature. The House voted 96-0 Monday for SB-43 and returned it to the Senate without amendments Tuesday. The Senate passed the bill in January in a 47-1 vote. SB-43 still needs a signature from Gov. Eric Holcomb (R).

The West Virginia Public Service Commission should approve a settlement between Frontier Communications and the state’s Morgan County to resolve the county’s complaint about 911 service, PSC staff said Thursday. Frontier made commitments on 911 circuit redundancy and diversity (see 2303160076).

"We have not ruled out any options” to respond to two Utah social media bills signed Thursday by Gov. Spencer Cox (R), said Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) State Director Khara Boender Friday. Cox signed SB-152 which starting March 1 will require a social media company to verify age and require parental consent for any Utah resident under 18 seeking to open an account. He also signed HB-311, which will require parental consent for users under 18 and prohibit social media platforms “from using a design or feature that the company knows causes a minor to have an addiction to a social media platform.” Starting March 1, the state could penalize social platforms $250,000 for “for each practice, design, or feature shown to have caused addiction,” and up to $2,500 per minor exposed to the addictive feature. Parents could sue companies directly for financial, physical or emotional harms in certain circumstances. Utah created a website on the social media rules and Cox tweeted, “We’re no longer willing to let social media companies continue to harm the mental health of our youth.” Tech groups CCIA and NetChoice sued other states for social media laws. "CCIA is concerned whenever lawmakers enact measures that would result in additional privacy issues or a loss of beneficial information and services,” Boender said. “It is unfortunate that bills intended to restrict access for younger users may impact those who rely on creative outlets and support communities online, but not available in their physical location.” NetChoice said the bills are unconstitutional and will require businesses to collect more sensitive personal data to verify age. Also Thursday, Cox signed a public safety bill (SB-212), including a provision allowing agencies to create a public safety answering point to provide 911 service to noncontiguous areas (see 2302160026).

Reps. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., refiled the Next Generation 911 Act Friday in a bid to boost emergency service tech upgrades. The bill, which formed the basis for NG-911 language leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees included in the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act proposal they failed to attach in December to the FY 2023 omnibus appropriations measure (see 2212190069), would allocate $15 billion for the tech upgrades. “Over 85 percent of Americans now own a smartphone, and our 9-1-1 call centers aren’t equipped with the most up-to-date technology to respond to text messages or images from smartphones,” Eshoo said. “Our bill provides much needed funding for states and local communities to bring their 9-1-1 infrastructure into the 21st Century.” NG-911 “will begin saving lives in our communities the moment it is deployed,” Hudson said. The measure “would be a vital step in ensuring that all states and communities have access to the benefits of NG9-1-1, regardless of zip code,” said National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes, saying NENA will "work with all members of Congress to ensure this important legislation is passed and fully funded as soon as possible.” Eshoo’s office also cited support from the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies and Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition.

The District of Columbia still fails to meet national 911 standards, D.C. Auditor Kathleen Patterson said Thursday. The auditor released a second update to an October 2021 report on the D.C. Office of Unified Communications (OUC). In 99,000 priority medical calls from September 2021 through August 2022, OUC failed to comply with national standards for time to answer “for roughly half the time and was not in compliance with the 60-second answer-to-notification requirement at any time,” wrote Patterson in a cover letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D). "Even more serious than failure to meet these national standards is the agency’s failure to be accurate and transparent in describing after-action reviews of the July 3 and Aug. 9 incidents when young District residents Sevyn Schatzman-Chase and Aaron Boyd, Jr., respectively, lost their lives. In one case OUC failed to acknowledge that the call taker recorded the wrong address after the correct address had been displayed on a locator map.” Thursday’s report said OUC completed seven of 31 recommendations in the October 2021 audit, made partial headway on 17 and “minimal progress” on seven. In a March 10 response to a draft report, acting Director Heather McGaffin said OUC "made great strides to implement the recommendations" since the auditor's September update: “I simultaneously acknowledge there is still work to be done.” OUC believes it completed 23 recommendations and expects to finish the remaining eight by summer's end, she said. McGaffin noted 911 call volume keeps increasing. Patterson wrote Thursday she's “concerned that the most recent accounting by the agency appears to significantly overstate actions taken” since the September status report. McGaffin, Bower’s nominee to be OUC’s permanent director, pledged at a confirmation hearing last week to improve processes and be more transparent (see 2303150071).