California lawmakers advanced a bill that would expand the state's LifeLine program to include stand-alone broadband internet access as an eligible service for the monthly subsidy (see 2506050055). Assembly Appropriations Committee members voted 11-4 on Friday to approve the bill, SB-716, which would also bar the California Public Utilities Commission from increasing the LifeLine surcharge "above the highest rate collected within the previous four years."
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and the Center for American Rights (CAR) have taken aim at CBS over edits to an interview featuring Noem, which aired Sunday on Face the Nation. In a release from the Department of Homeland Security the same day, Noem accused CBS of editing the interview to remove portions where she talked about criminal allegations against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration has repeatedly sought to deport.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved a three-year home broadband pilot program during its meeting Thursday (see 2508150055). The pilot, funded by the state's LifeLine program, will provide a $20 monthly broadband subsidy for eligible households and $30 for bundled services. The program "will play a key role in achieving the goal of connecting Californians," said commission President Alice Reynolds. The agency established 100/20 Mbps speed standards with 1,280 Gbps monthly usage, except in areas where it isn't feasible. The voluntary program took effect immediately.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
States face a challenge getting their BEAD final proposals to NTIA by the Sept. 4, but most will meet the deadline, Colorado Broadband Office Executive Director Brandy Reitter said Tuesday at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum. Large states like Texas and California will probably need extensions, she told us. Reitter said she was fairly confident NTIA in turn would meet its deadline for reviewing the final proposals within 90 days of receiving them.
The FCC’s top telecom priorities include the components of Chairman Brendan Carr’s “Build America Agenda,” stabilizing USF and deregulation, agency Chief of Staff Scott Delacourt said. NTIA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Adam Cassady said finishing BEAD "is job one," but other tasks include space policy revisions and identifying spectrum for commercialization. The two spoke Monday at Technology Policy Institute’s annual Aspen Forum.
California’s plan to launch a home broadband pilot under its LifeLine program received mixed reactions from industry and consumer advocates. Groups were split over legal authority, service standards and who should be required to participate in the program, which was proposed by California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Commissioner Alice Reynolds and is expected to be considered during the agency's August 28 meeting.
T-Mobile defended its hiring practices in response to the Center for Accessible Technology's (CforAT) petition for the California Public Utilities Commission to reopen its docket on T-Mobile's 2020 acquisition of Sprint (see 2003110043). The company said in a filing posted Wednesday (docket A1807011) that the group's petition is "procedurally improper," and any compliance issues should be resolved through the CPUC's existing enforcement mechanisms. CforAT petitioned the CPUC in May, saying it "appears" that T-Mobile isn't complying with several "mandatory merger conditions" based on a March letter from the company to the FCC.
The California Public Utilities Commission will consider a resolution to approve four grants totaling nearly $200,000 to fund community technology programs. The digital divide grant program is funded by "an allocation of a percentage of revenues" generated from wireless telecom facilities on state-owned property. Commissioners will consider the awards during a meeting Sept. 18.