Facing a growing problem of telecom network vandalism and theft, industry groups are calling for updated state laws, including harsher criminal penalties, as deterrents. In a meeting Tuesday at Verizon facilities in Texas with law enforcement representatives, telecom industry officials repeatedly raised the specter of 911 and telehealth service disruptions.
Charter Communications supported a USTelecom petition asking the California Public Utilities Commission to reconsider rules for implementing the state’s BEAD initial plan volume 2. However, consumer groups urged the CPUC to deny the application in a separate response Friday. USTelecom had raised concerns that state rules, including on required low-price plans, could discourage participation in the broadband grant program (see 2411010053). Charter agrees that the CPUC’s September order “contains legal errors,” including that “rate caps constitute impermissible rate regulation,” the cabler responded Friday in docket R.23-02-016. Also, Congress and the NTIA never asked for or required the CPUC’s proposed middle-class affordable service option, said Charter. And the CPUC may not require companies to participate in federal or state Lifeline programs, it said. The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and Center for Accessible Technology disagreed in a joint response the same day. USTelecom’s rehearing application “makes only narrow claims that the Commission errs by requiring participation in the state and federal Lifeline programs, which it does not, and also claims that the Commission errs by adopting affordability plans that create improper rate regulation, which is inaccurate and previously rejected by the Commission.” TURN and CforAT added, “Far from committing legal error, the Commission’s affordability programs and measures … represent a necessary and important step in the process of implementing a landmark opportunity to invest $1.86 billion in federal funding” for broadband.
During a Thursday Incompas virtual event, communications industry lawyers offered few clues about which lawmakers will fill vacant top GOP slots on the House and Senate Communications subcommittees, but CEO Chip Pickering forecast substantial leadership continuity on both chambers’ Commerce committees. Pickering and lawyers who spoke at the event, meanwhile, saw limited prospects during the lame-duck session that Congress would advance a spectrum legislative package or funding for the FCC’s lapsed affordable connectivity program and Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program.
Stronger state laws are needed to combat a rising trend of copper thieves damaging telecom infrastructure, panelists said Tuesday at NARUC’s conference in Anaheim, California. On Wednesday, the NARUC board passed resolutions on phone number conservation, the Universal Service Fund and utility coordination on broadband deployment. The Telecom Committee cleared those measures Monday (see 2411120014). Copper prices are up and therefore so is theft, said Dan Gonzalez, Charter Communications group vice president-state regulatory affairs. The cable company’s lines don’t contain copper, which is common in traditional phone networks, but thieves don’t know the difference, and they damage Charter infrastructure when seeking copper, he said. Networks are exposed and easily accessible, making theft a low-risk, high-reward activity, he said. In addition, many state laws don’t classify the networks as protected critical infrastructure or impose adequate penalties, said Gonzalez. Charter sees fewer incidents in states with broader definitions of critical infrastructure and stronger penalties, including Florida, Tennessee and the Carolinas, he said. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is receiving more copper theft reports than previously, said Richard Mitchem, CISA supervisory protective security adviser. Mitchem agreed that identifying the networks as critical infrastructure is a good idea because that would mean stronger repercussions for damage. Todd Foreman, Recycled Materials Association law enforcement outreach director, said raising awareness about the issue is important because law enforcement resources are limited and not all police are looking closely for sales of stolen copper. He agreed that increasing penalties would help discourage theft.
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California’s SB-976 violates free speech and puts children’s safety at risk, NetChoice said Tuesday in a lawsuit seeking to block the measure before it becomes effective Jan. 1 (see 2409230032). SB-976 violates the First Amendment when it limits access to online speech, forces companies to track children and increases the risk of data breach, said NetChoice in the complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The NARUC Telecom Committee on Monday cleared draft resolutions on phone number conservation, the Universal Service Fund and utility coordination on broadband deployment. A USF panel that day described how reform could happen with Republicans controlling the FCC and Congress next year. Also, the affordable connectivity program (ACP) could return in 2025 despite Washington’s partisan climate, said Sanford Williams, deputy chief of staff for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, during a collocated National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) meeting. State utility regulators are holding their annual meeting here this week.
California Public Utilities Commission members Thursday supported regulating interconnected VoIP. Commissioners at the livestreamed meeting backed the controversial order as part of a unanimous vote on a consent agenda. Also at the meeting, the CPUC waived penalties for Verizon related to migrating Tracfone customers and approved nearly $160 million in last-mile broadband grants from the agency’s federal funding account and $50 million from the broadband loan loss reserve program.
T-Mobile said it set a world record speed of 2.2 Gbps for a wireless uplink, using a combination of 2.5 GHz and millimeter wave spectrum, during a test at SoFi Stadium in Southern California. 5G dual-connectivity technology “enables the Un-carrier to aggregate 2.5 GHz and mmWave spectrum, allowing for an insane boost to uplink throughput and capacity,” T-Mobile said this week: “T-Mobile was able to allocate 60% of the mmWave radio resources for uplink where previous use cases typically allowed up to 20%.”
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.