The California Senate voted 29-8, with three non-voting members, to approve a bill requiring the California Public Utilities Commission to "establish a mechanism to include standalone broadband internet access service as a class of lifeline service." State Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D) introduced the bill, SB-716, in February. It would allow ISPs to receive lifeline subsidies if they offer at least one plan with speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps for no more than $30 per month. The commission would be required to adopt rules by July 1, 2027.
The California Assembly approved a bill 52-17 on Wednesday requiring ISPs to offer an affordable broadband plan for low-income households (see 2505010040). Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D) introduced AB-353 earlier this year. "This is not an urban versus rural issue or a Republican versus Democrat issue," she said. "I want to get something fair and reasonable that helps those who need it most."
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Rate regulation would harm competition in the broadband marketplace and undermine efforts to close the digital divide, said ACA Connects in a new study released Thursday. The study, conducted in partnership with Cartesian, found four "cascading" effects of rate regulation: less investment, less competition, a slowdown in pricing declines and harm spillover.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said at a listening session and panel discussion hosted Wednesday by Free Press that she doesn’t expect the agency to “liberally” use a good-cause exception to notice-and-comment rules or delegated authority when it takes action on the “Delete” docket. “I am hopeful that, in fact, a lot of these rules will come up to vote,” she said at the Los Angeles event, which was part of her “First Amendment Tour” (see 2504240064).
Members of the House this week asked FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to send to the Federal Register for publication rules for new multilingual templates for wireless emergency alerts (WEA), which the Public Safety Bureau released in January (see 2501080029).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
Major communications industry trade associations complained about state broadband regulations in a joint filing at the DOJ in response to a request for comments by the department’s new Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force. Like the FCC’s “Delete” proceeding, the initiative is part of the Trump administration’s push to cut regulation.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez will speak at a Free Press event Wednesday as part of her “First Amendment Tour.” The event will be held at California State University in Los Angeles at noon, with a livestream starting at 12:30 PT. In addition to Gomez, it will feature Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., Free Press co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez and officials from public broadcasting and the press. In a release, Gomez said the tour is “an effort to defend the First Amendment from those who use it as a weapon against the very freedoms it protects.”
Now that the FCC has approved Verizon's proposed acquisition of Frontier (see 2505160050), the deal is under mounting scrutiny in states including California and West Virginia, where initial public comments are running against the deal. Utah, Nevada, Virginia and Texas have already given their OK.