AT&T, Frontier tell CPUC to loosen broadband subsidy rules for them, but make it harder for everyone else

1 December 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

The arm wrestling over how California should manage its primary broadband infrastructure subsidy program – the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) – is nearly complete. Ten organisations filed comments on a draft of new rules offered by commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves last month. The rewrite is necessary because the California legislature changed the way CASF is structured, giving incumbent telcos – particularly AT&T and Frontier Communications – privileged access to the money and another layer of protection from independent providers that propose to offer modern levels of broadband service to rural communities.… More

Cities ask to move appeals of FCC muni property preemption to San Francisco court

30 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

The cities, counties and related associations that are challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to preempt local ownership of streetlight poles and similar municipal property in the public right of way are asking to move the case from Denver to San Francisco. A motion to that effect was filed yesterday in the Denver-based tenth circuit court of appeals by the City of San Jose and the other west coast agencies that appealed the FCC decision in the last week of October.… More

Partisan shift in Congress could influence anti-trust reviews of T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint

29 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

The flip from a republican majority to a democratic one in the federal house of representatives has opened a window of opportunity for, among others, those opposed to T-Mobile’s planned takeover of Sprint. A coalition of fourteen labor organisations and a wide range of advocacy are urging the presumed incoming chairmen of the house judiciary, and energy and commerce committees to investigate the “likely effects” of the deal.

In a letter sent yesterday (h/t to a story by Harper Neidig in the Hill for the pointer), the groups reminded representatives Jerry Nadler (D – New York) and Frank Pallone (D – New Jersey) that they spoke out against the merger when democrats were the minority party, that they should follow through now that they’re in the majority…

Representative Pallone, on April 30th you and Representative Doyle wrote to Chairman Walden and Chairman Blackburn requesting a hearing on the proposed Sprint/T-Mobile merger.

… More

Booming prime time video peaks will slam broadband networks over the next five years

28 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Three-quarters of all Internet traffic is video and that share will grow to 82% over the next five years, according to the latest update to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index, which is an ongoing broadband tracking study published by the company. Cisco also projects that global Internet traffic will more than triple over that time.

In other words, video is why there’s rapidly rising demand for faster broadband service speeds, and greater capacity. Not just because there’s more of it, but also because people don’t watch it consistently over the course of the day: the ballooning volume of video traffic is crammed into prime viewing hours.… More

Investor-owned electric utilities won’t be California’s competitive broadband hope

27 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

The door has officially closed on expansions of Pacific Gas and Electric’s and Southern California Edison’s telecommunications businesses. It’s a small issue compared to the wildfire disasters that both companies are grappling with, but it could have a significant and ongoing effect on California’s uncompetitive broadband services market.

At its last meeting, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to allow PG&E to withdraw its application to become a certified telecommunications company. It applied last year, hoping to make better use of the 2,600 miles of fiber optic routes it owns in northern California.… More

FCC embraces 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up standard for faster rural broadband

26 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

The biggest, by far, broadband service and infrastructure program in the U.S. is the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund, which is handing out $3 billion – $590 million in California – over the next decade. It’s been paying that money to Internet service providers – mostly incumbent telephone companies – who promise to provide a minimum service level of 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds.

That standard is about to be raised to 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds for some telephone companies because, an FCC draft decision says, “we recognise that access to 25/3 Mbps broadband service is not a luxury for urban areas, but a necessity for all”.… More

FCC’s broadband market share data shows urban/rural technology divide and decline of DSL

25 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

There’s a lot to chew over in the Federal Communications Commission’s latest report on broadband subscribers in the U.S. Just one of the many charts (pictured above) tells an interesting story about how people in the U.S. get fixed broadband service in their homes. Two conclusions jump out immediately: cable companies are winning the fight for broadband market share, but the availability of cable modem, fiber to the premise or other wireline service depends population density.… More

Fires will drive price hikes for electricity and broadband

24 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Pacific Gas and Electric and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Southern California Edison face the potential of billions of dollars of liability for 1. this year’s wildfires, 2. last year’s wildfires and 3. preventing next year’s wildfires. Someone will have to pay the tab that fires have already run up in California. Under state law, if a utility is even partly to blame it has to bear the full burden, generally. But utilities, even highly regulated ones like privately owned electric companies, can pass some or all of those costs on to their customers.… More

FCC preemption of local pole ownership challenged by muni electric utilities

23 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Municipal electric utilities joined the challenge the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to preempt local ownership and control of streetlights and other publicly-owned infrastructure in the public right of way. The American Public Power Association, which represents cities, utility districts and other public agencies that provide electric service, filed a petition in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. last week, asking that the ruling be overturned.

It argues…

In the Order, the Commission has improperly asserted regulatory authority and jurisdiction over the control and use of public power utility facilities.

… More

T-Mobile not worried about speed or result of CPUC review of Sprint deal

22 November 2018 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

T-Mobile doesn’t seem to be too worried about getting approval from the California Public Utilities Commission for its proposed takeover of Sprint. The company’s chief financial officer, Braxton Carter, spoke at an investment conference in Barcelona last week, and offered an optimistic timeline to complete the transaction…

The goal, we believe, is still to close this transaction…in the first half, probably in the second quarter of ’19. You look at the shot clock with the FCC, it’s really implying a very early April end of that shot clock at this point, and that’s why I’m more pointing to the second quarter is more probable.

… More