broadband

CPUC considers giving broadband subsidy priority to low income areas

16 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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One-third or more of broadband infrastructure subsidies would go to low income areas, if the California Public Utilities Commission adopts new rules proposed by staff for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). Although the draft rewrite published on Wednesday by commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves is just the starting point for a debate that won’t be resolved until the end of the year, it is consistent with comments that she and other commissioners have made on many occasions.… More

CPUC begins rewrite of California broadband infrastructure subsidy rules

15 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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California’s broadband primary infrastructure program, the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), is in for an overhaul by the California Public Utilities Commission. Last year, the California legislature passed and governor Jerry Brown signed assembly bill 1665, which pumped more money into the fund but also placed severe, incumbent-centric restrictions on how it can be spent.

It’s up to the CPUC, though, to decide the detailed objectives, rules and procedures for the program. Yesterday, commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves posted a scoping memo and ruling, which outlines extensive changes proposed by CPUC staff, and a schedule for reaching a decision.… More

Trump's infrastructure plan offers something for broadband, but little hope for California

13 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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There are three good reasons not to like yesterday’s announcement of, as president Donald Trump put it, “the biggest and boldest infrastructure investment in American history”:

  1. It’s not so big and bold. Trump proposes to spend $200 billion, not $1.5 trillion. The balance will be, as businessmen say, other people’s money.
  2. Very little of the $200 million is aimed at broadband.
  3. Donald Trump likes it.

On the other hand, I can think of three good reasons to be happy about it:

  1. $200 billion isn’t chump change.
… More

Caltrans opens the road for broadband projects

12 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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California highway projects are now broadband projects too. Or can be. Caltrans wrapped up development of standard rules and procedures for adding third party conduit to highway construction projects, and published a guide for “Wired Broadband Stakeholders”. It covers “partnering”, which is adding a separate, third party trench to a road project, and “co-location”, which involves Caltrans and a third party both installing conduit in a Caltrans trench.

There are limits on who can participate.… More

Mobile isn't a replacement for wireline broadband, says FCC once again

9 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission is maintaining its hard distinction between fixed and mostly wireline, and mobile broadband service. In its 2018 Broadband Deployment report, the FCC reaffirmed that the two are complementary and not substitutes for each other…

We disagree with those that argue that mobile services are currently full substitutes for fixed service. Both fixed and mobile services can enable access to “information, entertainment, [and] employment options,” but there are salient differences between the two technologies.

… More

Competitive dark fiber gets a reprieve in California

8 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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A proposal to flip – and maybe kill – the business model for dark fiber enterprises run by private electric utilities is on hold at the California Public Utilities Commission. It was pulled off today’s CPUC agenda by commission president Michael Picker and tentatively rescheduled for March.

Last year, Southern California Edison asked for permission to do a master fiber lease deal with Verizon. It seemed to be routine. SCE has been negotiating dark fiber leases on terms established by the CPUC for nearly 20 years.… More

Hey, we're doing a great job deploying broadband, FCC report claims

7 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission (or at least its republican majority) believes that “advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion”. That’s the bottom line conclusion of the 2018 Broadband Deployment report, which was released on Friday.

Writing in Ars Technica, John Brodkin does a great job of unpicking the report’s rhetorical gymnastics, which simultaneously assign credit for successes to current FCC policies and blame for any failings on the previous democratic majority.… More

Frontier preps to say adios to California, report says

4 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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Less than two years after it flipped the switch and took over Verizon’s wireline systems in California – and the two million subscribers that were on those systems at the time – Bloomberg is reporting that Frontier wants out. According to the story by Nabila Ahmed and Scott Moritz, the company has engaged advisors in an attempt to reduce a crushing debt load by selling off assets (h/t to Fred Pilot at Eldo Telecom Blog for the pointer)…

The company is considering a sale of a package of landline assets in California, Florida and Texas that it acquired from Verizon Communications Inc.

… More

Trump turns his back on new broadband spending

3 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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President Donald Trump might want to pump $1.5 trillion into infrastructure upgrades, but don’t expect any new federal money to be earmarked for rural broadband projects. It’s not clear how much of the $1.5 trillion is new spending, or the extent to which existing programs are bundled into it, but either way there isn’t much enthusiasm in the white house or the republican-controlled house of representatives for dedicated broadband funding, according to Politico. The republican telecoms policy lead in the house, representative Marsha Blackburn (R – Tennessee) says she…

Wants to focus on bills to streamline permitting and clear away regulations impeding new networks, and attach them to the infrastructure legislation.

… More

CPUC rejects almost all attempts to block broadband infrastructure subsidies

2 February 2018 by Steve Blum
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Just a relative handful of census blocks in California will be excluded from state broadband infrastructure subsidies as a result of the first round of jus primae noctis right of first refusals granted to incumbent providers by the California legislature. Four service providers filed claims, and three were completely rejected by California Public Utilities Commission staff. The fourth was partially accepted.

Only one of California’s big monopoly-model broadband service providers tried – unsuccessfully – to make a play.… More