broadband

Newsom administration says telecoms deregulation bill offer little protection, particularly in rural California

27 August 2019 by Steve Blum
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Leaning pole

Key opposition to assembly bill 1366 is coming from inside California governor Gavin Newsom’s administration. AB 1366 is the bill that would extend a ban on regulation of “Internet protocol enabled services”, including standard telephone service delivered by voice over Internet protocol technology (VoIP). It’s backed by AT&T, Comcast, Charter Communications, Frontier Communications and other telecoms companies, and a long list of non-profit organisations that they pay, but which otherwise have no particular interest in telecoms policy.… More

High priced, low performing broadband service hits rural Californians hard

26 August 2019 by Steve Blum
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A California Public Utility Commission analysis of utility service affordability in California used household income, local cost of living and utility cost figures for far northern California – Siskiyou, Modoc and Lassen counties – to illustrate a proposed method for determining whether people can actually afford the utility service that they need. The example also illustrates a serious problem in rural California: the high cost and low quality of broadband service.

For the most part, the CPUC has no role in regulating, setting or monitoring the cost of broadband subscriptions, or the level of service provided.… More

“Essential” broadband is fixed service at 20 Mbps down/3 Mbps up, CPUC white paper says

21 August 2019 by Steve Blum
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Forbes ag tech hartnell alisal demo 13jul2107

“Voice and broadband services required for education; telehealth; safety; and participation in society, such as completing job applications and accessing government assistance programs” will be defined as “essential services” in California if recommendations by California Public Utilities Commission staff are eventually adopted by commissioners.

According to a staff white paper on essential utility service affordability, for broadband service that means a minimum of 20 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, with a monthly data cap of no less than 1 terabyte (1,024 gigabytes).… More

California telco deregulation bill amended, but not by much

15 August 2019 by Steve Blum
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Burlingame pole 8aug2019

The latest, but probably not the final, amendments to assembly bill 1366 are posted on the California legislature’s website. It’s the bill that would extend a current ban on regulation of “Internet protocol enabled” services, including, particularly, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service.

The new version does not address the core objection of telecoms labor unions and the California Public Utilities Commission. They say that because AT&T and Frontier are switching customers from regulated legacy telephone technology to unregulated VoIP service, extending the ban on VoIP regulation would effectively deregulate telephone service completely in California.… More

FCC proposes new map-based collection method for broadband availability reports

19 July 2019 by Steve Blum
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The ever increasing volume of complaints about the accuracy of broadband availability data published by the Federal Communications Commission is producing results. In August, the FCC will vote on a proposal to require Internet service providers to submit electronic map data that shows where they offer service, at what speeds it’s offered and which technology it uses.

The current data sets are based on census block reports, with a census block reckoned as served at a given speed level if one home or business within it can get that level.… More

Telephone deregulation bill amended by California senate committee, but it’s still a hot mess

11 July 2019 by Steve Blum
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Deregulation of telephone service – and with it, telecommunications infrastructure – moved ahead yesterday in the California senate’s energy, utilities and communications committee. Backed by AT&T, Frontier Communications, Comcast and other monopoly model incumbents, assembly bill 1366 was approved on a largely positive, but not quite unanimous vote. It extends a ban on regulation of voice over Internet protocol service (VoIP) by the California Public Utilities Commission and other state agencies. As the shift from old style, regulated telephone service to unregulated VoIP continues, the effect is to allow telcos and cable companies to back out from under the CPUC’s jurisdiction.… More

California senate committee considers AT&T-backed bill to end telephone service regulation

10 July 2019 by Steve Blum
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Darth leia 625

A bill that would extend California’s ban on regulation of “Internet protocol enabled” services, including voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service, is due for a hearing in the California senate’s energy, utilities and communications committee today. Assembly bill 1366, authored by Lorena Gonzalez (D – San Diego), would allow AT&T, Frontier Communications, Comcast, Charter Communications and other big, monopoly model incumbents to do an end run around California’s laws, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.… More

The eternal why not WiFi question has an eternal answer

5 July 2019 by Steve Blum
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The retro look.

Every so often someone asks me something like why can’t we just use WiFi to deliver broadband service? For those of us who’ve been working in the community broadband sector for a decade or more, the question was settled with the collapse of the Great Muni WiFi Bubble more than ten years ago. But for most, that’s a relic of the distant and dim pre-iPhone past, when rocking good service was measured in kilobits and the fastest way to download a movie was to drive to a store and rent a video.… More

Maine puts buy net neutral requirement on state, but not local agencies

2 July 2019 by Steve Blum
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Network neutrality is on the books in Maine. Governor Janet Mills signed legislative document 1364 into law last week. When it goes into effect later this year, the new law will require Internet service providers to sign net neutrality agreements when they do business with state agencies. They’ll have to pledge not to block or throttle Internet traffic on the basis of content, or engage in paid prioritisation – in other words, create fast lanes for their own content or for other customers…

E.

… More

AB 1366 will effectively end telecoms regulation in California, CPUC says

28 June 2019 by Steve Blum
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Cpuc graphic voip vs pots 24jun2019

Update: AB 1366 will be heard in the senate energy, utilities and communications the week after next (h/t to Adam Bender at Communications Daily for the heads up).

Assembly bill 1366 will block modernisation of California’s telecommunications grid and allow telephone and cable companies “to disregard California laws”, according to a position paper unanimously adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission yesterday. The commission’s opposition comes ahead of a California senate hearing on the bill scheduled for the week after next.… More