casf – Page 12 – Steve Blum's Blog

100 Mbps broadband means 0.2% to 0.3% lower unemployment, biggest impact in rural communities, study says

18 June 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, jobs, mbep, public policy, rural broadband

Faster and better broadband service means more jobs and lower unemployment. Rural communities benefit more from gaining access to high quality broadband service than urban and suburban areas. That’s the conclusion of a study by three researchers, Bento Lobo and Rafayet Alam at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s finance and economics department, and Brian Whitacre – at Oklahoma State University’s agricultural economics department.

They compared high speed broadband availability – defined as 100 Mbps download speed or better – to unemployment statistics in Tennessee between 2011 and 2015.… More

Shift California’s broadband subsidies from consumer upgrades to paying incumbents to serve public agencies, CPUC told

7 June 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, monopoly, rural broadband

There’s an idea on the table to make it even easier for big, monopoly model broadband service providers to tap into the taxpayer-funded telecoms piggybank created by the California legislature when it approved assembly bill 1665 a couple of years ago. AB 1665 rewrote the rules for the state’s primary broadband infrastructure subsidy program, the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).

The latest proposal to remake CASF surfaced at a panel discussion organised by the California Public Utilities Commission in Sacramento a couple of weeks ago.… More

AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Frontier, Digital Path challenge California broadband subsidy proposals

6 June 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, cruzio, frontiercommunications, public policy

Of the 13 new projects proposed for construction subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in May, only four are unchallenged: three proposed by Charter Communications in Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, and one proposed by a wireless Internet service provider in Sonoma County. The rest face objections from incumbent Internet services providers that want to protect their turf.

Ten challenges, plus a snarky letter from AT&T, were filed against broadband projects being reviewed for CASF grant eligibility by yesterday’s deadline.… More

Picker quitting as CPUC president, as soon as Newsom picks a replacement

3 June 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, public policy

Michael Picker will step down as president of the California Public Utilities Commission sometime in the coming weeks or months. He made the announcement at the end of last week’s CPUC meeting…

I’ve made comments, mostly joking, about retiring before I have to buy a new business suit, and more recently I’ve been thinking about retiring regardless of how shabby my clothing is. So you always can think of reasons of why you should stay and why you’re essential in the greater purpose of the organisation that you serve.

… More

Wireline broadband service “is essential”, CPUC told. Again

29 May 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, mobile broadband, public policy

The question of whether mobile broadband will replace wireline service reared its ignorant head again at a California Public Utilities Commission broadband discussion in Sacramento last week. Citing his wife’s preference for a mobile phone, CPUC president Michael Picker questioned the idea that “broadband to the home” is a good way of getting service to under and unserved communities, via the state’s primary broadband infrastructure subsidy program, the California Advanced Services Fund.

The panel’s best response came from Ana Maria Johnson, a program manager with the CPUC’s public advocates office.… More

California broadband subsidy proposals total $44 million as challenge period opens

16 May 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, karuk tribe, public policy, web perceptions

Two more proposals for California broadband construction subsidies were posted on the California Public Utilities Commission’s website yesterday, bringing the number of pending applications to 15, for a total of $44 million in grants requested from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). One project involves an upgrade to an existing wireless Internet service provider’s facilities near Petaluma, in Sonoma County. The other is a request for more money for a stalled middle mile project in Humboldt County.… More

Charter is first major cable company to apply for California broadband subsidies, but on its own terms

3 May 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, charter, cpuc, public policy

Four more broadband infrastructure grant proposals, filed by Charter Communications, surfaced yesterday. That brings the number of pending applications for California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) construction subsidies to 13, which total out to $27.6 million. Cruzio and Frontier Communications also submitted applications on Wednesday, and the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative filed last Saturday.

Charter is asking for $1.7 million to build out to the 467 homes in the four project areas. Per household costs range from a $1,500 to $14,000.… More

California broadband subsidy grants trickle in at the deadline

2 May 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, cruzio, frontiercommunications, public policy

There was no last minute rush yesterday as the window closed for California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) broadband infrastructure grant applications. Only two companies submitted a total of three project proposals. It’s possible that other applications were submitted but not publicly distributed as required, but for now three, plus five from Saturday, are what we have. I’ll take a deeper dive into all of them later, here’s the short version for now:

Frontier submitted two applications, an $11.8 million proposal to extend service to 146 homes in the Lassen and Modoc County communities of Alturas, Ravendale and Standish, and a $1.7 million proposal to reach 235 homes in and/or around Taft in Kern County.… More

Plumas and Lassen County broadband projects proposed for California subsidies

30 April 2019 by Steve Blum
ab1665, casf, cpuc, plumas sierra, public policy

Applications for broadband infrastructure subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) are due tomorrow, but the Plumas-Sierra Electric Co-op (PSEC) wasn’t in a mood to wait. It submitted five project proposals on Saturday, totalling $12 million in grant requests.

PSEC serves Plumas, Sierra and Lassen counties in northeastern California, and is one of three electrical service cooperatives in the state. It branched out into broadband service several years ago and has received both state and federal grants to build out its network.… More

AT&T, Comcast blamed for stonewalling burnt out Paradise residents, as CPUC approves broadband grant pilot

26 April 2019 by Steve Blum
att, casf, comcast, cpuc, public policy

The California Public Utilities Commission decided to be more generous with broadband construction subsidies for low income home owners and tenants yesterday, but also took aim at AT&T, Comcast and other big telecoms companies that refuse to take advantage of state broadband subsidies or cooperate with communities that need service. Commissioners voted to raise the proposed limit of $5,300 on line extension program grants to $9,300 per household, as they unanimously approved implementation plans for the $5 million pilot project, paid for by the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).… More