casf – Page 39 – Steve Blum's Blog

California senate committee better prepped to consider bill raising broadband construction costs

16 June 2014 by Steve Blum
ab2272, broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy

A new barrier to better broadband in California?

There’s finally some push back to the idea that the cost of building ratepayer-subsidised broadband infrastructure should nearly double in California. An analysis prepared for the state senate’s energy, communications and utilities committee lists two industry lobbying groups – CalTel and CalCom – and one company – Consolidated Communications, formerly SureWest – as opposing assembly bill 2272, which would bring all projects funded by the California Advanced Services Fund under what is euphemistically called the state’s prevailing wage law.… More

California wake up call is Verizon's headache

15 June 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy, verizon

Verizon’s objections to proposed changes for broadband infrastructure subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) would be forgivable coming from an east coast venture capitalist who woke up on Redondo Beach with a raging hangover and a contract stapled to his naked chest awarding him ownership of the local telephone system. But not from an incumbent telco that claims to be perpetually upgrading its network in California.

In a ranting letter, submitted as comments on a draft of new CASF rules last week, a Verizon staff lobbyist wrote…

The draft would require existing providers to submit a letter by September 26, 2014 that declares its intent to upgrade any area in all of California that is not served.

… More

Constructive ideas (mostly) offered for Californian broadband subsidy plan

14 June 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, broadband subsidy, casf, ccbc, cpuc, public policy

Except for a couple of not so veiled threats of legal action, the comments submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission regarding a new plan to re-start the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) program were generally positive, with few specific recommendations for changes. The nastiness came from the cable industry’s lobbyists in Sacramento – the California Cable and Telecommunications Association – and Verizon (more on that tomorrow).

Comments from other incumbent telephone companies – with the glaring exception of AT&T, which didn’t submit any – were more nuanced.… More

CPUC tells regional consortia to build broadband infrastructure

13 June 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, regional consortia

A foot of fiber is worth a mile of talk.

The California Public Utilities Commission has, again, made it clear that the top spending priority of the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) is better broadband infrastructure. In a unanimous decision yesterday, the CPUC blessed two new CASF-funded regional broadband consortia, in the process reaffirming that the program is about construction, not talk.

One, the North Bay North Coast Broadband Consortium (NBNCBC) will get a total of $250,000, split over 2 years, to work toward improving broadband infrastructure in Sonoma, Mendocino, Marin and Napa Counties.… More

California cable lobby to CPUC: we're in charge, not you

12 June 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, cable lobby, casf, cpuc, public policy

Lobbyists for the California cable industry want to rewrite broadband subsidy rules to give cable companies the right to say yea or nay to proposed infrastructure upgrade projects, instead of the California Public Utilities Commission.

That’s the gist of comments filed yesterday by the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, (CCTA) regarding new rules for the CASF broadband infrastructure subsidy program…

In order for the Commission to provide for a true right of first refusal specific to a project, the rules would necessarily provide the opportunity to the existing provider to demonstrate that it will, within a reasonable timeframe, upgrade existing service for a project area for which a grant has been sought.

… More

Good intentions shouldn't be good enough to preempt Californian broadband projects

11 June 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, ccbc, cpuc, public policy

Yeah. Right.

A proposal to start taking applications again for broadband infrastructure subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) is generating a healthy debate. Today was the deadline to submit opening comments to the California Public Utilities Commission on new draft rules and a schedule for CASF grant and loan applicants. The responses are still coming in, but so far the CPUC’s office of ratepayer advocates and one telephone company, Frontier, have submitted comments – more on them later – as have several regional broadband consortia.… More

Mono County homes line up for gigabit service

2 June 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, escrbc, ftth, gigabit, public policy, race telecommunications, suddenlink

Not well served. Yet.

Four small communities in southern Mono County could be getting gigabit class fiber to the home service by the end of 2015. The California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to consider a resolution to spend $4.7 million on an FTTH project for the Aspen Springs, Chalfant, Crowley Lake and Sunny Slopes areas at its 26 June 2014 meeting.
The project was proposed last year by Race Telecommunications, one of five the company submitted in the current round of applications to the California Advanced Services Fund.… More

Long shot for federal broadband grants in California

29 May 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy, RUS, usda

Federal broadband infrastructure grants are pretty thin. Earlier this year, congress approved $10 million a year for five years for rural gigabit pilot projects. The FCC is looking at putting money into rural broadband experiments, but isn’t saying how much. And the US department of agriculture’s rural utilities service – which usually just makes loans – has $13 million available now for “advanced communications technology in rural areas”, via its Community Connect grant program.… More

CPUC to incumbents: upgrade broadband by April or else

27 May 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy

New draft rules for governing the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) were released today by the California Public Utilities Commission. If approved, incumbent telephone and cable companies would be given a hard and short deadline to upgrade existing service areas, or face the prospect of competition from CASF-funded independents.

The CPUC is implementing a law passed last year by the California legislature that added $90 million to CASF and allowed independent Internet service providers and local governments to apply for grants and loans to build new broadband infrastructure, albeit under tight restrictions.… More

Bill hiking broadband construction costs approved by California assembly

27 May 2014 by Steve Blum
ab2272, broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy

The initial roll call, subject to revision.

Taking little more than a minute, the California assembly approved assembly bill 2272 this afternoon. The measure would add broadband infrastructure subsidised by the California Advanced Services Fund to the list of publicly funded projects that are subject to what are called “prevailing wage” requirements. That would mean that all work done – including work paid for by private matching funds – would be done according to union pay rates and rules.… More