charter – Page 2 – Steve Blum's Blog

Mobile data tests count more than maps, as CPUC votes on broadband subsidies for northeastern California

5 December 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, charter, cpuc, cruzio, frontiercommunications

A sharp-eyed reader of this humble blog spotted a gap in my collection of comments on the draft resolutions up for a vote tomorrow. H/T to David Espinoza, the manager of the Upstate and Northeast California broadband consortia, who sent me Plumas-Sierra Electric Co-op’s (PSEC) response to both the draft resolutions for its five proposed projects in Plumas and Lassen counties and the objections raised by the CPUC’s public advocates office. Links are below.

Short version: mobile broadband tests showing zero coverage trumped map models; PSEC added a low-income service plan and CPUC staff recommended extra funding as a result.… More

California broadband subsidies set for CPUC vote, as Charter attempts last minute hit (but not on its own grants)

3 December 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, charter, cpuc, cruzio, frontiercommunications

As of last night, all 11 broadband infrastructure projects tentatively approved for subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) are slated for a final vote by the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday. Arguments for and against the projects and grant conditions as drafted have also been filed. Links to (I think) all of the comments are below.

Frontier Communications made pitches for full funding of their projects as proposed, which were seconded by the California Emerging Technology Fund.… More

Telephone and cable companies stonewalled California emergency officials during massive power outages

22 November 2019 by Steve Blum
att, charter, comcast, cpuc, psps

Mobile carriers generally cooperated with California emergency officials during the week long siege of public safety power shutoffs in October, while cable and telephone companies hid behind confidentiality claims. Paul Troxel, who heads the 911 program at the California office of emergency services, testified at a California Public Utilities Commission hearing on Wednesday and told commissioners that neither the state’s emergency operations center or local officials knew where access to 911 service and disaster information, such as evacuation orders, were unavailable…

Outage data was not reported by all providers.

… More

Meaningful answers and we’ll get back to you, as CPUC drills down on phone, broadband outages in emergencies

21 November 2019 by Steve Blum
att, charter, comcast, cpuc, psps

Telecoms company representatives – telco, cable and mobile – were grilled for three hours yesterday by CPUC commissioners about their ability to maintain communications capabilities during power outages and other emergencies. And their willingness to provide actionable, real time network status information to officials and the public.

The central issue is whether the California Public Utilities Commission should establish regulations for things like backup power, network resiliency and outage reporting, for voice, text and, perhaps, broadband service.… More

Telecoms companies to explain broadband, phone failures during California power cuts

20 November 2019 by Steve Blum
att, charter, comcast, cpuc, psps

With another Pacific Gas and Electric company power shut off looming later today, the California Public Utilities Commission is calling in telecommunications companies and demanding that they be prepared to explain their “responsiveness during the latest wildfires and public safety power shut offs to keep telecommunications services on”.

A hearing is scheduled for this morning in San Francisco, with “top officials” from California’s major telecoms companies directed to “publicly appear and publicly address their response during the latest wildfire events [and] public safety power shutoffs”.… More

CPUC queues up $24 million subsidy for 11 California broadband projects

4 November 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, charter, cpuc, cruzio, frontiercommunications

Eleven broadband infrastructure projects by four companies will be considered by the California Public Utilities Commission next month. Draft resolutions approving California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) subsidies for 11 out of the 13 grant proposals submitted in the May application window were posted on Thursday. The drafts are linked below.

Making the CPUC’s new six month deadline for processing applications is a major milestone for staff, and they deserve congratulations. In the past, reviews have sometimes dragged on for years, with endless and often meritless challenges allowed from marginal broadband providers who wanted to fence off service-poor communities.… More

Led by AT&T meltdown, big U.S. pay TV companies take a dive in second quarter

31 July 2019 by Steve Blum
att, charter, comcast, cord cutting, DISH

AT&T’s video businesses bled out in the second quarter of 2019, losing nearly a million net subscribers. Its two old school linear platforms, the DirecTv satellite service and the DSL-based Uverse service, hemorrhaged 778,000 subscribers while its DirecTv Now streaming platform took a 168,000 subscriber hit.

Actually, it’s the DirecTv Then platform – its new name, announced yesterday, is AT&T TV Now.

It’s a similar, if less gruesome, story for the other three major U.S.… More

Charter and the State New York settle on terms for an honest broadband buildout

16 July 2019 by Steve Blum
charter, cpuc, new york, public policy

Charter Communications won’t be thrown out of the State of New York. The Public Services Commission voted last week to accept a settlement that ends a dispute over whether Charter is meeting the obligations it accepted when its acquisition of Time Warner Cable systems was approved in 2016. It ends the threat that Charter could lose its franchise to operate cable systems in New York because, the commission said, Charter was “just lining its pockets”.

One of the points of contention was whether Charter could count addresses in New York City towards its commitment to build out broadband service to under and unserved communities.… More

Tahoe’s broadband speeds lag far behind California’s average

25 June 2019 by Steve Blum
att, broadband grades, charter, monopoly, tahoe

Broadband infrastructure in South Lake Tahoe, and the Tahoe basin in general, is poor. Based on the latest broadband availability information released by the California Public Utilities Commission, no city or unincorporated community around Lake Tahoe gets an infrastructure grade of better than F+.

In a presentation to the South Lake Tahoe city council, I discussed how the city ended up with an F on its broadband report card. The two primary wireline broadband providers are AT&T and Charter Communications, and their service reports clearly show that, as of 31 December 2017, neither had upgraded their facilities to the Californian average and were unable to deliver even a minimum acceptable speed level to consumers.… More

New York and Charter settle broadband buildout dispute, set 100 Mbps download standard

14 May 2019 by Steve Blum
charter, cpuc, new york, public policy

Charter Communications has a tentative deal with the State of New York’s Public Service Commission and its public service department to keep its cable franchises there. Last year, the NYPSC began the process of revoking Charter’s authorisation to operate in the state by unwinding its purchase of Time Warner cable systems, because the company wasn’t meeting broadband build out obligations imposed when the deal was approved in 2016. According to the commission, Charter was, among other sins, attempting to “skirt obligations to serve rural communities” and was “just lining its pockets”.… More