cpuc – Page 18 – Steve Blum's Blog

T-Mobile’s California boomerang hits home, Sprint merger decision delayed for months

28 August 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, DISH, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

Another round of brilliant lawyering by T-Mobile’s crack legal team has pushed back approval (or not) of its acquisition of Sprint by the California Public Utilities Commission until late this year or, maybe, sometime in 2020. Yesterday, CPUC administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer ruled that the settlement T-Mobile, Sprint and DISH reached with the federal justice department should, as requested, be considered during California’s regulatory review of the merger. But not, as T-Mobile oddly argued, with blind faith in the wisdom of the Trump administration’s anti-trust team.… More

T-Mobile’s California boomerang hits home, Sprint merger decision delayed for months

28 August 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, DISH, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

Another round of brilliant lawyering by T-Mobile’s ace legal team has pushed back approval (or not) of its acquisition of Sprint by the California Public Utilities Commission until late this year or, maybe, sometime in 2020. Yesterday, CPUC administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer ruled that the settlement T-Mobile, Sprint and DISH reached with the federal justice department should, as requested, be considered during California’s regulatory review of the merger. But not, as T-Mobile oddly argued, with blind faith in the wisdom of the Trump administration’s anti-trust team.… More

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

27 August 2019 by Steve Blum
ab1366, broadband, cpuc, SB1161, voip

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
broadband, cpuc, monopoly, public policy, utility regulation

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

T-Mobile tries to catch its California boomerang, with the usual result

23 August 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, DISH, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

T-Mobile filed its reply yesterday to critics who don’t want the California Public Utilities Commission to blindly accept the wonderfulness of the deal it reached with anti-trust enforcers at the federal justice department, as it tries to complete its acquisition of Sprint. The CPUC should behold the glory of that settlement, T-Mobile’s lawyers argued, because it’s irrelevant.

Huh, you ask?

Yeah, it’s bizarre logic but it makes sense in a twisted sort of way.… More

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

21 August 2019 by Steve Blum
broadband, cpuc, monopoly, public policy, utility regulation

“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

CPUC orders a do-over on PG&E–Crown Castle pole dispute decision

19 August 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

A California Public Utilities Commission decision giving Crown Castle the right to work on Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s utility poles without permission, including attaching cables if PG&E doesn’t respond to requests for permission within a set time limit, was reversed on Thursday. Commissioners voted unanimously to send it back to the administrative law judge (ALJ) that originally heard it.

That doesn’t mean the substance of the decision will change, though.

PG&E based its request for a do-over on procedural grounds, claiming the CPUC didn’t follow its own rules for posting a proposed decision and giving the public – including particularly PG&E – the right to offer comments before a vote.… More

Picker ends his term as CPUC president

16 August 2019 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, public policy

Yesterday was Michael Picker’s last meeting as president of the California Public Utilities Commission. He stepped down at the request of California governor Gavin Newsom, who named Marybel Batjer, his strike team leader, to head the commission. She’ll be able to assume the job while the state senate decides whether to confirm her appointment.

Picker leaves behind positive accomplishments. He took over from Michael Peevey, who was under criminal investigation for backroom dealings. The switch from Peevey’s big man on campus persona to Picker’s soporific style was effective in dampening much of the heated criticism of the CPUC at the time.… More

California telco deregulation bill amended, but not by much

15 August 2019 by Steve Blum
ab1366, broadband, cpuc, SB1161, voip

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

State opposition to T-Mobile Sprint deal grows, as FCC is asked to close the case

14 August 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, fcc, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

The wrangling over T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint continues at the state level, even while the companies try to seal the deal with the Federal Communications Commission, on the basis of a settlement reached with the federal justice department.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s review of the merger will continue into Fall. Yesterday was the deadline for publishing a proposed decision – not that one was expected – to make it on the commission’s 12 September 2019 meeting agenda.… More