cpuc

PG&E utility poles and power lines blamed for four California wildfires

26 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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PG&E utility poles and power lines blamed for four California wildfires

Four northern California wildfires were “were caused by trees coming into contact with power lines” belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire). It’s the first batch of reports to pinpoint the causes of what Cal Fire calls the “October Fire Siege” in 2017. In three of those incidents, Cal Fire found evidence that a law requiring electric utility to keep trees trimmed was “allegedly” violated, and in one of those cases directly calls out PG&E as the culprit.… More

CPUC won’t release evidence given to state, federal criminal investigators

23 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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No perp walk for Peevey. Yet.

The California Public Utilities Commission wants to hold onto documents it delivered to state and federal investigators looking into possible illegal backroom dealings between former commission president Michael Peevey, a former Pacific Gas and Electric company lobbyist and, potentially, others. That’s the gist of a draft decision released yesterday that would, if approved by the commission next month, reject a public records disclosure request from a San Diego trial lawyer.… More

CPUC offers plan to increase Internet use in communities that need it most

21 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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Disadvantaged communities are first in line for broadband education, marketing and access grants subsidised by the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in a draft plan to implement a new “adoption” program run by the California Public Utilities Commission. The proposed decision, by commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves, also tweaks existing subsidies for broadband service and promotion in public housing communities and winds down a defunct infrastructure loan program.

Two kinds of adoption projects will be funded: digital literacy – i.e.… More

CPUC posts proposed new rules for Internet adoption, public housing broadband grants

18 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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This morning, commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves released a draft plan for giving out grants to broadband adoption programs, revising an existing grant program that pays for broadband facilities in California’ public housing communities, and winding down a defunct broadband infrastructure loan account. You can read it here:

Proposed decision by commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves, implementing CASF broadband adoption program and modifying the CASF public housing broadband and infrastructure loan programs, 18 May 2018

You can find the background documents here.… More

California’s telecom right of way rules are detailed but not tidy

9 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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I was asked yesterday about California’s public right of way (ROW) rules, as they apply to telecoms companies. There’s no one stop handbook that I know of (but if anyone else does, please chime in). The rules are fluid, and are mostly determined by CPUC decisions, with some court rulings thrown in.

In California, it starts with section 7901 of the public utilities code…

Telegraph or telephone corporations may construct lines of telegraph or telephone lines along and upon any public road or highway, along or across any of the waters or lands within this State, and may erect poles, posts, piers, or abutments for supporting the insulators, wires, and other necessary fixtures of their lines, in such manner and at such points as not to incommode the public use of the road or highway or interrupt the navigation of the waters.

… More

Charter’s franchise “should be revoked”, New York state says

6 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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Charter Communications is one step closer to losing its license to operate in New York City, if not New York state as a whole. Earlier this year, the state of New York’s Public Service Commission – its equivalent to the California Public Utilities Commission – slapped a $1 million fine on Charter and said it would “investigate Charter’s compliance with its New York City franchise agreements”.

That investigation seems to have led to legal action.… More

California opens up utility poles to mobile infrastructure companies

4 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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It’s a small change, but one that might speed up mobile broadband deployment in California. Wireline telephone companies can now install pretty much any kind of wireless equipment on utility poles, thanks to a decision by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The primary beneficiary will be mobile infrastructure companies – Crown Castle, Wave, Extenet for example – that build cell sites, large and small, and operate them for licensed mobile carriers, such as AT&T, Verizon and whatever T-Mobile and Sprint eventually become.… More

CPUC considers FTTH upgrade subsidy for Marin County town

3 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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Bolinas, a coastal community of about 700 homes in Marin County, is up for a $1.9 million broadband infrastructure subsidy from the California Public Utilities Commission next week. It’s the first grant proposal submitted to, and considered by, the CPUC since assembly bill 1665 was signed into law last year by governor Jerry Brown.

AB 1665 imposed severe restrictions on how money from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) can be spent. It lowered California’s minimum broadband standard to 6 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload speeds – if service is available at that level, then the legislature reckons no upgrade is needed.… More

Pay top dollar for low speed broadband, CPUC told

2 May 2018 by Steve Blum
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The counter punches landed at the California Public Utilities Commission yesterday, as nine organisations filed rebuttals to previous comments about how the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) should be run. The broadband infrastructure subsidy program is undergoing a complete make over, thanks to last year’s assembly bill 1665, which lowered California’s minimum broadband speed standard and turned the fund into a piggy bank for AT&T and Frontier Communications.

The Central Coast Broadband Consortium’s reply, which I drafted and submitted, led off with a correction – I got the math wrong on service level weightings.… More

Big incumbents tell CPUC to tilt California broadband subsidies in their favor

22 April 2018 by Steve Blum
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Four Internet service providers, all of whom have participated at one time or another in the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) infrastructure subsidy program, offered their ideas on how that money should be managed and allocated. So did a lobbying front representing cable companies – including Charter Communications, Comcast and Cox Communications – which have never participated. The big boys – AT&T, Frontier Communications and the cable industry – want grants on their own terms, while blocking competitors that might threaten their monopoly business models.… More