cpuc

As California burns, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile fight emergency obligations

25 August 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Woolsey fire crew 625

Mobile carriers beat back a legislative attempt to impose disaster readiness obligations on them last week, and challenged “resiliency” rules approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in July.

Senate bill 431, authored by Mike McGuire (D – Sonoma), died in the assembly appropriations committee last week. No reason was given, but the primary opposition came from the lobbying front organisation used by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, with cable industry lobbyists close behind. The bill would have directed the CPUC to require 72-hour power backup capability at cell sites, where feasible.… More

CPUC reaffirms T-Mobile/Sprint approval, but wrangling over California jobs continues

20 August 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Tmobile store la 23oct2019

The conditions imposed by the California Public Utilities Commission when it approved T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint will stand, at least for now. The CPUC decided earlier this month to reject a request to re-do its decision made by opponents of the deal. Tweaks were made to the April decision that approved the merger, but those amount to yes, we meant what we said.

Requests for rehearing are often made but rarely granted. It’s a procedural box that needs to be ticked before a CPUC decision can be challenged in court, either by T-Mobile or its opponents.… More

Broadband consortium facing false reporting, contempt charges skids into CPUC hearing

19 August 2020 by Steve Blum
, , ,

For more than five years, the California Public Utilities Commission has wrangled with a consortium of five Los Angeles community organisations over a $450,000 grant that was supposed to be used to produce particular broadband education programs. Three of those groups were exonerated in tentative settlements reached with CPUC enforcement staff. Another agreed to pay a fine. But the fifth – Community Union – is contesting accusations of, among other things, “false claims”, “false reports”, “inadequate and incomplete” record keeping, and “adamantly” refusing to provide documentation to CPUC staff and to auditors from the state controller’s office.… More

Cable companies can’t cherry pick “wealthy customers” but they can compete with rural telcos, CPUC decides

10 August 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Tesoro viejo construction 25aug2019

Cable companies and other “competitive local exchange carriers” (CLEC) will be able to offer telephone service in (mostly) rural areas of California formerly reserved for small, independent telephone companies. The California Public Utilities Commission voted on Thursday to open up rural local exchange carrier (RLEC) territories to wireline voice competition. There were no changes to the first draft of the new rules proposed by commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves last month.

That permission comes with much needed strings attached, Guzman Aceves said…

It’s a little of an ironic position for me knowing that many of the carriers that want to compete in these rural territories often are some of the major barriers of competition elsewhere.

… More

CPUC adds California money to federal broadband subsidy bids. If

7 August 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Cvin fiber marker sr49

Internet service providers might get California help to improve their chances at winning in the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction. Broadband infrastructure subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) could be added to their bids, per yesterday’s decision by the California Public Utilities Commission.

If.

If commission staff opens a second window for CASF grant applications quickly enough. If those proposals leverage RDOF money. And, particularly, if there’s any money left in the fund.… More

CPUC puts muni ownership option on the table, asks tough questions about Frontier’s bankruptcy plan

Frontier verizon pole santa barbara county 10oct2015

Frontier Communications didn’t get a bankruptcy fast pass from the California Public Utilities Commission. Instead, a ruling yesterday by commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves sets out a long list of issues that Frontier must address before its bankruptcy exit plan is approved by the CPUC, including its impact on customers and communities, and the role of local government in providing telecoms services.

A key question is whether the CPUC “should require that local or tribal governments have a right of first offer or a right of first refusal regarding any transfer or disposal of [Frontier’s] assets”.… More

Frontier says bankruptcy won’t change California service quality. CPUC must decide if that’s good news

Frontier Communications wants the California Public Utilities Commission to blindly bless its bankruptcy exit plan. Yesterday, it filed statements from two executives who argued that the financial restructuring and resulting change in ownership won’t have any effect on the more than two million Californians in its footprint.

“Service quality will at least be maintained”, Frontier’s head of lobbying and lawyering, Mark Nielsen said. That’s because “the restructuring will not alter Frontier’s day-to-day opertions”.

Yes, “opertions”.… More

Bringing 21st century broadband to rural California will change a 20th century business (and subsidy) model

24 July 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

One of the legacies of state and federal 20th century universal telephone service subsidy programs is an ecosystem of small, independent telephone companies, often owned by families that live in the isolated rural communities that they serve. A California Public Utilities Commission decision, proposed by commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves and due for a vote in August, would begin to allow modern competitors into that ecosystem.

These rural local exchange carriers (RLECs) – serve isolated communities and individual customers in often rugged and sparsely populated terrain that AT&T historically avoided.… More

Power out? No 911? California bill allows cable, telcos to say stick it

23 July 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Woolsey fire victim

Companies that provide voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and fixed wireless Internet service (WISPs) won’t, for the most part, have to keep their networks running during disasters, under a bill that was just amended in the California assembly. As now written, senate bill 431 generally confirms resiliency requirements – e.g. 72 hours of backup power and maintain access to “basic internet browsing for emergency notices” in high fire threat areas – imposed on mobile carriers by the California Public Utilities Commission this week, but draws the line there.… More

Frontier’s California outage complaint rate triple that of AT&T, electric companies

Cpuc complaints 15mar 13jun2020

Frontier Communication’s service outage problem is three times bigger than any other major California utility, judging by consumer complaints submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission during the covid–19 emergency. On a per customer basis the bankrupt telco’s wireline outage complaints were triple those of AT&T, and greater than Southern California Edison’s or Pacific Gas and Electric’s on an absolute basis, despite having fewer than half the number of customers as either of the two electric companies.… More