cpuc

Delay for open access to utility poles by mobile carriers in California

3 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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New rules that would allow mobile broadband companies to install cells and other equipment on utility poles under more or less the same terms and with the same access rights as telephone and cable companies have been delayed until at least next month. The change in policy – essentially giving mobile companies open access to utility poles – was on the California Public Utilities Commission’s agenda this morning, but it was pulled and rescheduled for the 15 January 2016 meeting at the request of commissioner Catherine Sandoval.… More

CPUC approves Nevada County FTTH project

3 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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A $16 million fiber to the home grant from the California Advanced Services Fund was approved this morning by the California Public Utilities Commission. It was a 4 to 1 vote with CPUC president Michael Picker voting no. The Bright Fiber Nevada County Connected project still needs to pass environmental reviews. About $11 million in private financing also needs to be secured. Full disclosure: I worked on the Bright Fiber grant application.

Frontier's California takeover is on track for approval today

3 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Not a Californian look, but hey, it beats Verizon’s finger.

No glitches for Frontier’s purchase of Verizon’s wireline phone systems in California. At this point the deal appears headed for approval without discussion: it’s on the California Public Utilities Commission’s consent agenda for today’s meeting and no one has asked that it be bumped to later, or taken off the consent agenda and taken up as a discussion item. The CPUC is the last major hurdle for the deal.… More

No showstoppers for Frontier's purchase of Verizon's wireline network in California

2 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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But Verizon will have to clean up its mess first.

Frontier Communications’ proposed purchase of Verizon’s wireline telephone systems in California seems to be on track for approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, albeit with conditions. The draft decision approving the deal, written by CPUC administrative law judge Karl Bemesderfer, has gone through the standard public review cycle of comments and reply comments from the companies involved and other interested parties, particularly the CPUC’s office of ratepayer advocates (ORA) and various consumer and advocacy groups.… More

CPUC considers open access to poles for mobile carriers

1 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Mobile carriers use a lot of feet on poles, telephone and cable companies use a lot of poles.

Mobile carriers will get more or less the same access to utility poles as currently enjoyed by telephone and cable companies, if the California Public Utilities Commission approves a draft decision that’s scheduled to be on the table at its meeting on Thursday.

That would clear the way for the installation of small cellular access points on utility poles, making it easier for mobile carriers to greatly increase the coverage density of their networks, even down to the several-cells-per-city-block level that’s envisioned for 5G networks over the next five to ten years.… More

Broadband subsidies collide in the California desert

23 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Up, down, who cares? This is as fast as I go.

The 3,800 homes in the Anza area of Riverside County are a big step closer to getting fiber to the home broadband service from the local electric cooperative. The California Public Utilities Commission published a draft decision on Friday giving the Anza Electric Cooperative a $2.7 million grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to pay for 60% of the project.

The project is remarkable for two reasons.… More

Middle mile plan plugs northern California gap but needs open access guarantee

19 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Open access rules are only as strong as the weakest link.

Siskiyou Telephone Company is asking for a $5.8 million grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to plug a 22-mile fiber gap between the Siskiyou County towns of Happy Camp and Somes Bar. The middle mile project would boost broadband capacity in the region by providing the last link in a fiber chain that runs from Eureka on the coast to Yreka on the I-5 corridor, according to the publicly posted project summary.… More

Rural areas get biggest benefit from higher Californian broadband standard

17 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Another try at raising California’s minimum broadband standard to 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up, from the current 6 Mbps down/1.5 Mbps up level, is gathering momentum in Sacramento. Introduced earlier this year by Santa Cruz assemblyman Mark Stone, assembly bill 238 would have raised the bar both for eligibility requirements for California Advanced Service Fund (CASF) subsidies, and for the infrastructure that’s built using that money. It’s stalled now, due to unexpected opposition from rural interests as well as the usual suspects.… More

Broadband is on CPUC's short list for review of Charter deal

16 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Charter bundles broadband. Why shouldn’t the CPUC?

The cost and availability of broadband in California will be a key factor in determining whether Charter Communications is allowed to buy Time Warner’s and Bright House Networks’ cable systems. That was the decision on Friday by the president of the California Public Utilities Commission, Michael Picker, as he set out the criteria and the schedule for deciding if the transaction will be approved.

On the surface, it is a far less ambitious review than the CPUC undertook of the now dead Comcast mega-merger and market swap with Time Warner and Charter.… More

CPUC approval of Frontier-Verizon deal dodges broadband jurisdiction

11 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Many Californians say there’s no shame in being a Dodger. Or so I’ve been told.

The tentative CPUC ruling approving Frontier Communication’s purchase of Verizon’s wireline systems in California avoids claiming any authority to regulate broadband service. Instead, the proposed decision drafted by a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge relies on time-tested public interest criteria, plain old telephone regulatory powers and a set of private agreements between Frontier and a long list of advocacy groups.… More