cpuc

T-Mobile rejects Californian conditions on Sprint deal, tells CPUC it has “no jurisdiction”

28 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Tmobile san francisco 18may2019

T-Mobile has chosen the path of regulatory defiance in California. It passed on yesterday’s deadline for challenging the California Public Utilities Commission’s decision to impose tough conditions on its acquisition of Sprint. That doesn’t mean it’s staying silent or that the matter is closed. Quite the contrary. T-Mobile responded to a procedural challenge from opponents of the deal with sharp words, and set itself up for a fight at the CPUC and in state and federal courts that will continue for years to come.… More

California broadband infrastructure grant requests total $533 million as challenge period opens

21 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Two more broadband project proposals surfaced as the California Public Utilities Commission posted the official list of applications for grants from the California Advanced Services Fund. One is for what appears to be a neighborhood fiber to the premise (FTTP) system in Nevada County, the other is an FTTP project that covers the same Placer County area that Charter Communications proposed for a hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) build.

The total now stands at 54 projects asking for a total of $533 million, about twice what’s available in the CASF kitty now.… More

CPUC asks FCC to ignore attempts to block broadband subsidies for a million Californians

19 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Digital path april 2020 rdof challenges

Internet service providers are trying to fence off their turf from competitors who might bring faster, and maybe even cheaper, broadband service to rural communities in California, and across the U.S. They challenged the Federal Communications Commission’s preliminary list of census blocks that are eligible for subsidies from the new Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which is scheduled to award $16 billion in broadband subsidies via a reverse auction in October.

An article by Joan Engebretson in Telecompetitor gives a good overview.… More

AT&T blasts loopholes as it tries to escape $3.75 million fine in California

13 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

As expected, AT&T appealed a 3.75 million fine levied by a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge for “wilful disregard” of its public safety obligations. The penalty followed months of wrangling with CPUC staff over what kind of information AT&T is required to provide about services, such as 911 emergency calls, that ride on voice over Internet protocol technology (VoIP).

AT&T’s appeal dives headfirst into the minutia of how 911 service is provided now, and how it will be provided once it’s completely switched over from legacy plain old telephone service (POTS) to modern digital technology.… More

Wide swing on costs for California broadband subsidy proposals, for fiber and copper

12 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Swing dance

Of the 52 applications for broadband infrastructure grants from the California Advanced Services Fund, 23 are for fiber to the premise (FTTP) builds of one kind or another, 16 are hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) projects, all submitted by Charter Communications, and 13 would be for fixed wireless facilities.

The least expensive proposals are, naturally enough, fixed wireless projects, most of which are in the $1,500 per home range. It’s probably no coincidence that the California Public Utility Commission’s benchmark price for wireless subsidies is also $1,500 per home.… More

Charter, Comcast two months free offers are cash bonanzas, not charity

11 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Printing money us treasury image

The covid–19 emergency is turning into a windfall for broadband companies, particularly Comcast and Charter Communications. As lockdowns came into effect in mid-March, people turned to broadband to stay connected, and for many that meant subscribing to service for the first time. It also meant running the gauntlet of high pressure sales pitches that steered many away from low cost standalone Internet deals and into expensive video packages that start billing immediately.

In its first quarter financial report, Comcast said it gained 509,000 new broadband subscribers between January and March, including 32,000 who signed up for the $10 per month standalone Internet service that the company offers to low income households, and that currently carries a first two months free promotion.… More

T-Mobile/Sprint deal opponents ask CPUC for a California do over, while T-Mobile sits it out for now

8 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

The wrangling over T-Mobile’s take over of Sprint continues in California. Yesterday, three organisations that stood against the merger during the nearly two years that it was under review asked the California Public Utilities Commission to reconsider its 16 April 2020 approval. But T-Mobile didn’t.

The CPUC’s public advocates office, TURN (lately standing for The Utility Reform Network) and the Greenlining Institute filed a joint application for rehearing that rehashes the arguments and evidence they previously offered in their failed bid to kill the transaction.… More

CPUC votes today on what should be its open access middle mile fiber policy

7 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Krrbi update 3may2019

The last remaining broadband infrastructure subsidy proposal from 2019 is scheduled to be decided this morning by the California Public Utilities Commission. The resolution that’s on today’s CPUC consent agenda reaffirms one important precedent regarding subsidised middle mile fiber projects, and establishes another.

The plan is to add $11 million from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to the $6.6 million approved in 2013 for the Klamath River Rural Broadband Initiative’s (KRRBI) hybrid fiber middle mile/wireless last mile broadband system that’ll serve Karuk and Yurok tribal lands in Humboldt County.… More

Total California broadband grant ask grows to $528 million, twice what’s available

6 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Sick piggy bank

The number of broadband infrastructure projects proposed for California Advanced Services Fund subsidies more than doubled on Tuesday, as two Internet service providers – Charter Communications and Digital Path – distributed summaries of the grant applications they submitted on Monday. The total, though, didn’t increase nearly as dramatically.

The count now stands at 52 project proposals totalling $528 million, up from 25 projects at $506 million. That’s against something like $300 million or less in the CASF broadband infrastructure account.… More

California broadband subsidy requests break the bank at more than half a gigabuck

5 May 2020 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Butch cassidy explosion

Update, 5 May 2020 08:43: Charter Communications dropped 16 grant applications totalling $17 million in the wee hours of the morning. I’ve updated the table, links and totals below accordingly. Stand by, there might be more to come.

At least 41 broadband infrastructure grant proposals totalling more than half a billion dollars landed at the California Public Utilities Commission yesterday. I say at least because public notifications don’t always get out immediately. There might be more once the dust settles.… More