cpuc – Page 86 – Steve Blum's Blog

Broadband priority workshop for California's central coast goes online

17 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, civinomics, cpuc, monterey, public policy, san benito, santa cruz

Click to join the discussion.

There’s not enough money on the table right now to build all the broadband infrastructure that California needs. The California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) was topped up last year by the state legislature, but even so choices have to be made. The California Public Utilities Commission has asked the regional broadband consortia that it’s funding to weigh in on how and where to set priorities.

One such is the Central Coast Broadband Consortium, which covers Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties.… More

Horror abounds as CPUC considers streamlining public housing grants

16 February 2014 by Steve Blum
ab1299, broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy

The terror of a legal haircut.

Another month has been added to the timeline for accepting grant applications for broadband facilities and marketing programs in public housing projects, as the California Public Utilities Commission wrestles with how to set up and run the program, which was created by the legislature last year. And if the commission’s office of ratepayer advocates has its way, the process will take even longer.

The ORA critiques what commissioners and the rest of the CPUC staff propose to do – after all, you can’t just leave the job up to the multitude of public advocacy groups that the commission also pays to offer advice – and it has weighed in on a proposed plan for making a plan to propose rules for the public housing subsidy program.… More

Two last mile projects line up for California coastal fiber proposal

11 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, ccbc, cpuc, public policy, regional consortia, sunesys, surfnet

When you’re hanging fiber, it’s easy to drop a strand or two to homes along the way.

The first two – of what is hoped to be many – last mile projects that rely on a proposed middle mile link from Santa Cruz to Soledad are now in front of the California Public Utilities Commission. Draft resolutions were published today that set the stage for the approval of a total of $343,000 in grants and loans from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to partially pay for building the infrastructure needed to deliver 100 Mbps broadband service to homes in two underserved communities in northern Monterey County, at the mouth of the Salinas Valley.… More

Dark fiber for California's Salinas Valley needs CPUC help

10 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, ccbc, cpuc, public policy, regional consortia, sunesys

Proposed project gives Castroville, Chualar, Gonzales and Soledad a path to Silicon Valley connections. (Click for larger version).

A 91-mile fiber optic backbone project on California’s central coast is under consideration by the California Public Utilities Commission, which will have to decide whether or not to increase the limit it previously set for broadband construction subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).

Proposed by Sunesys, LLC, the project would connect unserved and underserved communities in the Salinas Valley with affordable dark fiber links to lower cost, higher speed Internet bandwidth in Silicon Valley.… More

CPUC hikes surcharge to fill broadband subsidy fund faster

9 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy

Pennies add up.

Half a percent would be added to phone bills to top up the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), if a proposal now under review is approved. Last year, the state legislature gave the California Public Utilities Commission permission to collect an additional $90 million for CASF by extending a tax on landline and Internet telephone service through 2020. It’s up to the commission to determine how much that surcharge will be, within limits set by the legislature.… More

CPUC delays expanding broadband subsidy eligibility

5 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, golden bear, public policy

Picker takes a seat.

The California Public Utilities Commission put off consideration of new rules governing the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) today. The vote on how to expand eligibility for CASF grants and loans was put off until 27 February 2014. No reason was given for the delay, but it’s likely due – at least in part – to comments filed last week by The Utility Reform Network (TURN) that proposed allowing more flexible requirements for local governments that might want to apply for broadband construction subsidies.… More

CPUC urged to recognise differences between public agencies and private companies

29 January 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, public policy, TURN

Treat munis like munis.

A consumer advocacy group – The Utility Reform Network (TURN) – wants the California Public Utilities Commission to be more flexible in evaluating broadband subsidy proposals submitted by local governments. The comments came in response to proposed new rules that open up the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to organisations other than traditional telephone companies.

As the proposed rules now stand, cities (and other local agencies) would have to meet the same financial requirements as private companies (at least those that aren’t traditional telephone companies).… More

CPUC needs a smart and aggressive cat

26 January 2014 by Steve Blum
california legislature, cpuc, mark ferron, public policy, utility regulation

Telling it like it is.

Mark Ferron, a commissioner on the California Public Utilities Commission, recently – and abruptly – announced he was resigning. What had been a very private battle with prostate cancer took a turn for the worse, and he stepped down in order to focus his energy on his health and family. His resignation message is worth reading for his insight on prostate cancer alone. But Ferron also leaves his fellow commissioners with some pointed advice on winning the – also heretofore private – struggle he sees to maintain relevance.… More

Public housing broadband subsidies raise hard questions for CPUC

23 January 2014 by Steve Blum
ab1299, broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, public housing, public policy

Cable comes knocking.

The California Public Utilities Commission is trying to untangle the can of worms created by the state legislature last year, when it passed assembly bill 1299, which sets up broadband subsidy programs for public housing projects. It was part of the package that added $90 million to the California Advanced Services Fund and extended eligibility for infrastructure grants and loans.

A ruling issued by commission president Michael Peevey last week contains a long list of questions – 39, in fact – that need answering before the CPUC can spend $20 million on broadband facilities in public housing projects and $5 million to market service to residents.… More

Private sector rules applied to municipal broadband subsidies in California

22 January 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, municipal broadband, public policy, sb740

An entity that is not a telephone corporation.

Local governments will have to meet the same requirements as independent, private sector Internet service providers in order to qualify for broadband infrastructure subsidies from the California Public Utilities Commission. That’s the implication of a ruling issued by CPUC president Michael Peevey last week. Those requirements could include performance bonds and penalties for failing to meet conditions the commission might put on subsidised projects or for not complying with its regulations.… More