public policy – Page 10 – Steve Blum's Blog

Frontier tells CPUC to rubberstamp bankruptcy deal because you’ll never know the difference

1 June 2020 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, frontiercommunications, public policy, rural broadband

Why don’t you go home to your wife? I’ll tell you what, I’ll go home to your wife, and outside of the improvement she’ll never know the difference.

Groucho Marx as professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff in Horse Feathers.

Frontier Communications doesn’t want the California Public Utilities Commission messing about with the bankruptcy settlement that’s churning through a federal court in New York. So it’s asking the CPUC for fast and uncritical approval of a transfer of ownership to the banks and other lenders that will try to recoup what they can of the $11 billion in bad debt that’s being washed away.… More

It became necessary to govern free speech to save it

29 May 2020 by Steve Blum
fcc, liberty, netneutrality, public policy

“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it”.

Unidentified U.S. army major to Associated Press reporter Peter Arnett, Bến Tre, Republic of South Vietnam, 7 February 1968.

The freedom to express and debate ideas is the foundation for all of our rights as a free people…It is the policy of the United States to foster clear ground rules promoting free and open debate on the internet. Prominent among the ground rules governing that debate is the immunity from liability created by section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act.

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Fiber for all broadband subsidy bill approved by California senate committee

27 May 2020 by Steve Blum
ab1665, casf, public policy, rural broadband, sb1130

Future proof, fiber-based broadband infrastructure got a big boost yesterday as the California senate’s energy, utilities and communications committee voted to approve senate bill 1130. The bill would raise California’s minimum broadband standard to symmetrical 25 Mbps download and upload speeds, and require projects subsidised with money from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to be capable of delivering symmetrical 100 Mbps down/100 Mbps up speeds.

As is common, changes were made on the fly and the exact language is still to be determined.… More

Modern, future proof broadband gets a hearing in the California senate today, with public call in comments allowed

26 May 2020 by Steve Blum
ab1665, casf, public policy, rural broadband, sb1130

A faster and modern broadband speed standard for California is scheduled for its first hearing at the state capitol this afternoon. Senate bill 1130 by Lena Gonzalez (D – Los Angeles) is set for a vote by the California senate’s energy, utilities and communications committee.

The hearing will be conducted partly in person, in the cavernous senate chamber, and partly online. One beneficial side effect of the covid–19 emergency is that Californians can participate in the legislative process and make their views known remotely, without having to trek to Sacramento and fight their way through the squads of hired guns and corporate lobbyists that usually occupy the halls and hearing rooms of the capitol.… More

FCC draft ruling takes away more local control over wireless sites

20 May 2020 by Steve Blum
ab57, fcc, mobile broadband, public policy, wireless permitting

Pre-application requirements for some wireless facilities permits would be effectively banned by a draft ruling posted yesterday by the Federal Communications Commission. It would also expand limits on some antenna sizes and scale back concealment measures that some cities use to maintain aesthetic standards.

The draft declaratory ruling and notice of proposed rulemaking applies to some situations when mobile carriers and other wireless companies seek permission to add equipment to existing towers and the surrounding area.… More

Newsom’s budget revision hints at broadband policy change, adds money for mapping

18 May 2020 by Steve Blum
ab1665, casf, gavin newsom, public policy, sb1130

Although governor Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal has gloomy news for many publicly funded services and agencies in California, there’s a bright spot of sorts for broadband development. Newsom wants to spend an extra $2.8 million on broadband speed testing and mapping, via the California Public Utilities Commission’s CalSpeed program…

To identify which areas of the state lack sufficient access to broadband, the May Revision includes $2.8 million and 3 positions in additional resources…for the Commission to enhance its broadband mapping activities.

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

13 May 2020 by Steve Blum
att, cpuc, netneutrality, public policy, voip

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

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

7 May 2020 by Steve Blum
ab1665, casf, cpuc, karuk tribe, public policy

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

Wireless broadband systems and indoor networks get big boost as FCC opens up 6 GHz band for unlicensed use

24 April 2020 by Steve Blum
fcc, public policy, unlicensed spectrum, WiFi, wireless broadband

The Federal Communications Commissions released 1,200 MHz of spectrum across the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use yesterday. It’s a particular benefit for indoor network, which will be able to use the entire band. The decision puts some limits on unlicensed outdoor use, but even with restrictions it offers a valuable resource for increasing the capacity and sophistication of wide area wireless broadband networks.

The restrictions only allow outdoor use if it’s managed via an automated frequency coordination system, and then only in 850 MHz of the band.… More

California must take Frontier’s bankruptcy as seriously as PG&E’s

15 April 2020 by Steve Blum
casf, cpuc, frontiercommunications, public policy, rural broadband

Frontier Communications filed for bankruptcy protection last night. In a statement posted on its website, the company said it was washing away $11 billion in debt, out of a total of $22 billion owed to creditors, much of it the result of its purchase of Verizon’s legacy wireline telephone systems in California. The statement has the usual blah-blah-blah about its hope to “continue providing quality service”, but according to a story on Bloomberg by Allison McNeely, Frontier will “hand control to its unsecured creditors, according to people with knowledge of the matter”.… More