public policy – Page 12 – Steve Blum's Blog

Game on today, as cities take on FCC in court over pole ownership preemption

10 February 2020 by Steve Blum
ab57, fcc, pole attachment, public policy, small cells

Local ownership of street light poles and other facilities planted in the public right of way is at stake, as lawyers for dozens of cities and counties and the Federal Communications Commission square off in a Pasadena court room later this morning.

A panel of three federal appellate court judges will hear arguments about why, or why not, the FCC has the authority to tell local agencies how much they can charge mobile carriers to attach equipment to their poles, and to largely replace negotiated rental contracts with simple, non-discretionary permits.… More

SB 917 is a plausible PG&E public buyout plan, if the public wants to pay the price

6 February 2020 by Steve Blum
PGE, public policy, sb917

A credible PG&E public takeover plan is on the table in the California legislature. Senator Scott Wiener (D – San Francisco) introduced senate bill 917 on Monday. It’s a detailed guide to acquiring PG&E’s electric and gas business, including financing and operating plans and responsibilities.

Wiener wants to create a massive utility district that encompasses all of PG&E’s vast northern California territory. It would own most or all PG&E’s infrastructure and business, after it’s been acquired via an eminent domain process – the state would use its sovereign authority to take over ownership, with the compensation paid to the company likely determined by a court.… More

Second round of RUS broadband subsidies opens, as California waits for something – anything – from the first round

3 February 2020 by Steve Blum
farm bill, public policy, rural broadband, RUS, usda

Correction: The yellow blobs on the map above are not pending ReConnect grants, they are pending rural telco applications, which are also administered by RUS. So California is still a great big zero for ReConnect grants and/or loans. Thank you to a Gentle Reader for gently pointing that out. The text below has been updated accordingly.

The federal agriculture department’s Rural Utilities Service began accepting applications on Friday for $600 million in broadband infrastructure subsidies, via its ReConnect program.… More

Internet magic means phone calls aren’t phone calls, AT&T tells CPUC

27 January 2020 by Steve Blum
att, cpuc, netneutrality, public policy, voip

We’re all mad here.

On Thursday in San Francisco, AT&T defended itself against charges that it’s in contempt of California Public Utilities Commission orders and that it broke CPUC rules and state law. AT&T is admitting that California law no longer bars the CPUC from regulating Internet protocol enabled service such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), but doesn’t appear to be giving up the fight. Instead, it’s falling back to a second line of defence that was thoughtfully provided by the Federal Communications Commission.… More

Pai offers net neutrality rules custom made for AT&T’s, Comcast’s business models

16 January 2020 by Steve Blum
broadband, ces2020, fcc, netneutrality, public policy

Ajit Pai’s three-year delayed debut at CES as Federal Communications Commission chair last week was a friendly, and at times lighthearted, conversation with Gary Shapiro, the CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which produces the show. Pai used the opportunity to float what he seems to thinks are consensus network neutrality rules. What he’s really proposing is to cement major ISPs and mobile carriers’ monopoly model business plans into federal law.

Shapiro led off by asking Pai about the FCC’s decision to scrap network neutrality rules two years ago.… More

Newsom’s broadband budget language doesn’t translate to infrastructure

13 January 2020 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, gavin newsom, infrastructure, public policy

Broadband references are sprinkled into California governor Gavin Newsom’s state budget proposal but, taken at face value, he’s focused on shifting money from hard capital infrastructure projects to soft programs and annual operating budgets.

Although tagged as an infrastructure investment in Newsom’s budget summary, his “Broadband for All” initiative is about operations, comprising four elements: mapping, education spending, “optimising” existing resources and “prioritising connectivity across executive actions and policies”.

The California Public Utilities Commission already has a fine mapping program, which Newsom wisely intends to expand.… More

California’s consumer privacy law is a call to action for federal regulators

9 January 2020 by Steve Blum
ab375, ces2020, ftc, privacy, public policy

Federal Trade Commission chair Joseph Simons was on the undercard for Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro’s “fireside chats” with federal policymakers at CES in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Warming up the audience ahead of Federal Communications Commission chair Ajit Pai’s long awaited CES debut, he urged congress to give his agency the U.S. privacy cop job that California now holds by default. The FTC is already pursuing privacy enforcement actions under existing law “because the big tech platforms are becoming so consequential to our lives and so large”, Simon said.… More

FCC promises more of the “P-word” – preemption – in 2020

8 January 2020 by Steve Blum
ces2020, fcc, pole attachment, public policy, small cells

Due to the nature of the program, you’re going to have to go through metal detectors.
CTA staffer to long queue waiting to see Ajit Pai.

Ajit Pai made his first appearance at CES as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, sitting down for a talk about the coming year with Gary Shapiro, the CEO of the show’s organiser, the Consumer Technology Association. Much of the conversation was about 5G infrastructure, and the public policy that surrounds it.… More

AT&T faces contempt hearing as CPUC defines VoIP regulatory role

3 January 2020 by Steve Blum
ab1366, att, cpuc, public policy, voip

The first shot in what could be the defining regulatory battle over broadband in California was fired in the closing days of December by the California Public Utilities Commission. An administrative law judge (ALJ) ordered AT&T…

To show cause, if any, why [AT&T] should not be:

Found in contempt of [a 2019 CPUC decision regarding disaster preparedness].

Found in violation of the Public Utilities Code and [a CPUC rule requiring telcos to file price/service terms (aka tariffs)].

… More

Privacy is now a Made in California product

2 January 2020 by Steve Blum
ab375, becerra, ccpa, privacy, public policy

California’s data privacy law took effect yesterday, although formal regulations and active enforcement by the attorney general’s office don’t kick in until July. Even so, the AG plans to respond to complaints and monitor compliance with the bits of the law that do have teeth now. Until – unless – congress does something, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is the national standard.

If you want confirmation, just look in your email inbox. If it’s anything like mine, it’s full of CCPA notifications.… More