public policy

California edges closer to full pole and conduit access for ISPs

8 May 2015 by Steve Blum
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In two separate, unanimous decisions yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission narrowed the privilege gap between pure Internet service providers and traditional telephone and cable companies, at least concerning access to utility poles, conduits and other facilities and right of ways.

In one decision, the CPUC handed Google Fiber a victory by ruling that a company that has a state franchise to deliver television service over any kind of cable or wire (but not wirelessly) is a “cable television corporation” under California law and can ask for equal access to utility poles…

A state-franchised that transmits television programs by cable to subscribers for a fee is a “cable television corporation” as defined by [California’s public utility laws].

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Gee, I guess customers really do want faster broadband says Frontier CEO


Click for a closer look at Frontier’s proposed footprint in California.

Internet service tiers above the Californian minimum of 6 Mbps download speeds are increasingly popular among customers served by Frontier Communications. That’s one of the nuggets from the company’s quarterly earnings report and conference call on Tuesday. New CEO Daniel McCarthy said that 44% of customers who signed up for either new or upgraded Internet service in the first three months of the year opted for higher speeds.… More

CPUC broadband oversight might yet rise out of the wreckage of the Comcast deal

6 May 2015 by Steve Blum
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The five members of the California Public Utilities Commission might get a chance to vote on the Comcast-Time Warner-Charter mega-merger after all. That deal is still dead, but opponents are pushing for a decision anyway. As I wrote last week, there is a pile of work that was done and some controversial policy that was put on the table, not least the assertion by some commissioners and staff that the CPUC has the authority to consider the impact of its decisions on California’s broadband infrastructure and service.… More

ISP lobbyists ask FCC not to enforce common carrier rules while under court review

5 May 2015 by Steve Blum
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We’re all on the same page.

Internet service providers – nearly all of them – want the Federal Communications Commission to put common carrier regulations on hold while a federal appeals court decides whether or not the new rules are legal. Five major lobbying fronts representing cable, telephone, mobile and fixed wireless companies, as well as AT&T and CenturyLink, say that enforcing common carrier rules during the review process would cause “irreparable harm” because the appeal is “likely to succeed on the merits”.… More

Cities side with FCC against state regulators in federal court

4 May 2015 by Steve Blum
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The battle lines are forming over the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to tell states that they can’t particularly restrict municipal broadband systems. They could ban them altogether, but once allowed, the FCC says that munis can’t be required to play by significantly different rules than private Internet service providers.

The State of Tennessee was the first to file an appeal, in the federal appellate court in Cincinnati, aka the Sixth Circuit. No one else filed elsewhere, and in fact the other primary party in the matter, the State of North Carolina, still seems to be weighing its options.… More

Tacoma gets a competing offer for its muni broadband system

3 May 2015 by Steve Blum
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Another company has joined the bidding to take over the City of Tacoma’s ageing cable TV and broadband system, aka Click. Rainier Connect, a local cable, telephone and broadband company, says it’ll more or less match the terms offered by Wave Broadband and add a sweetener for Tacoma Public Schools.

Tacoma’s muni system is losing $9 million a year, according to recent reports and will also need extensive upgrade work. Wave stepped in with a proposal to pay the city $2 million a year for 40 or more years, and also invest an additional $1.5 million annually in plant upgrades.… More

Congress and trolls: who's feeding whom?

Trolls and trial lawyers are gaining the upper hand in Washington, as congress once again considers a bill that was originally aimed at stopping abusive demand letters from legal bottom feeders. According to an article in Ars Technica, a house subcommittee watered down provisions that would have created penalties for trolls that keep sending reams of bogus patent infringement letters in the hopes that a few people and businesses will simply pay up, rather than fight…

For instance, the bill would only ban demand letters sent in “bad faith,” which will make enforcement actions harder.

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Business as usual so far for Frontier's proposed takeover of Verizon's Californian landlines


Round up the usual suspects.

The proposed takeover of Verizon’s wireline broadband, telephone and video systems in California by Frontier Communications hasn’t attracted an unusual amount of opposition yet. That’s not to say there’s no opposition, just that it’s mostly coming from the usual groups making the usual objections.

Three consumer advocacy groups – TURN, the Center for Accessible Technology and the Greenlining Institute – generally said the companies hadn’t provided enough information to the California Public Utilities Commission, which has to approve the deal.… More

Comcast deal started, but didn't finish, the job of defining the CPUC's broadband regulatory role

29 April 2015 by Steve Blum
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Reintroduce, reuse, recycle.

A lot of energy and angst was expended over the defunct Comcast – Time Warner – Charter mega-merger and market swap, much of it involving the California Public Utilities Commission’s review of the deal. With the abrupt end to the transaction, there’s nothing much left to do about it until the next dealmaker comes along to pick up the pieces. But it wasn’t all wasted work.

The process set the CPUC on the path to overseeing broadband infrastructure, services and markets in California.… More

More trouble for Sierra Nevada broadband grant proposals

28 April 2015 by Steve Blum
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Click and see for yourself.

Another challenge has been filed against the applications submitted by Cal.net for broadband infrastructure grants from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). Conifer Communications – another wireless Internet service provider in the Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin Valley – served notice yesterday that it objected, at least in part, to Cal.net’s plans to serve Calaveras, Tuolumne and Mariposa counties. It’s the second formal objection to the projects made public; a group of rural telcos filed the first last week.… More