public policy – Page 160 – Steve Blum's Blog

Verizon's move to fiber a blessing for some Californians, but maybe a curse for others

20 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, dsl, ftth, public policy, regional consortia, verizon

Click for a bigger version, courtesy of the CPUC California broadband availability map.

Verizon says it’s invested more than $500 million in upgrading its broadband infrastructure in southern California and, in contrast to AT&T, it seems to be putting its money into wireline systems, particularly its FiOS fiber-to-the-home offerings. But the company is also making it clear that regulated copper plant belongs to past, and plans for replacing it with unregulated, fiber based Internet protocol service are moving ahead in California and elsewhere.… More

Tahoe broadband development initiative recommended for CPUC funding

18 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, gold country, lake tahoe, public policy, regional consortia

A new regional broadband consortia project is on the table for the Lake Tahoe basin, which straddles the California-Nevada border. The California Public Utilities Commission will be considering whether to spend $167,000 from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) on a proposal to carve out separate funding for broadband infrastructure planning and development around Tahoe.

The area is included within the Gold Country broadband consortium, funded by CASF two years ago along with 13 others.… More

Shasta County wireless broadband proposal goes to CPUC

17 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy, shasta county telecom, wireless

Click for a larger version.

A $2.2 million proposal for a wireless broadband and telephone system in the mountains of Shasta County will be going in front of the California Public Utilities Commission next month. Commissioners will be considering a draft resolution released earlier this week that would approve a grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to San Diego-based Shasta County Telecom. The plan is to build three new towers that would be positioned to reach about 1,400 homes.… More

Current CASF round pushes $42 million with 7 projects pending

16 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy

The California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) has been tapped for $41.7 million in grants and $127,000 in loans for 15 projects at this point in the current round of applications. That’s the total following last week’s approval of four projects by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Twelve last mile projects account for $23.4 million in grants. Two others – Klamath River and Cressman – combine last and middle mile facilities. One, Sunesys, is pure middle mile.… More

Comcast cash and lobbyists grab southern California beachhead

14 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, comcast, public policy, time-warner

Money to burn.

Comcast’s acquisition of Time-Warner continues forward, with little apparent notice of the focused but relatively small opposition it’s attracted. That’s thanks in large part to the army of lobbyists Comcast keeps on staff and on retainer to make its case at the local and state level. It’s now redeploying troops from its northern California stronghold to the south, where it would gain a controlling share of the market by adding the Time-Warner systems in the greater Los Angeles area.… More

CPUC awards first broadband infrastructure subsidy to an independent ISP

13 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, public policy, regional consortia, sunesys, surfnet

Two small Monterey County last mile projects are now proof of concept for both a key assumption and a major change for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).

Proposed by Surfnet Communications, Inc. and approved unanimously last week by the California Public Utilities Commission, the Monterey Dunes and Paradise Road projects validated the assumption that underpinned spending $10.6 million on a fiber link from Santa Cruz south through Monterey County to Soledad: that building middle mile links will lead to faster, cheaper and more reliable last mile service in underserved areas.… More

CPUC says a kiss for Cressman beats the alternative

11 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, ponderosa telephone, public policy

“Just so we understand, it screws five families”, said an animated Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission as he lambasted a move to slice $373,000 from a proposed Fresno County broadband project.

Ponderosa Telephone Company asked for a $1 million grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to build a fiber optic middle mile line to the mountain community of Cressman, use it to upgrade DSL service for 65 homes there, and then extend it two and a half miles to five more homes in Rush Creek.… More

CPUC connects Salinas Valley to Silicon Valley with fast, cheap fiber

10 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, ccb, cpuc, cruzio, gonzales, ponderosa telephone, public policy, salinas valley, silicon valley, sunesys, surfnet

A 91-mile fiber optic middle network for the Salinas Valley, stretching from Santa Cruz in the north, to Watsonville, Moss Landing, Castroville, Salinas, Gonzales and Soledad in the south, is on the way. On a unanimous vote this morning, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a $10.6 million grant to Sunesys, LLC from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).

“The key point for me was that typically that these projects only make a price commitment for two years”, said Commissioner Michel Florio.… More

Ponderosa takes trimmed broadband grant in the Sierra

9 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, cpuc, ponderosa telephone, public policy

While offering a token defence of its original request, the Ponderosa Telephone Company has effectively agreed to chop $373,000 from a $1 million proposal to build fiber middle mile connections and upgrade DSL service in the Sierra Nevada near Cressman in Fresno County. The company asked for a grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) for the project, but ran into opposition at the California Public Utilities Commission.

Commissioner Michel Florio put an alternative on the table, that would remove 5 homes – at a cost to CASF of $75,000 each – from the project and ask Ponderosa to come back with a more cost effective plan to serve them and their neighbors.… More

LA asks for gigabit fiber and free service, but keeps its crown jewel off the table

8 April 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, city of los angeles, community networks, ftth, gigabit, LA, ladpw, los angeles, public policy

Just the facts. Assets, not so much.

The City of Los Angeles has taken the next step in its quest to have gigabit class fiber optic service available to every home and business. An official request for information (RFI) has been released for the Los Angeles Community Broadband Network (LACBN), with a 30 June 2014 deadline for responses. It’s only a preliminary step towards formally requesting proposals for the project. It’s also optional – not responding won’t keep anyone out of the running when the time comes.… More