public policy

Fight over federal muni broadband bill highlights preemption’s dangers

25 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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Although republicans and democrats often agree that broadband service, particularly in rural areas, needs upgrading, they can’t seem to agree on what constitutes improvement. A hearing earlier this month in Washington D.C. brought this conceptual digital divide into focus.

Silicon Vally representative Anna Eschoo (D – Santa Clara) introduced a bill in January – house resolution 4818 – that would preempt state-level restrictions on municipal broadband. It was discussed – not formally considered, just discussed – during a general broadband hearing held by a house of representatives sub-committee on communications and technology.… More

SCE’s dark fiber future gets darker

24 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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Southern California Edison’s bid to get blanket approval of its dark fiber deal with Verizon from the California Public Utilities Commission continues to sink deeper into a quagmire. The CPUC commissioner in charge of the review wants to change the way SCE splits dark fiber revenue with its customers. The formula in effect for almost 20 years gives 10% of gross revenue back to ratepayers, but commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen thinks 50% is a better deal.… More

Judge ignored fundamental economics in approving AT&T, Time Warner deal, justice department says

22 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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The judge who unconditionally blessed AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner’s content companies “rejected fundamental principles of economics”, according to a motion filed by the federal justice department as it launched its appeal of that decision…

The “assumption” the court criticized was the fundamental economic principle, recognized in case law, that the merged firm would maximize its corporate-wide profits (rather than instruct Turner and DirecTV to operate independently at the expense of overall profits to the parent corporation).

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“Third world” corruption or judicial prudence? California supreme court ices Cal3 initiative

20 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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The plan to split California into three new states won’t be on the November ballot. The California supreme court put the Cal3 initiative on hold Wednesday, while it decides whether or not the proposition meets spec under the California constitution. Opponents claim it is a constitutional “revision”, which needs the concurrence of two-thirds of the California legislature, rather than an “amendment”, which can be put on the ballot by initiative alone.

Arguably, it’s neither. It substitutes a popular vote for the decision making authority of the legislature, as the initiative process is intended to do, and triggers a request to the U.S.… More

A Washington, DC republican gets net neutrality religion

18 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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Another network neutrality bill landed in Washington, D.C. on Monday. What’s interesting about this one is that its author is a republican and it would reinstate the core rules established by the Obama administration’s Federal Communications Commission in 2015, but overturned by the Trump administration’s team late last year. At the time, representative Mike Coffman (R – Colorado) urged the FCC to delay repealing net neutrality so federal lawmakers could make the decision instead. The FCC went ahead anyway, so Coffman finally offered his bill in reply.… More

Dig once is OK, dig never is not, FCC says

17 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission fired a shot across the bow of local governments last week, when it published a draft version of a “declaratory ruling” that, as the name implies, declares that moratoria that block broadband deployment violate federal law.

The ruling is primarily concerned with permits to build wireless facilities – cell sites, for the most part – and to install broadband infrastructure, such as conduit, in the public right of way. Some cities refuse to process permit applications for particular, broadband-related projects, the FCC draft says, either because they have formally decided not to – imposed a moratorium, in other words – or because they just sit on applications they don’t like and, in effect, create a de facto moratorium.… More

Frontier, CETF broadband adoption deal crashes and burns

16 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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A forced partnership between Frontier Communications and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) to enroll low income broadband users fell far short of its 200,000 household goal, gaining only 9,173 subscribers over its two and a half year lifespan. That number is one of the few things that Frontier and CETF agree on. Who’s to blame and what comes next are hotly disputed.

It’s uncertain how many of those households were enrolled by CETF. Frontier independently acquired some, if not most, of those new subs through its normal sales channels.… More

Not so fast, doc. Justice department appeals AT&T Time Warner decision

15 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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In a terse filing, the federal justice department gave notice last week that it is appealing a judge’s decision to allow AT&T to buy Time Warner’s content companies, with no strings attached.

The justice department didn’t outline a specific goal, but one possibility is that it wants AT&T to give up some of its new empire, perhaps Turner channels such as CNN. According to a story in Variety by Ted Johnson, it could turn out to be a risky maneuver…

Larry Downes, senior industry and innovation fellow at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy, said that the Justice Department’s appeal carries risks for the government.

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CPUC approves FTTH grants, but says Frontier needs skin in the game

13 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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Frontier Communications will get $2.7 million from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) for two fiber to the home projects. One is in the Imperial County towns of Desert Shores and Salton Sea Beach, and the other in Lytle Creek, in the mountains of San Bernardino County. The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved the subsidies at its meeting yesterday, and declined to add another $600,000 as demanded by Frontier.

At least for now.… More

CPUC votes today on Frontier’s California cash grab

12 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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Frontier Communications isn’t getting any sympathy yet from the California Public Utilities Commission. Commissioners are scheduled to vote this morning on grants for two southern California fiber to the home projects, in Lytle Creek, in the mountains of San Bernardino County, and Desert Shores and Salton Sea Beach in Imperial County. The subsidies would come from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).

You might think that Frontier would be happy with a gift of $2.7 million of taxpayer money, but it isn’t.… More