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Comcast tried to paint itself as a champion consumer choice, as its lawyers clashed with those representing Ponderosa Telephone at the California Public Utilities Commission last week. The question is whether Comcast should be allowed to compete as a telephone company against Ponderosa, which is a small, heavily subsidised rural telco. But the core issue is whether allowing wireline telephone competitors to target high revenue potential customers in rural telco service areas will lead to even greater taxpayer subsidies for less affluent and less densely populated communities that companies like Ponderosa are required to serve.… More

Comcast wants permission to offer phone service to a new Madera County development in Ponderosa Telephone’s territory. In a required public disclosure of a private meeting between a California Public Utilities Commission staffer and a lobbyist and a lawyer for Comcast, the company revealed that it is targeting Tesoro Viejo, a master planned community of 5,200 upscale homes on two and a half square miles of rural land in southern Madera County.

According to the filing, Comcast says that if it offers phone service in the development, it would create “additional consumer choice” but “would have limited effect on Ponderosa and its draw on [a rural telco subsidy] fund”.… More

Comcast says it’s striking a blow for telecoms competition, Ponderosa Telephone says no, it’s cherrypicking business customers at the expense of rural residents. At issue is Comcast’s request to expand the area in which it’s authorised to offer telephone service to include the service territory of Ponderosa Telephone Company, a small, incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) that serves parts of Fresno, Madera and San Bernardino counties. Presumably, Comcast is eyeing Fresno and/or Madera counties, where both it and Ponderosa operate.… More