Maine broadband officials are “moving at lightning speed,” while “trying to be strategic,” as they attempt to close the state’s digital divide, said Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) President Andrew Butcher Friday at the partially virtual Maine Broadband Summit. The state still has much work to do to make sure the infrastructure is available to all and everyone can take “full advantage” of it, said Department of Community and Economic Development Commissioner Heather Johnson. Maine established the MCA last year (see 2106250068) to improve on ConnectMaine, the state’s previous broadband office, said Butcher and Johnson. ConnectMaine didn’t have the resources to complete the job, said Butcher. ConnectMaine didn’t fail, said Johnson, who was previously ConnectMaine’s director: The older office moved mapping forward and built a framework for community planning. “They just didn’t have the tools or the statutory mechanisms to implement them effectively.” The additional flexibility afforded to MCA has allowed the office to build a strong team, said Butcher, saying his office is picking up on the previous one’s work as ConnectMaine is merged into MCA. Broadband has been a "thoroughly bipartisan" issue in Maine, said state Sen. Rick Bennett (R), who co-chairs the Maine legislature’s broadband caucus and worked on the bill that created MCA. Thursday’s announcement that Maine will get about $5.5 million from NTIA for planning was historic for the state’s broadband efforts, said Maine Broadband Coalition Board Chair Nick Battista. “This is a very different world than it was three years ago.” In a video message, Sen. Susan Collins (R) said the planning award “will help our state extend our high-speed network.” In another recorded video, Sen. Angus King (I) said, “This is a moment when we really can change the future of Maine.”
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
A possible Pennsylvania USF review must be comprehensive, said Commissioner John Coleman at a livestreamed Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission meeting Thursday. Commissioners voted 5-0 for an order setting a Pennsylvania USF budget and surcharge for 2023 (docket M-00001337). The PUC will increase the USF surcharge to 2.53% of 2021 average monthly intrastate retail revenue, from 2.13% of 2020 average revenue, an increase of about 19%, the order said. The fund administrator says the contribution base may need to be expanded due to continuing declines in the base and annual reported revenue, which caused increases to the surcharge, noted Coleman. “Any review of the fund should not be done on a piecemeal basis” or “limited to the contribution base alone.” Commissioner Ralph Yanora agreed. Also at the meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to approve a settlement with Lumen’s CenturyLink in an investigation into alleged outages and unreliable service (see 2209150025). The telco agreed to pay a $45,000 civil penalty and implement remedial measures including a quality assurance program and required public service announcements to educate the public on how to report damaged facilities (docket M-2022-3028754).
States are marching ahead with plans to get as much broadband money as possible through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). NTIA announced planning grant awards to many more states Thursday for broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and digital equity programs. NTIA can and should give states a couple of more months to submit challenges to FCC maps to ensure BEAD money gets allocated properly, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson said Thursday at the Maine Broadband Summit.
The government's Alaska USF plan wouldn’t preserve universal service, Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) said in Tuesday comments at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). The carrier lambasted the staff proposal to extend the AUSF sunset by two years to June 30, 2025, while reducing support (see 2210260076). The Alaska attorney general’s office sought a longer sunset, and CTIA urged the commission not to let up.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission awarded about $20.3 million under the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program (NBBP), the PSC said Tuesday. The agency's four Republican commissioners voted to adopt an order to award 37 grants to 14 providers. Democratic Commissioner Crystal Rhoades, not present for the vote, previously raised process concerns (see 2203220078). The PSC narrowed down an initial list of 115 applications through challenge and scoring processes, it said. Awarded projects must be completed by June 6, 2024. The commission spent many hours reviewing applications and challenges and continues to make improvements to the grant process, Commissioner Tim Schram (R) said at the livestreamed meeting. The NBBP program’s second year surpassed the first, Chair Dan Watermeier (R) said in a statement. “We have a good process in place and are eager to provide funding to continue broadband buildout to unserved and underserved Nebraskans.”
Some Arizona Corporation Commission members signaled possible support for repealing state USF as soon as next month. At a livestreamed meeting Tuesday, Utilities Division Director Elijah Abinah said staff will bring forward an item to decide the fund’s future at the January or February meeting. “The most appropriate way to clean up this appendage from yesteryear would be to just repeal the rules,” said Commissioner Jim O’Connor (R). Commissioner Justin Olson (R), departing the commission at year-end, also said he supports repeal. Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson (R) said she wants to vote in January on repealing or modifying AUSF rules. Commission staff listed state USF options including repeal in a memo last week in docket T-00000A-20-0336 (see 2211300009). Arizona USF's sole recipient, Frontier Communications, didn't comment Tuesday.
Karima Holmes won’t return as 911 director for the District of Columbia’s Office of Unified Communications (OUC). Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) withdrew the controversial nomination Monday after D.C. Council members signaled they would reject confirmation. Bowser, Holmes and others fought to save the nomination before a Tuesday D.C. Council vote. Withdrawal was “overdue," D.C. 4B01 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Evan Yeats said in an interview: "We wasted a lot of time and energy on this fight that could have been invested in improving OUC."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to challenge a federal court decision tossing businesses’ challenge to the Maryland digital ad tax’s pass-through ban, the Chamber said Monday. At oral argument last week, U.S. District Court for Northern Maryland Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby signaled she would dismiss without prejudice due to a state court striking down the tax as unconstitutional. In the Friday opinion, Griggsby also denied as moot Maryland’s motion to dismiss and plaintiff U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s motion for summary judgment.
New Jersey's Assembly Telecom Committee unanimously cleared three telecom bills at a livestreamed hearing Monday. The panel voted 8-0 for A-1544, which would ban wireless carriers and mobile app developers from disclosing customer GPS data to third parties under certain circumstances. The committee voted 8-0 for an amended A-1768 to require telecom companies to provide prorated refunds for service outages lasting longer than 72 hours. The adopted amendments would limit the bill credits or adjustments to residential customers, exclude events where there was significant damage to the electrical grid, and allow the state Board of Public Utilities to add other exemptions. Also, the committee voted 8-0 for A-1884 to require telecom, cable TV and ISPs to allow customers to end contracts when a physician refers them to a long-term care facility. The committee discussed that bill at an October hearing (see 2210130025).
West Virginia pole owners are negotiating to streamline the attachment process amid scrutiny from the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The PSC granted a staff petition Wednesday to open a show-cause proceeding meant to speed broadband attachment reviews by joint pole owners Frontier Communications and Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison (MP/PE). The PSC gave Frontier and MP/PE until Dec. 15 to file a proposed addendum to their 1988 joint use agreement to speed up and reduce costs to process third-party attachment requests. The company may alternatively file a new agreement replacing the 1988 pact, said the commission: MP/PE must also file by that date their “policy and procedure” for reviewing applications. “Mon Power and Potomac Edison expect to file the information the PSC has requested by the timeline set by the Commission,” parent FirstEnergy’s spokesperson emailed Friday. “We are working with Frontier to streamline the application process for other companies that want to attach to our poles.” West Virginia PSC staff asked the commission May 13 to require Frontier to show cause why the PSC shouldn’t stop the carrier from requiring duplicative pole-attachment applications, timelines and fees from third parties seeking to attach broadband facilities. Due to the 1988 agreement, attachers have had to file applications to both Frontier and MP/PE. Staff said that may cause delays. Frontier responded Oct. 5 that the issue could be resolved outside of a commission proceeding, and PSC staff said Nov. 10 it had met with the pole owners to negotiate an agreement. While praising pole owners and PSC staff for their progress, the commission said Wednesday it remains concerned “about the timeliness and efficiency of the review process and the costs charged for review of pole attachment applications.” Pole attachments “should continue as expeditiously and economically as possible while also ensuring adherence with safety standards,” it said. The PSC also granted a Citynet petition to intervene. The telecom company says it has “been prejudiced in the past by the Joint Use Agreement and generally by Frontier’s ineffective response to pole attachment requests,” the PSC said. In the past decade, Citynet says it submitted at least 828 applications for attachment to joint-use poles and other Frontier poles, paying nearly $529,000 in application fees to Frontier, the PSC said. Frontier and Citynet didn't comment now.