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.
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.
The Massachusetts government unveiled digital equity efforts, at a livestreamed event Thursday. The state will launch a digital equity partnership program to help regional planning agencies, philanthropic foundations, and public and nonprofit service providers create programs to promote digital literacy, device availability, outreach and education, said Massachusetts Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy. Also, the state will have a municipal digital equity planning program to help local governments better understand their citizens’ needs and design strategies for future investments, he said. The efforts are key parts of the next stage of the state’s broadband strategy, which will tap about $350 million in state and federal funding, said Kennealy. Massachusetts seeks feedback on a new state mapping tool that went online Thursday, said Community Development Undersecretary Ashley Stolba: "We still have gaps ... all across the state." Also, the state is forming a broadband and digital equity working group composed of top industry officials, she said. Broadband “is like running water and electricity,” said outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who didn’t seek reelection and will be succeeded by current Attorney General Maura Healey (D). Broadband is “basic infrastructure,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito (R).
The communications market doesn’t need affordability metrics, telecom industry groups told the California Public Utilities Commission in comments this week. The CPUC received feedback Wednesday on a 2020 affordability report released last month and possibly applying the agency’s metrics to communications (see 2210140036). In a separate docket, the state commission received mixed reviews on a proposed pilot program for stacking federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) funds on state LifeLine support (see 2210140068).
Hawaii received about $5.5 million to plan for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and digital equity programs under the federal infrastructure law, Gov. David Ige (D) said Wednesday at a livestreamed news conference. It includes $5 million for BEAD planning and $500,000 for digital equity planning, Ige said. Hawaii will use the money to identify unserved and underserved households, expand the state broadband office and support Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism efforts to better understand barriers, said the outgoing governor. "The challenges that we faced over the past few years as the pandemic limited our ability to connect in person showed how important it is to have reliable internet access for all residents.” NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said "this $5.5 million is just the start."
Oklahoma’s connections-based state USF surcharge will increase to $1.85 from $1.14 monthly, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission decided 2-1 at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. It will apply to the number of connections contributors have at the end of this month, and will be reported Jan. 15 when they pay the new assessment, said the interim order. Chairman Dana Murphy (R) and Commissioner Todd Hiett (R) voted yes but raised concerns that the surcharge was going up despite deciding last year to move from a revenue-based method. Commissioner Bob Anthony (R) dissented, noting he never supported the connections approach. Oklahoma USF Administrator Mark Argenbright said a meeting will be held in the next couple of weeks to discuss possible OUSF rule changes through a commission rulemaking. "We've seen a stabilization of the revenue" coming into the fund by switching to the connections mechanism, but at the end of October the fund still had a $25.9 million deficit, Argenbright said. He expects the state will be able to reduce the surcharge after the deficit is addressed, he said. Other states that changed to connections have lower surcharges, but they may not have to deal with a large deficit, noted Murphy. Hiett doesn’t like surcharge increases and is "anxious for it to stabilize,” said the commissioner. The upcoming OUSF rulemaking will be important, he said.
Complete Democratic control in Massachusetts could make it easier to pass net neutrality and other bills, state Sen. James Eldridge (D) said in an interview last week. Democrats gained trifectas in four states in the Nov. 8 election. Computer Communications Industry Association (CCIA) President Matt Schruers expects more state attempts at internet regulation in 2023 legislative sessions, he told us.
Recent Texas laws preempting local governments in the right of way (ROW) are permissible under the state constitution, the state argued this week at the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals. Cities disagreed earlier this month that a lower court could uphold the rental rate caps in the state’s 2017 small-cells law without at least considering material facts. Cities are challenging a 2017 Texas law capping cities’ ROW rental fees at $250 per small cell. As the statute was taking effect, McAllen and other Texas cities challenged the state’s small-cells law at the Texas District Court of Travis County, arguing the compensation level set by the legislature was an "unlawful gift" under the Texas Constitution (see 1708300020). Two years later, with still no decision in that case, cities amended their lawsuit to additionally challenge a 2019 law stopping municipalities from charging telecom providers twice when they use the right of way for phone and video (see 1906260050). Ruling July 26 this year on summary judgment, the state court said the 2019 law facially violated the state constitution, but the 2017 small-cells law was constitutional. The appeals court gave notice Aug. 24 of the cities’ appeal (case 03-22-00524-CV). The appeals court should affirm the lower court’s ruling on the 2017 law and reverse on the 2019 law, Texas said in a brief this week. “This appeal concerns novel interpretations of the ‘no gifts’ provisions of the Texas Constitution that may invalidate several other unrelated statutes,” said Texas, seeking oral argument. The 2017 and 2019 laws were meant to spur wireless telecom deployment, making it “cheaper (but not free!) for telecom companies to install wireless access points and fiber-optic cables in the ROW,” Texas said.
Businesses said proposed California privacy rules are too restrictive, but consumer privacy advocates said they’re too weak, in comments at the California Privacy Protection Agency. The CPPA received feedback Monday on revised draft rules to implement the 2020 California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), sequel to the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CPPA board approved the revised draft rules last month (see 2210310074). The CPRA takes effect Jan. 1.
Arkansas filed two broadband fabric challenges at the FCC because it found about 12,000 unserved locations missed by FCC maps, State Broadband Director Glen Howie said on a Broadband.money webinar Friday. New York state earlier said it filed a challenge for about 32,000 locations it said were unserved but not included in the fabric (see 2210310068). Some states have more capability to file challenges than others, noted Howie. States unable to file challenges could receive less federal funding from NTIA’s broadband, equity, accessibility and deployment (BEAD) program, he said. “You don’t want to get shorted.” Howie said Arkansas broadband office staff is reviewing broadband availability maps released Friday (see 2211180062). “No map ever is 100% perfect or accurate, but it’s a great improvement from what we’ve had before,” said Howie, saying Arkansas looks forward to “investigating that further.” Howie declined to comment on his state’s status for receiving funding for BEAD or digital equity fund planning but said the state is ready to move forward when the shot clock starts running. Pennsylvania and Nebraska received planning funds last week (see 2211170032).
Pennsylvania is seeking “equitable, affordable, and robust high-speed broadband infrastructure and services connecting Pennsylvania for the 21st century and beyond,” said a state broadband plan adopted Thursday. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority board approved the plan in a unanimous voice vote at a partially virtual meeting Thursday. Authority Executive Director Brandon Carson said the shot clock is now running to develop the plans required by NTIA to get Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) federal funding.