Adam Bender

Alaska would shift to connections-based contribution for state USF under a joint proposal by many of the state’s local exchange carriers. The Alaska attorney general’s regulatory affairs and public advocacy (RAPA) section urged the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) Monday to adopt the Friday-filed plan, which would push back an imminent sunset of the Alaska USF (AUSF) by three years to June 30, 2026. “By that time, the focus of significant federal infrastructure funding in Alaska will be better known, and the Commission will have more information that it may use to determine the best AUSF policy for the long term,” said the proposal.

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission gave enough slack to LTD Broadband in the company’s bid to get state eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support, commissioners said at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. The PUC voted 3-0 to grant a motion by the South Dakota Telecommunications Association (SDTA) to close docket TC21-001. The PUC initially denied the ETC request but later granted a rehearing. Before that rehearing could happen, the FCC rejected LTD’s long-form application (see 2210050051). LTD asked the commission to deny SDTA's motion and instead suspend the docket while the company seeks reversal of the FCC’s long-form decision. All LTD asks is for the PUC to wait, said attorney Jason Sutton of Boyce at the meeting. "What's the detriment to allowing this docket to sit?" South Dakota PUC members disagreed. “The commission has given LTD yards and yards to go through the process,” said Commissioner Gary Hanson (R). Chairman Chris Nelson (R) said the PUC "has invested a great amount of time and ... bent over backwards to give LTD an opportunity to make their case.” The majority earlier determined LTD couldn’t complete its RDOF buildout plan and FCC staff recently reached the same conclusion, said Nelson. "That does not give me much if any hope that given more time, there's going to be some different outcome." Broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) funding is coming, he added. “We do not want to leave this issue out there clouding the ability of companies to access BEAD funding and get broadband buildout.” Closing the docket opens the door for new federal money, said PUC Vice Chairperson Kristie Fiegen: The PUC can reopen it if LTD reverses the FCC decision.

The telecom industry pressed for one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) in comments received Thursday at the California Public Utilities Commission. However, union workers and the CPUC’s enforcement division continued to cite safety concerns about the proposal in docket R.17-06-028. The CPUC may vote Oct. 20 on the proposed decision (PD) to update pole attachment rules (see 2209160074).

Some telecom companies disagreed with cattlemen and corn growers on whether the Nebraska Public Service Commission should include a matching requirement in rules to implement the state’s 2022 Precision Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Act. Nebraska plans to fund upcoming PRO-AG grants through the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The PSC shouldn’t require a match for at least the first two years since the program is for "the most rural and cost-prohibitive locations in the state,” Paige Wireless said in comments posted Tuesday in docket BEAD-1. Not requiring matching will encourage more participation, though the commission could give preference to projects that offer a match, said Hamilton Telephone, Nebraska Central Telephone and Reinke Manufacturing in joint comments. Nebraska agriculture associations including for cattlemen, corn growers, and dairy and pork producers supported matches similar to what's required by the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program -- 25% for high-cost areas and 50% for other areas. Require at least a 25% match since projects are in unserved areas, the Nebraska Rural Broadband Alliance said. The state law doesn't allow funding for ILEC fiber, but projects "would wisely be leveraged with other fiber projects,” the alliance said. With 5G wireless "a game-changer for agriculture," grant eligibility should be technology neutral, commented CTIA: The PSC "should be thoughtful about any affordability requirements, and it may be prudent in the context of this agriculture-focused program not to impose any.” The state agriculture associations urged the PSC to give highest priority to areas that lack at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds and that haven't received federal broadband support. Not all precision agriculture applications require 100/20 Mbps, they cautioned. “If those speeds are an absolute requirement, that could be a significant limiting factor in the deployment of these grants.” Require projects to be completed in one year, while letting applicants seek one six-month extension, said the agriculture groups: Completed projects should be required to remain in service at least five years. The PSC should start the PRO-AG grant cycle within six months of the state receiving NTIA approval for BEAD dollars, they said.

New Mexico should lower inmate calling rate caps, the state attorney general’s office commented Friday at the Public Regulation Commission. As part of proposed changes to inmate calling service (ICS) rules, the PRC is considering a proposal to reduce an existing cap of 15 cents per minute on intrastate rates to 12 cents for state prisons and 14 cents for large local jails. Proposed new rates “could provide substantial cost savings to the inmates and their families,” said the AG office in docket 20-00170-UT. ICS providers might seem “niche” but “can be essential lifelines for the incarcerated inmates, their families, and others seeking to maintain a connection to them during their confinement,” said the office: Yet there is "a long history of abusive rate practices" nationally. The existing 15-cent cap "at the time of implementation was one of the most progressive and proactive [ICS] calling rate structures in the country,” New Mexico PRC staff commented: Now the PRC is updating those rules to "keep pace with changes to ICS calling at the FCC." ICS Provider ViaPath said its rates are already below the existing cap. Simplify rate caps by eliminating distinctions between local, intraLATA and interLATA calls, it suggested. A proposal to cap per-call charges on collect calls at $1 is inconsistent with another proposed rule banning per-connection charges, noted Viapath: Delete the allowance for $1 charges. Securus urged the PRC "to ensure that the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of those involved in the provision of [ICS] services to incarcerated populations are clear and accurate and that any” rule changes “provide predictability, consistency, and finality” for providers. Leonard Law’s Stephen Raher, formerly general counsel of the Prison Policy Initiative, supported the PRC plan. It "would protect consumer prepaid accounts from forfeiture based on arbitrary ‘inactivity’ policies that many [companies] impose,” said Raher. "ICS carriers routinely seize consumer funds -- a practice that provides a substantial revenue stream for the provider, but without a corresponding benefit for the consumer.” Also, the proposed rule’s ban on charging duplicative ancillary service fees "addresses a problem that arises from imprecise language in existing FCC rules,” he said. Affordable rates will help keep incarcerated persons in touch with their attorneys, said the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. The lawyers supported allowing correctional institutions to switch off recording devices for inmate-attorney calls. A new California law will make many inmate calls there free (see 2209300063).

California will make phone calls free for many incarcerated persons. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Keep Families Connected Act (SB-1008) Thursday, the Democrat’s office said. Newsom vetoed a telecom industry-supported bill (AB-2749) to put a shot clock on California Public Utilities Commission reviews of California Advanced Services Fund broadband grant applications and require wireless eligibility in CASF’s federal funding account. Newsom supported but sought refinements to AB-988 to implement the national 988 suicide prevention hotline with an 8 cent monthly surcharge on wireline, wireless and VoIP lines.

Hurricane Ian caused large wireless outages in Florida's southwest where the storm made landfall, the FCC said Thursday. The FCC report covered network outage data submitted by communications providers through the disaster information reporting system (DIRS) as of Thursday at noon. The FCC will monitor the situation and is "committed" to ensuring communications are restored, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel after Thursday’s commissioners' meeting.

Washington, D.C., may want to reconsider its unified approach to handling 911 calls, two D.C. council members said at a Judiciary and Public Safety Committee virtual meeting Wednesday. Members raised alarm with the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) making little progress on recommendations from an audit last year (see 2209090049), and continued reports of dispatching delays due to incorrect addresses and miscommunication and the agency’s alleged failure to give victims’ families an explanation or apology.

Expect California privacy law enforcement to escalate once the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) takes over from the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on Jan. 1, said Carlton Fields attorney Christina Gagnier on a Tuesday webinar. Enforcement will shift from Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), who already has been more aggressive than predecessors, to the new California Privacy Protection Agency, said the privacy lawyer for businesses. One takeaway from Bonta’s recent $1.2 million action against cosmetics store Sephora under the CCPA (see 2208240067) is that “enforcement is industry agnostic,” said Gagnier. “Any company could be a target.” 2023 will be a big year for privacy with other state laws taking effect in Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia and Utah, said the same law firm’s Eden Marcu. Note that those are four very different states, said Gagnier, predicting four or five more could enact privacy laws next year. Two-thirds of states have considered comprehensive privacy bills, said Gagnier: States currently in session with privacy bills include Michigan, New York and Ohio. "It's something that you're going to see pop up state by state over the next couple years" until most states have comprehensive laws, she said. Don't bet on a federal law soon, said Gagnier, saying she doesn't expect Congress's American Data Privacy and Protection Act to go anywhere.

Don’t misuse Maine USF to pay for a pole attachments database, a state senator and the cable industry told the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The PUC received mixed reviews by Friday’s deadline, in comments on a staff proposal to split the system’s costs 60-40 between pole owners and attachers, with the attachers and telephone pole owner Consolidated Communications able to recover the cost through state USF.