Electric pole owners raised labor shortage and other concerns with Kentucky Public Service Commission changes to state pole attachment rules that are meant to spur broadband. The PSC received comments Wednesday on emergency amendments that the agency filed May 31 with the Legislative Research Commission. The PSC previously received comments May 21 on a draft in docket 2023-00416 (see 2405220040). The PSC's "use of inflexible timeframes for make-ready requirements -- rather than continuing to rely on commonsense good cause provisions -- will only compound the problems posed by [a] national worker shortage,” a group of electric cooperatives warned. Someday, the current "trickle of applications will likely be replaced by a deluge that will stretch the Cooperatives’ staff and resources, frustrating pole owners and attachers alike,” they added. Duke Energy questioned the PSC’s plan that would allow an attacher with multiple applications to choose the order a utility should review them. Prioritizing a new application would reset the review period of an older application currently under review, under the change. But Duke said "the need to track priorities and reset timelines of individual applications will create confusion, inefficiencies, and an unreasonable administrative burden for the utility.” The electric co-ops also raised concerns about that change. “Giving attachers the ability to reprioritize their applications at their discretion -- which can just as easily be done internally by attachers before submitting applications to pole owners -- only complicates the challenge of obtaining the right number of contractors at the right times.” In addition, the PSC rules lack "adequate enforcement of timely payment,” the co-ops said. “The staggering amount of outstanding payments due to pole owners from broadband providers looms over this entire proceeding.”

Total Florida landlines stand at 764,000, a 17.7% decline from 2022 as consumers and businesses chose wireless and VoIP, the Florida Public Service Commission said Thursday in a telecom competition report. The total dipped below 1 million in 2022 (see 2308010054). Business landlines exceeded residential ones for the 13th straight year, though business lines still sank 15% while residential lines decreased by 21.8%. AT&T saw a 27.2% decline in residential lines during 2023, while the decrease was 25.6% at Frontier Communications and 19.9% at Lumen’s CenturyLink.

“When it comes to communicating outages, social media can and should be a public utility or cable TV provider’s best friend,” a West Virginia Public Service Commission task force said Wednesday. The group reported on outage notification best practices in response to a PSC request (see 2405220049). "In the past, best practices in outage communication may have centered around emails, phone calls, and even press releases,” the report said. “Today, however, customers expect more immediate updates via text alerts, real-time outage maps, and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X).” Social networks are now “an absolute must-have” as they “allow for the provision of quick updates regarding the status of outage situations so customers are not left searching for relevant information.”

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will weigh whether it should mirror the FCC’s December changes to federal pole attachment rules. Pennsylvania reverse preempted FCC authority in March 2020 (see 2003190032). Under state rules, Pennsylvania will adopt any FCC changes 60 days after the federal amendments become effective -- unless the PUC publishes a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin saying the changes may not take effect. The Pennsylvania PUC said this week that it “hereby provides notice to the public that the Federal Rule Changes may not take effect in Pennsylvania, and hereby solicits public comment on the Federal Rule Changes.” Don’t “rehash or reargue” FCC determinations, warned the PUC in docket L-2018-3002672. “This process should be utilized to focus on the Pennsylvania-specific impacts of such changes.” Comments will be due 15 days after the notice is published in the Bulletin, it said. Expect publication of the notice in mid-August, a PUC spokesperson said Wednesday.

Alaska telecom industry groups urged state regulators to slow the pace of an already delayed proceeding to craft phone deregulation rules. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska had initially required comments by May in a renewed effort to implement SB-83, Alaska's 2019 telecom deregulation law (see [Ref:2404100058). However, because Alaska lawmakers approved a bill (HB-307) earlier that month clarifying the RCA’s telecom powers, it extended the comments deadline until July 29. However, the legislature only transmitted the bill to Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) July 16, and he hasn’t signed it. On July 22, the Alaska Telecom Association (ATA) sought another extension at the RCA, but an agency spokesperson said Monday that it wasn’t granted. If HB-307 becomes law, the RCA’s proposed rules “may no longer be appropriate or applicable,” ATA wrote last week. The group suggested that the RCA provide 90 more days, until Oct. 28, to file comments so that parties can “provide thorough, constructive comments -- particularly comments that include proposed alternative regulation amendments in light of any statutory changes.” The Matanuska Telecom Association said Monday that the RCA “should not, and cannot, adopt the regulations noticed on April 12, 2024.” MTA agreed with ATA that the proceeding should be extended, saying that stakeholders “cannot adequately prepare useful, substantive comments, or alternative regulations proposals … while HB 307 awaits action before the Governor,” it said. Dunleavy has until Aug. 8 to sign or veto HB-307, the governor’s spokesperson said Tuesday. The bill would also become law if the governor didn’t sign it by that date. ATA Executive Director Christine O’Connor thinks the matter ultimately “will work out fine,” with another opportunity to weigh in likely to come, she said Tuesday. “The RCA still needs to issue draft regulations” for implementing SB-83 and HB-307, which would trigger another round of comments, she said.

Verizon, Extenet and Crown Castle reached a settlement with Rochester, New York, to resolve remaining issues and “avoid the need for further litigation” in a wireless infrastructure dispute. In February, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford for Western New York in Rochester found in favor of the companies on their consolidated claim that Rochester violated sections 253 and 332 of the Telecommunications Act in the unlawful manner in which it assessed fees for telecom deployments within its jurisdiction (see 2402280040). On Friday, the parties filed a proposed final judgment.

Virginia and New York awarded tens of millions of dollars in broadband grants last week. New York awarded $70 million in federal funding through the state’s ConnectALL municipal infrastructure grant program, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said Friday. The projects in total aim to extend 800 miles of public broadband to 25,000 homes and businesses, the governor’s office said. The cash comes from the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund. While the infrastructure will be publicly owned, private ISPs will provide the service. Earlier last week, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) announced about $41 million in broadband grants through the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative for 10 projects that aim to extend high-speed internet to 20 localities. The state received 25 applications requesting more than $170 million in VATI funding, the governor’s office said.

NTIA approved Virginia's and New Mexico's plans for the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, the federal agency said Friday. With OKs on their complete initial plans, Virginia can access its $1.4 billion BEAD allocation and New Mexico can receive its $675 million. NTIA has approved entire initial plans for 22 states, three territories and the District of Columbia. The agency additionally approved Massachusetts, Utah and two territories’ plans last week (see 2407250045).

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) said Friday he will ask the legislature to spend more on broadband in the next state budget. Evers made the announcement as his broadband task force released its fourth annual report. Spending $345 million in state and federal funds for broadband since 2019 has brought Wisconsin a broadband adoption rate of about 88%, the report said. “Through our investments, more than 410,000 homes and businesses will be connected to new or improved high-speed internet service, but as this report shows, we've got more work to do,” said Evers. The report’s recommendations include continued state spending on broadband, more workforce training, streamlined permitting and locating processes and greater coordination with tribes and localities. To fill the gap the end of the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) left, the task force recommended creating “a state internet assistance program to increase broadband affordability and adoption.”

A New Jersey appeals court upheld two state tax court decisions in a long-running dispute about whether Verizon must pay a 2009 municipal tax to Hopewell (see 1109290101). The Tax Court of New Jersey determined in a 2012 decision that applying an annual market-share calculation to Verizon doesn’t violate state and federal equal protection guidelines and, in a 2019 decision, that the 2009 tax applied because Verizon provided landlines to 51% of the Hopewell telephone exchange in 2008. “Finding no flaw in either of the Tax Court's thorough and thoughtful opinions, we affirm,” Superior Court of New Jersey Justice Allison Accurso wrote. The court published the redacted opinion Thursday, but it was decided June 14, 2023.