Four of five Pennsylvania public utility commissioners supported a Frontier Communications settlement Thursday that resolves a service quality complaint. The PUC approved an administrative law judge’s decision to accept without modification a pact between Frontier and state consumer and small business advocates (see 2403220066). Under the settlement, Frontier agreed to spend $100 million on its Pennsylvania network through 2026 and give bill credits to customers with service problems prospectively and retroactively. Commissioner Kimberly Barrow was upset that the agreement lacked a civil penalty for Frontier. Its customers were “without access to telephone or broadband services which could impact the customer's access to education, medical or emergency services, work, and/or personal communications and interactions,” Barrow wrote. “It is well known that access to telephone and broadband services is critical to everyday life and lack of access could have a serious impact, thus the consequences of Frontier's alleged conduct should be deemed serious.” While Frontier agreed to invest $100 million in infrastructure and workforce, the carrier should have been doing that already, said Barrow: The settlement doesn’t “provide a deterrent for future behavior or punish for past behavior.” Frontier didn't comment.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless will pay about $10.25 million to the 50 states and the District of Columbia under an agreement that settles claims of deceptive and misleading advertising practices, multiple state AGs announced Thursday. The bipartisan AGs signed a pact with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless to resolve the investigations. The three carriers “baited consumers with deceptive claims about ‘unlimited’ data, ‘free’ phone offers and incentives to switch, only to switch the offer and not deliver on their advertised claims,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) said. In addition to the monetary penalties, the carriers agreed to make future ads truthful, accurate and not misleading, Ellison's office said. Going forward, unlimited must mean no numerical limits and such plans should disclose any data speed restrictions and what triggers them, it said. Carriers offering to pay for customers to switch companies must clearly disclose what and how they will pay consumers, it said. Among other requirements, the carriers must present clear terms and conditions for so-called free devices or services, it said. A CTIA spokesperson said the “voluntary agreements reflect no finding of improper conduct and reaffirm the wireless industry’s longstanding commitment to clarity and integrity in advertising so that consumers can make informed decisions about the products and services that best suit them.” T-Mobile said, “After nine years, we are glad to move on from this industry-wide investigation with this settlement and a continued commitment to the transparent and consumer-friendly advertising practices we’ve undertaken for years.” AT&T and Verizon referred us to CTIA’s statement. State AGs slammed the carriers as they applauded the settlement. New York AG Letitia James (D) said it’s a good resolution after carriers “lied to millions of consumers.” Many wireless carriers' deals are “too good to be true,” California AG Rob Bonta (D) said. Ohio AG Dave Yost (R) said “it's unacceptable to make false promises about what consumers might expect from their wireless carriers.”

NTIA approved initial proposals from the District of Columbia, Delaware and Washington for its $42.5 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment program, it said in a news release Thursday (see 2404250042). D.C. is eligible to receive more than $100 million. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said the city will use the funding for increasing residents' internet access "as well as provid[ing] beginner-to-advanced digital literacy training and high-value workforce development training." Delaware will receive more than $107 million, Washington state more than $1.2 billion.

T-Mobile voluntarily dismissed its complaint against the California Public Utilities Commission regarding the state’s shift to a per-line universal service fund surcharge. The 9th Circuit Court last month affirmed the U.S. District Court for Northern California decision to deny a preliminary injunction against the CPUC (see 2404260066). The 9th Circuit said the carrier failed to show a likelihood of success. “This notice of voluntary dismissal is being filed with the Court before Defendants have served either an answer or a motion for summary judgment … and by operation of law, the dismissal is without prejudice,” T-Mobile said Thursday at the district court (case 3:23-cv-00483-LB).

The Kentucky Public Service Commission temporarily increased the state USF surcharge for the state Lifeline program to 18 cents per access line (see 2309190078). An order Wednesday said the surcharge will remain "for the pendency of this proceeding or until further order by the commission." The PSC will initiate a review of the state fund in March, the order said.

The New York Senate approved a wireless tower bill that would require cellphone companies and third-party infrastructure firms to submit plans for powering their towers with 100% renewable energy by 2031. The Senate voted 41-19 for S-4305 on Wednesday. The Assembly will next consider the bill, which cleared the Senate Telecom Committee in January (see 2401230028). Senators approved the bill last year, but the Assembly never addressed it.

Washington state awarded $20 million for fiber broadband construction projects, the state Public Works Board said Tuesday.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed a broadband bill (S-199) Monday aimed at simplifying the merger process for the state’s communications union districts. CUDs are groups of two or more municipalities that build infrastructure in rural areas of the state. The legislature passed the bill last month (see 2404160026). Meanwhile, the Connecticut House on Saturday added the wide-ranging SB-3 to its calendar after the Senate approved it 26-10 on Friday. Senate amendments included striking sections on net neutrality and affordable broadband that industry opposed (see 2402290053). The amended bill would require Connecticut’s consumer counsel to study broadband internet access; prohibit junk fees; ban certain foreign-made drones; require disclosures about voice recognition features on connected devices; give customers a right to repair electronics; and require municipalities to only use .gov internet domains, according to an official bill analysis.

Proposed children’s privacy rules are headed to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) for approval. Colorado's Senate voted 34-0 Monday to concur with House changes and re-approve SB-41. The House passed it Sunday (see 2405060025). The bill would add tighter restrictions for kids to the Colorado Privacy Act.

The California Public Utilities Commission could freeze the state LifeLine specific support amount (SSA) for wireline and wireless providers at $19 until it adopts another method for calculating the SSA, Administrative Law Judge Robyn Purchia said in a Monday ruling in docket R20-02-008. Purchia sought comments on the possible freeze by June 3. Replies will be due June 14. Carriers in January comments resisted a CPUC staff proposal for updating the method (see 2401250051). “We agree with parties’ recommendations to further analyze market conditions, customer impacts, pilot results, and the regulatory landscape,” Purchia wrote. “However, we also see a need to de-link the SSA from the highest [carrier of last resort] basic rate before rates increase again in 2025.”