Rhode Island legislation introduced Wednesday would repeal state 911 surcharges levied on wireless telecom services and residential and business telephone lines. The bill (H-5075) by State Rep. Robert Lancia (R), which was expected (see 1701040055), repeals the state’s 911 Emergency Telephone Number Act. That statute levied a monthly surcharge of $1 on phone bills, transferring most of the money to the state’s general fund and some to its information technology fund. Rhode Island diverted 69.5 percent, or $12.3 million, of 911 revenue in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, the FCC reported last year (see 1605270020). "911 falls under Public Safety so it would be, as it already is, funded as part of its budget," Lancia told us by email Thursday.
Colorado and Minnesota announced millions of dollars in broadband grants for rural areas. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development awarded $34 million for 42 state broadband projects, DEED said in a Wednesday news release. The projects cover 16,627 households, 2,240 businesses and 71 community institutions in greater Minnesota, it said. The state funding is expected to bring in an extra $40 million in private and local funding, DEED said. “It’s not fair when almost 20 percent of Greater Minnesota households don’t have access to opportunity because they don’t have the same broadband connections as their friends and family in the cities,” said Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D). “We are fixing this: since we started, $66 million in public investment has been matched by over $81.7 million in private funding.” Some of the largest grants were: $4.94 million for Consolidated Telecom, $3 million for TDS Telecom, $2.7 million for two Frontier Communications projects and $2.39 million for two CenturyLink projects. Tuesday, the Colorado Broadband Deployment Board awarded $2.1 million in broadband grants for eight rural infrastructure projects, the board said in a Tuesday news release. The projects, which will be completed over two years, cover about 4,700 households and 175 businesses in Eagle, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lake, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, Prowers, Sedgwick and Weld counties, it said. “Broadband access is a critical service for Colorado communities, especially in supporting economic development," said Gov. John Hickenlooper (D). “These grants will bring more than broadband services to many unserved communities; they will also grow opportunity for their local businesses and residents.” CenturyLink won more than half of the Colorado grants, getting $1.14 million for two projects. The board also awarded grants to Nucla-Naturita Telephone, Viaero Wireless, Colorado Central Telecom, PC Telcom, Optimus Communications and Futurum Communications.
Seeking faster internet for schools, Arizona Corporation Commissioners voted 5-0 to launch a rulemaking to create a state match of rural broadband funds with funding from the state USF. Commissioner Andy Tobin proposed the fund earlier this week after Gov. Doug Ducey (R) called for more high-speed internet (see 1701100032). Tobin said he wanted to act quickly so the state could apply for federal E-rate Category One funding. At a commission meeting Wednesday, Tobin said 37 percent of Arizona school districts lack broadband of at least 100 kbps per student, and 60 percent of them are in rural and tribal areas. Arizona Department of Education Superintendent Diane Douglas testified in support of the plan, saying it’s another step to narrow the gap between students in rural and urban areas. “We've seen the power of technology and what it can do for education,” she said. The Arizona commission plans a Jan. 30 stakeholder workshop on the proposed broadband fund, then may consider a proposal at commissioners’ Feb. 7 meeting, Tobin said in an interview: “We are working very closely with the governor’s office and the Department of Education.”
New York State officials said their broadband subsidy auction can't be further delayed until after the FCC completes its planned Connect America Fund Phase II broadband auction. During a call with an aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, the New York officials pressed their case for an FCC waiver to allow the state to use $170 million in CAF II auction funds for Phase III of the state's broadband reverse auction. They said the waiver is the only way to resolve "the timing and funding challenges of the overlapping" auctions, disputing the notion the New York auction could be pushed back until after the FCC auction, which requires further commission action and has yet to be scheduled. "The State already has delayed auctioning these affected communities for almost one year while it diligently discussed various alternatives with Commission staff. Further delays are unworkable given the uncertain timeline of the FCC’s auction and the State’s buildout deadlines, which require winning carriers to substantially complete their deployments by the end of 2018," said an Empire State Development filing posted Wednesday in docket 10-90. The New York officials said their auction would be "technologically neutral and open to wireline, fixed wireless and satellite broadband providers" -- some of which have criticized the state's rules. New York would consider adjusting its rules if necessary to get an FCC waiver but only if consistent with state broadband goals, the filing said.
The FCC plans a USF webinar Jan. 24 tailored to state and local government officials, said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs public notice Tuesday. The 2-3 p.m. EST webinar will provide an overview of how telecom subsidy funds are raised and distributed among the USF Connecting America (high cost), E-rate (schools and libraries), Lifeline (low income) and rural healthcare programs, said the PN, which had further details on registering for the event (a registration link can be copied and pasted if clicking on it doesn't work).
Arizona should tap the state USF to bring broadband to rural students, said Arizona Corporation Commissioner Andy Tobin. In a Monday letter in docket RT-00000H-97-0137, Tobin supported Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s call for high-speed internet in rural and tribal areas. Tobin proposed a partnership with the governor, state superintendent and nonprofit EducationSuperHighway to create a state match of rural broadband funds for schools and libraries totaling $8 million to $13 million, the state commission said in a Tuesday news release. Tobin proposed a one-time distribution of $8 million from the Arizona USF to support the state match. The state match could help school districts obtain an estimated $80 million to $100 million in federal E-rate Category One funding, but Arizona must act quickly to meet a likely April deadline to submit funding applications to Universal Service Administrative Co., he said. To make the deadline, the state commission should open an emergency rulemaking, he said. Later this year, the commission should open another rulemaking examining the high-cost portion of the state USF, he said. “There is a real and troubling digital divide when it comes to internet access in our urban and rural areas,” Tobin wrote. “Every student must be afforded the same opportunity to learn, including those who live on tribal lands, in some inner city areas, or in the most remote reaches of the state.” Ducey said in the governor’s State of the State address Monday that “too many students, specifically in our rural areas, and in our tribal nations, are missing out. It’s 2017, but outside of our urban areas, broadband is still spotty. Let’s fix this, by connecting these rural schools to high-speed internet.” The proposed program will be discussed at a commission staff meeting Wednesday at 10 a.m. MST, the commission said.
The California Public Utilities Commission closed its telecom competition probe too soon, consumer groups said. The Utility Reform Network (TURN), Center for Accessible Technology and Greenlining Institute applied for rehearing of the CPUC’s December decision, as expected (see 1612010061). "Joint Consumers submit that the Commission has committed legal error by failing to ‘proceed in the manner required by the law’ and adopting a decision that ‘is not supported by the findings,’” said the application posted Tuesday in docket I. 15-11-007. It said the agency “closed this investigation despite specific findings in the Final Decision that expose the Commission’s failure to meet its statutory obligations and uphold long-held policies that protect vulnerable consumers, ensure just and reasonable rates, and encourage meaningful competition and innovative telecommunications offerings to all California consumers.”
Massachusetts officials urged the FCC to provide dedicated broadband support to states through the Connect America Fund. Massachusetts Broadband Institute Board Chairman Peter Larkin and Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable Commissioner Karen Charles Peterson sent a letter Monday to the FCC (docket 10-90). If the FCC approves New York’s waiver request to use CAF money turned down by Verizon for its state reverse auction, the federal agency should act broadly to support all states that dedicate state funds to broadband expansion, the Massachusetts officials said. “These residents and their communities should not continue to be disadvantaged by a provider’s business decision to reject support when the Commission has deemed specific funding necessary and appropriate to support delivery of baseline broadband service,” they wrote. “The Commission should dedicate to each state funding that matches or exceeds the state-level amounts of CAF model-based support rejected by the price cap carriers in those states.”
Clarification: The state proceeding that CenturyLink was referring to in saying that its petition won't affect regulation of government or commercial contracts was on deregulation in Minnesota (see 1701060033), not in New York on the company's planned buy of Level 3 (see 1701060043).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought comment on a text-to-911 question by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. To resolve a conflict holding up Maine's adoption of text-to-911 via message session relay protocol, and so the state may appropriately assess costs, the PUC asked the FCC to clarify where the point of demarcation is between wireless providers and the state’s next-generation 911 network (see 1611180038), the FCC said in a Monday public notice in docket 11-153. “Maine believes that ‘the point of demarcation should be at the ingress designated by the Session Border Controller (SBC) of the State of Maine E SInet,’ [Emergency Services IP Network] but contends that the [Text Control Centers], ‘acting on behalf of wireless carriers, argue that the point of demarcation should be the egress side of the SBC used by the TCCs.’” The FCC also asked whether the answer could be generally applied to future multimedia communication in NG-911. Comments are due Feb. 8, replies March 10.