Frontier Communications has until Feb. 21 to respond to a Pennsylvania consumer and small business advocates’ service quality complaint (see 2301100035), the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said Tuesday. The PUC granted Frontier’s request to extend the original Tuesday deadline. Frontier told the commission Monday it needed more time to review records.

The stipulated final judgment that New York reached with ISP plaintiffs in July 2021 over the state’s Affordable Broadband Act “did not effectuate a waiver” of the state’s right to appeal the ABA’s permanent injunction, the Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a supplemental brief Monday (docket 21-1975). If the ISP plaintiffs’ “understanding is correct,” the New York AG “did not relinquish the arguments presented on appeal and has standing to pursue them,” they said in their supplemental brief. But if the 2nd Circuit disagrees, the New York AG “would have relinquished those arguments and lacks standing to pursue this appeal,” they said. The 2nd Circuit ordered the supplemental briefs Jan. 20 on whether the court has appellate jurisdiction over the lower court’s final judgment that the parties negotiated (see 2301230040). New York “retains a concrete and redressable stake in this litigation,” said James’ brief. The district court’s injunction against enforcement of the ABA “is causing an ongoing injury to New York and specifically to low-income New Yorkers,” it said. “This injury would be redressed by a favorable ruling from this Court rejecting plaintiffs’ federal-preemption theories and reversing the final judgment and injunction contingent on those theories.” The stipulated judgment at issue “bears some similarity to a conditional plea agreement, whereby a criminal defendant may plead guilty while expressly preserving for appellate review an interlocutory ruling” that's effectively, even if not always technically, dispositive of the case, it said. When the ISP associations agreed to the New York AG’s proposal to convert the preliminary injunction ruling in the associations’ favor into a stipulated final judgment imposing a permanent injunction, the associations understood that the New York AG “was not relinquishing her right to appeal that permanent injunction,” said the ISP plaintiffs. They urged the 2nd Circuit to affirm the district court’s final judgment “permanently enjoining” the ABA and declaring it preempted by federal law.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission seeks applications for planning grants under NTIA’s digital equity and broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) programs, the PSC said Monday. Applications are due March 1 for $100,000 in BEAD workforce planning grants and for $335,000 in digital equity outreach grants, March 7 for $1.5 million in BEAD local planning grants, it said.

A Virginia bill to protect railroads from broadband construction interference cleared a House Commerce subcommittee Thursday. The subcommittee voted 7-1 for HB-1752, which allows broadband construction to cross the rails if it’s designed to prevent damage to the railroad and ensure passenger safety. An ISP would have to notify the railroad company of its desired crossing date and pay $1,500 per crossing in most cases. Under the bill, a railroad company could petition the Virginia State Corporation Commission if it believes the crossing would cause undue hardship or cause danger. The commission would have power to suspend construction while deciding the case. The bill must still be considered by the full Commerce Committee.

States should avoid creating a patchwork of competition laws that could stifle tech investment, the Computer and Communications Industry Association said Friday. CCIA found many states recently considered bills to revise antitrust laws and regulate app stores. “Since industry operates across multiple state borders, proposals at the state level to create disparate approaches to competition issues could impact innovation and create new barriers to entry,” CCIA State Policy Director Khara Boender said.

The New Jersey Assembly voted 76-0 Thursday for a measure to require telecom, cable TV and ISPs to allow customers to end contracts when a physician refers them to a long-term care facility. The Telecom Committee cleared A-1884 last month (see 2212050024), which goes next to the Senate.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) sent letters to businesses with mobile apps that may violate the California Consumer Privacy Act, the AG office said Friday. The investigative sweep includes popular apps in the retail, travel and food service industries that allegedly fail to allow opt-out requests or allow consumers to stop sale of their data, it said. “I urge the tech industry to innovate for good -- including developing and adopting user-enabled global privacy controls for mobile operating systems that allow consumers to stop apps from selling their data,” said Bonta.

The Treasury Department allocated a combined $793.7 million in broadband money from the American Rescue Plan Act Thursday to Alabama, Kentucky, Nevada and Texas. That money, from the Capital Projects Fund, includes almost $363.8 million for Texas, $191.7 million for Alabama, $182.8 million for Kentucky and $55.2 million for Nevada, Treasury said.

Nobody opposed reducing inmate call rates at a Montana House Judiciary hearing livestreamed Tuesday. The committee didn’t vote on SB-7, which passed the Senate 49-0 earlier this month. The bill would allow county jails to join state prison contracts or create their own contract if they don’t charge more than the current per-minute rate allowed by the FCC -- or 21 cents at most. Also, the bill would allow inmates one 10-minute phone and one 25-minute video call for free each week. And it would put a 3% cap on ancillary service fees including prepaid phone cards and collect calls. Calls now can cost more than 60 cents per minute, and fees can be 10%-20%, said sponsor Sen. Tom McGillvray (R): “That makes it very difficult …. when you’re broke and have no way to make money to communicate.” There were “no rails” on charges before SB-7, said committee member Rep. Greg Kmetz (R). Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officer Association lobbyist Brian Thompson said SB-7 would set a “very reasonable rate that's going to provide benefits to inmates throughout the state." The bill “promotes fairness,” said American Civil Liberties Union-Montana lobbyist Robin Turner. Communication is important for inmates to rebuild their lives, and it can reduce recidivism, she said.

The Voice on the Net Coalition was represented at Tuesday's California Public Utilities Commission prehearing conference by Pillsbury attorney Glenn Richards (see 2301240058).