New Jersey’s Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee voted 5-0 for a bill (A-1884) to require telecom, cable TV and ISPs to allow customers to end contracts when a physician refers them to a long-term care facility. “It seems fair,” said Chair Paul Moriarty (D) at a livestreamed hearing Thursday. He said the bill might later be amended to require canceling customers to provide doctor’s notes. The panel also unanimously supported A-3769 to require music and video websites to disclose their correct contact information. The bill by Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D) aims to thwart intellectual property theft, Moriarty said. The chairman wants to invite telcos to a possible December hearing on a caller ID bill, which was discussed but not voted upon Thursday, he said. Multiple committee members indicated support for A-1034, which would require telemarketers to transmit their name and telephone number.

Etheric asked California Public Utilities Commissioner Darcie Houck to put a hold on a proposed decision, scheduled for vote Oct. 20, that would deny the company designation as an eligible telecom carrier (ETC). Etheric, which needs ETC status to get $248 million in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support, met virtually with a Houck aide Oct. 7, Etheric reported Wednesday. The CPUC draft includes “high-level conclusions” with no “explanation,” Etheric complained. Etheric filed its application more than two years ago, in January 2020, but had only one meeting with staff, Oct. 5, after the draft’s release, it noted. Concerns expressed about the company’s “financial ability to carry out the RDOF project were based on a misunderstanding of a letter submitted by” venture capital firm Summit Partners, Etheric said. The letter “included a standard disclaimer in a footnote meant to indicate that due to the amount of time that has passed since its initial underwriting of the project, it would need to reconfirm its underwriting and finalize credit documentation at the time Etheric receives ETC designation and the FCC publishes a public notice with final approval for the RDOF award.” To clarify, Etheric attached a letter from Summit. The CPUC proposal incorrectly found Etheric’s cost estimates for the RDOF project are too low, possibly “due to a misunderstanding about the FCC’s reserve price for the Census Blocks won by Etheric,” the company said. The FCC’s $541 million reserve price was based on all-fiber design, but Etheric calculated $248 million would cover a hybrid network mixing fiber and fixed wireless, it said. Etheric made sure it can scale its existing network and “any staff concerns about scalability should be fully addressed by the substantial financial resources at its disposal,” it said. Responding to concerns about fixed wireless performance in mountainous and dense foliage areas, Etheric said 75% “of its RDOF locations have direct line of sight between the network and customer location.” Of remaining areas, 11% will get fiber, while 14% will use citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) “UNII mid-band Tarana Radio Systems to ensure good signal levels for the light foliage conditions at those locations.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) touted the start of construction on a statewide middle-mile network Thursday. The state installed the first 500 feet of fiber on State Route 67 near Poway in San Diego County, Newsom’s office said. Last year’s $6 billion broadband bill ordered the middle-mile network. “We’re starting construction today to get affordable high-speed internet in every California home because livelihoods depend on equitable access to a reliable and fast internet connection,” said Newsom. The California Broadband Council previewed and applauded the milestone at a meeting Wednesday (see 2210120036).

The Oregon Public Utility Commission shouldn’t thaw a frozen Lumen pricing order while it’s being challenged, the telco said Tuesday in docket UM 1908. Lumen last month contested a PUC order to extend Lumen’s price plan by nine months while investigating if it should be modified to support the public interest (see 2209300016). Lumen’s challenge automatically suspended the order. "There is insufficient evidence in the record to support a finding that maintaining the Order in place pending the outcome of the hearing is necessary for the public health or safety,” Lumen said Tuesday. The order is "plainly invalid" and "should not remain in place,” it said.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission cleared a T-Mobile petition to relinquish eligible telecom carrier status and cancel its informational tariff. Commissioners adopted the order by unanimous consent Wednesday. The PUC said it agreed with Minnesota Commerce Department recommendations attached to the order. The department said T-Mobile’s petition met all Minnesota statutory and regulatory requirements for relinquishment.

Colorado posted a plan to connect 99% of households to broadband in five years using federal funding. The Colorado Broadband Office sought feedback on the road map by Nov. 22. Under the plan, Colorado would prioritize fiber and “target funding in areas where a negative business case for investment for the unserved and underserved exist[s].” The state road map recommended setting “a high-cost per location threshold, which balances funding the use of fiber and alternative technologies to expand coverage for harder to serve areas.” The plan also seeks to increase adoption by 25% by 2027.

California plans to deploy the first fiber in the state’s middle-mile network Thursday, said Mark Monroe, deputy director-California Technology Department (CDT) Broadband Middle-Mile Initiative, Wednesday at a virtual California Broadband Council meeting. The state transportation department will install fiber along California State Route 67, which was one of the 18 pilot projects announced in November (see 2111170072). Thursday’s event “marks our flag in the ground that we are moving forward with this big project,” said state Chief Information Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins, the council’s chair. Monroe applauded the state for putting fiber in the ground about a year after California enacted its $6 billion broadband law. It “bodes well” for the state meeting federal deadlines, said the CDT official. California’s application to NTIA for broadband equity, access and deployment funding, submitted Aug. 12, moved to formal review Sept. 1 after “several rounds of updates based on NTIA feedback,” CPUC Communications Division Director Rob Osborn told the council. The CPUC started drafting a scope of work for the required five-year action plan and is analyzing the FCC’s broadband fabric for serviceable locations, said Osborn: The CPUC plans to provide feedback on the fabric through the bulk challenge process.

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 California Privacy Protection Agency board will meet Oct. 21-22 to discuss and possibly take action on rules to implement changes to state privacy rules required by the 2020 California Privacy Rights Act, said a CPPA agenda posted Monday. The Friday-Saturday meeting has start times of 2 p.m. PDT Oct. 21 and 9 a.m. PDT Oct. 22.

The California Public Utilities Commission gave $4.82 million to local governments for efforts to close the digital divide, the CPUC said Monday. The agency said it made 12 local agency technical assistance grants after receiving 46 applications in August for the $50 million state fund, which was part of last year’s $6 billion California broadband law. “With this funding, the state is helping provide local governments with the capacity to develop, design, and build their own networks,” said CPUC President Alice Reynolds. “These grants will usher in a new era of scalable, future-proof public broadband.”