Maine intends to move for summary judgment on all remaining counts in telecom groups’ challenge of the state’s ISP privacy law, Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) said Wednesday at the U.S. District Court of Maine. Frey asked the court to set a prefiling conference no sooner than Sept. 19 in case 1:20-cv-00055. ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom challenged the Maine law.
Next-generation 911 went live in some Illinois counties, the Illinois State Police said Tuesday: Northeastern Lake County Consolidated and Peoria, Macon and Clinton counties are first in the state to get NG-911, and 60 systems are expected to upgrade by year-end, state police said. NG-911 “will ensure that first responders like paramedics, firefighters and police officers have the information they need to respond quickly and efficiently,” said Gov. JB Pritzker (D).
Frontier Communications said it’s being harassed by West Virginia Public Service Commission staff in an investigation of an outage in Kanawha County. “The Staff’s discovery requests are grossly overbroad, asking for irrelevant and immaterial information covering Frontier entire customer base across the entire State,” when only “a relatively small rural area” is affected by the complaint in case 22-0628-T-P, Frontier objected Monday. “The Staff's requests call for information that has no relevance to the subject matter of the Petition, that are calculated to harass Frontier, and that are unreasonably and unduly burdensome.” Kanawha County in July asked the PSC to investigate a nearly 30-day outage (see 2207130017).
California legislators passed a bill to add two local government officials to the Middle-Mile Advisory Committee, the state broadband group overseeing California’s in-development middle-mile network. The Assembly voted 77-0 Monday to concur with Senate amendments to AB-2256 after that chamber supported the bill 38-0 Thursday. Also Monday, the Assembly voted 77-0 for the Senate-passed SB-857 to extend until Jan. 1, 2028, California High-Cost Fund A and B programs, set to expire Jan. 1. CHCF-A is for small independent telcos; CHCF-B is for telcos serving areas where cost exceeds rates charged by providers (see 2204040040). The bill will return to the Senate to vote on concurring with Assembly amendments.
The California Public Utilities Commission postponed voting on Starlink and California LifeLine items until its Sept. 15 meeting. Staff delayed Thursday’s planned vote on approving Starlink’s application for a CPCN and eligible telecom carrier designation (docket A.21-03-009), said a Monday hold list. A CPUC administrative law judge had asked if Starlink wanted approval after the FCC recently rejected the company’s long-form application for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support. Also, Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma held for further review a proposed decision to reduce California LifeLine subsidies when total federal monthly support applied to a LifeLine plan is more than $9.25 (docket R.20-02-008), the hold list said. The CPUC still plans to weigh a possible rulemaking to consider changes to VoIP licensing requirements and other obligations (see 2208190030).
An Ohio court bifurcated the state’s lawsuit claiming Google is a common carrier. Google opposed Ohio’s procedural request (see 2207050050). Splitting discovery, briefing and trial on counts one and two in the Ohio complaint “would further the goals and purposes of the civil rules as set forth in Civ.R. 1(B),” Judge James Schuck of the Ohio Common Pleas Court in Delaware County ruled Monday in case 21 CV H 06-0274. The first count is on whether Google Search is a common carrier; the second is on declaratory and injunctive relief. Parties should file a proposed discovery plan by Oct. 6, Schuck said.
About 2,000 Frontier union workers went on strike Friday in California, said Communications Workers of America. The workers are protesting Frontier exceeding a limit on subcontracting in a collective bargaining agreement, CWA said. The workers “walked off the job after several failed meetings with management to resolve a grievance filed over the issue,” the union said. The workers have lacked a contract since April 16 when an extension of a previous agreement expired, said CWA: After members rejected a proposed contract in March, CWA and Frontier entered federal mediation. CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce said workers "will no longer allow Frontier to line the pockets of its executives and jeopardize our members’ livelihood by hiring cheaper and inexperienced contractors who provide inferior service.” Frontier should "respect the agreed upon protections included in our contract and we are prepared to stay out on the picket line until our demands are met,” he said. Frontier didn’t comment.
Florida’s broadband office plans regional workshops this and next week on $400 million in state broadband funding, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said Thursday. The broadband office wants community input on developing administrative rules for implementing the Florida Broadband Opportunity Program, said the department. The hearings will be Monday in Polk County, Thursday in Santa Rosa County and Aug. 29 in Glades County. All start at 3 p.m.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission set a prehearing conference Wednesday in its proceeding on whether it should revoke LTD Broadband’s previously granted ETC status. The teleconference will be at 10 a.m. CDT, said a Thursday order in docket 22-221. The Minnesota PUC so far hasn’t changed plans to hold the proceeding even though the FCC earlier this month rejected LTD’s long-form application for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support (see 2208110011 and 2208100050).
Idaho Transportation Department staff presented possible dig-once rules to the Idaho Transportation Board at a partially virtual meeting Thursday. No action was taken. The department plans a public hearing next month and another written comment round on the draft rules (see page 139), said Ramon Hobdey-Sanchez, the department’s governmental affairs project manager. Idaho enacted a law requiring the dig-once policy earlier this year.