California Assemblymember Jim Wood (D) wondered if environmental review hurdles to building the state’s middle-mile network might warrant legislative attention. At a California Middle-Mile Advisory Committee virtual meeting Friday, Wood said he doesn’t understand why placing conduit along a highway would require California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other reviews. “Highway projects already are massively invasive on the environment and there have to have been cultural studies in these highway projects at some point in the past as well,” he said. “Why do we have to repeat things? How much more of an environmental impact could the trenching or the placement of conduit have than building the original highways?” A presentation by California Department of Transportation Division Chief-Design Janice Benton estimated 30 months for permitting, including a 17-month CEQA review. Wood worries about the state finishing projects before it must return federal funding, he said. “If there’s something we need to do more as a legislature to give you more tools to move this thing along, please tell us.” Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) agreed with the need for urgency. “The frustration … or fear is that we’re going to run out of time.” Earlier at the meeting, Quirk-Silva praised progress made and a California budget signed June 30 that included another $550 million for the middle-mile project over the next two fiscal years. It brings total funding to $3.8 billion, “which will be vital in helping the state address the cost increases for the project,” said Mark Monroe, California Technology Department Broadband Middle-Mile Initiative deputy director. The California Public Utilities Commission will start taking applications Aug. 1 for the state’s new $50 million local and tribal technical assistance fund, CPUC program manager Jonathan Lakritz told the committee. On July 1, the CPUC received 99 project applications seeking about $28.6 million total for broadband adoption and digital equity grants, plus 19 applications seeking about $1.4 million in grants for public housing and low-income community projects, he said.

The California Public Utilities Commission needn’t delay investigating T-Mobile’s MetroPCS while related litigation is pending at U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the CPUC’s Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division (CPED) said Thursday in docket I.22-04-005. The CPUC said in April that Metro faces up to $230 million in possible fines for failing to remit California USF payments for prepaid phone service, but Metro asked in May to dismiss the probe due to the pending court case (see 2205190013). The CPUC investigation "seeks only to determine the intrastate surcharges owed by MetroPCS on intrastate communications under the Prepaid Act and in no way seeks to impede the regulation of interstate communications by the FCC,” CPED said. “This issue is separate and distinct from the Federal Litigation." Metro disagreed: "The Commission should not move forward with any portion of the [investigation] until the MetroPCS Litigation concludes."

AT&T said the California Public Utilities Commission should adopt a proposed decision (PD) allowing it to discontinue residential landline service in Frontier Communications territory. The PD correctly says AT&T fully complied with CPUC mass migration guidelines and additional requirements set in the proceeding, the carrier commented Wednesday in docket A.21-05-007. "AT&T appreciates" the CPUC's "commitment to ensure that customers do not lose essential local voice service when their local service provider exits the market,” and that the PD clarifies that all comments from the public responded to erroneous concerns. The Utility Reform Network generally supports the PD but wants the CPUC to clarify that relinquishing eligible telecommunications carrier status doesn't excuse AT&T from reimbursing California LifeLine and federal Lifeline for overcollection since May 2021, said TURN. California commissioners may vote Aug. 4 (see 2207010061).

LTD Broadband got at least a temporary reprieve from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on a denied application for eligible telecom carrier designation for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support (see 2205240041). Commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to grant LTD a limited rehearing on newly discovered evidence in docket TC21-001. Vice Chairperson Kristie Fiegen (R) voted no, but the other commissioners voted against her substitute motion to deny rehearing. All three agreed not to grant LTD’s request to immediately reconsider their February decision. "We will have some new information,” said Chairman Chris Nelson (R) at the recorded meeting. “Whether it changes anything, I do not know. But my gut tells me that I owe it to the people of South Dakota to at least find out.” Commissioner Gary Hanson (R) said he struggled with what to do, but it seemed most fair to provide an opportunity to present new evidence. Feigen said LTD could have presented technical evidence in the initial hearing showing it had expertise to deploy fast broadband across the state, but the company didn't. Nelson dismissed concerns that LTD’s continued presence could prevent others from getting NTIA broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) funding because he said that money is unlikely to flow for another year and contains “onerous” requirements. Taking the opposite track in a decision last week, the Minnesota PUC agreed unanimously to open a proceeding on whether it should revoke LTD’s previously granted ETC status for RDOF funding (see 2207140047).

Ohio awarded $9.7 million to expand affordable broadband to 25,000 households in Cuyahoga County, a large urban area that includes Cleveland, said Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) Wednesday. The county will match the amount. Households will get internet for $15 monthly “and in some cases for free,” Husted’s office said.

All companies should receive Oregon USF support “at similar levels based not on the size of the company, but on the characteristics of the areas they serve,” Lumen commented Tuesday in the Oregon Public Utility Commission’s OUSF update docket (AR 649). “Absent a rational basis for any differentiation, there is a risk the rules would be discriminatory under state and federal law.” At least maintain current funding levels if telecom companies “are to continue to offer service to all customers in their territories as carriers of last resort,” Lumen said. The Oregon Telecommunications Association “still has serious reservations” about using a CostQuest model to determine OUSF size, said OTA. Tribal provider Warm Springs Telecommunications (WST) said it tentatively supports the proposed rule but warned a "significant reduction in OUSF would put into jeopardy the efforts the [Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs], through WST, has undertaken to provide quality and affordable services to its Native American population.” The PUC is scheduled to adopt rules at a July 26 meeting.

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Broadband Infrastructure Office awarded more than $23.4 million through its Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology program, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced Monday (see 2009140034). Applications were scored based on the number of households and businesses that would be served, a commitment to provide speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps scalable to 100 Mbps symmetrical by the end of 2026, and participation in the FCC's affordable connectivity program. Spectrum, Windstream and Brightspeed were among the winning applicants. The department is awarding the grants "on a rolling basis throughout July and August to expedite the distribution of all these critical funds," said NCDIT Secretary James Weaver.

The Washington state Commerce Department asked for proposals from firms interested in offering “Digital Navigator” services in their communities. “Digital Navigators provide technical assistance and expertise in connectivity, internet-enabled devices and the digital skills to use them,” the department said Monday. Proposals are due Aug. 18 with anticipated grants to run $200,000-$500,000.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced more than $20.8 million in additional grant funding for six broadband infrastructure projects Monday (see 2203180036). It's the first round of grants awarded through the state's major broadband project strategies program. An additional $13.3 million will come from "other funding sources," said a news release. “This will help people who need high-speed internet to work remotely and help students be able to do their homework, give our seniors better access to telehealth options, allow businesses to reach more customers than ever," Justice said. Comcast received the largest amount, $14.7 million, to install "approximately 304 miles of fiber infrastructure" to reach 1,402 addresses throughout the state. Citynet, DQE Communications, Shenandoah Cable Television, Frontier and Lingo also got funding.

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity is seeking comment on a draft request for proposals for vendors to provide risk management and strategic advisory services for the state's $1 billion broadband connectivity and access plan, the agency said Friday. It said the draft RFP will be available through July 28 and feedback can be sent to NCDITpartnerfeedback@nc.gov.