Altice invoked musician Bruce Springsteen in a court filing to defend its policy not to prorate cable charges when a customer cancels service. “Just as with, say, a ticket to a Springsteen concert, the price of the ticket entitles the customer to see the entire concert, but fans do not get a prorated refund if they choose to leave at intermission,” the cable company said (in Pacer) Monday at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (docket 21-1791). The New Jersey of Board of Public Utilities is appealing a March 23 opinion by the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, which agreed with Altice that a state rule requiring the company to prorate bills is impermissible rate regulation preempted by the federal Cable Act (see 2104230051). Altice also argued not prorating “limits losses from scenarios where a customer subscribes to the service to watch a particular program, like the Friends reunion show, and then seeks to cancel the service after only a few days,” the operator said. New Jersey’s prorating rule requires Altice to charge a daily rate and not charge a higher amount to make up for the shorter subscription period, it said. “That is rate regulation."
Two West Virginia delegates relayed constituent complaints about Altice’s Suddenlink Communications at a West Virginia Public Service Commission hearing livestreamed Tuesday. Del. John Kelly (R) said one constituent complained it took five visits for Suddenlink to figure out what was wrong after a utility bucket truck pulled down a neighborhood cable line. Another Kelly constituent said Suddenlink installed internet but not telephone service and an installer didn't return for 21 days to connect the phone, the delegate said. Kelly also complained about Suddenlink removing two TV stations from its lineup and closing a call center in his county. The company should broadcast the West Virginia Legislature live, he added. Del. Jim Barach (D) thinks “competition is the key for what we need to get done,” he said. With prices going up, constituents want a choice of providers -- and fiber, said Barach: “Our internet access is so wanting here.” The West Virginia PSC invited the public to multiple hearings this week as the commission considers possible penalties and requirements; the company has said it’s working hard to enhance service (see 2107010065).
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) tagged $100 million for a state broadband program, the governor’s office said Friday. That adds to $300 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding that state lawmakers agreed to spend on connectivity in a March budget deal.
The California Public Utilities Commission may vote Sept. 23 on an order requiring major pole owners AT&T, Frontier Communications and three electric companies to include "granular information" about electric and communications attachments in each of their databases, said a Friday proposed decision in docket I-17-06-027. By requiring standardized attachment data, the CPUC “takes a major step forward in providing clearer insight into each pole’s safety, available capacity, and available physical space for access,” said the proposal. CPUC Administrative Law Judge Thomas Glegola decided Monday to extend by one week the deadline for comments on locations for California's planned middle-mile network (see 2108190046). The California Cable and Telecommunications Association requested more time in docket R.20-09-001. Comments are now due Sept. 3, replies Sept. 21.
The Kentucky 911 Services Board questioned CTIA’s standing to cross-appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a March 30 district court decision agreeing with CTIA that a Kentucky 911 law conflicts with the 2018 federal Wireless Telecom Tax and Fee Collection Fairness Act (see 2103300041). “CTIA lacks associational standing because participation by its members is necessary,” said a Thursday pleading (in Pacer) by the board. It notes that at least one CTIA member apparently “agreed to pay all applicable 911 charges as a condition of participating in Lifeline.”
Internet industry groups urged a federal judge to pause district court proceedings on Florida’s social media law until the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on Florida's appeal of a preliminary injunction. U.S. District Court in Tallahassee Judge Robert Hinkle asked if the case should be stayed (see 2108050053). What the 11th Circuit decides “will go a long way towards resolving the merits of this case, thereby vastly reducing the need for further briefing or discovery and saving this Court from wading through the discovery disputes that have already emerged,” NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association answered Wednesday in case 4:21-cv-00220-RH-MAF. Florida disagreed. “This case presents very important issues concerning the scope of the government’s authority to regulate the content moderation decisions of social media platforms,” said counsel for Attorney General Ashley Moody (R). “There is an overwhelming public interest in resolving this case expeditiously -- before another election in which Plaintiffs’ members are able to manipulate public discourse by censoring their users.”
A California microtrenching bill passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee in a unanimous Thursday vote. The industry-supported SB-378 would require localities to let fiber installers use microtrenching unless shown it would hurt health and safety (see 2107090049). The Senate-passed bill next needs an Assembly floor vote.
California should feel free to add conditions to Verizon/Tracfone even though Public Knowledge and Communications Workers of America withdrew objections to the deal at the FCC, (see 2108120029), PK and CWA clarified in a Tuesday notice at the California Public Utilities Commission emailed to the service list in docket 20-11-001. “Federal regulatory review is merely a floor for consumer protection, and the CPUC has statutory authority to require more consumer protections from the applicants based on the CPUC’s public interest review in the state of California,” PK and CWA said: Applicants haven’t proven to the CPUC that Verizon’s federal commitments are enough to protect Californians. Verizon filed Tuesday with the CPUC the agreement it reached with those and other groups about federal conditions. “The FCC agreement addresses concerns raised about Verizon’s acquisition of TracFone,” Verizon said. “The case is ripe for a decision.”
The Florida Public Service Commission set a Sept. 1 workshop on developing rules for pole attachment complaints (docket 20210137). The PSC will livestream the 9 a.m. EDT workshop from its headquarters, it said Tuesday. The PSC is separately considering rules in docket 20210138 to reverse preempt the FCC on pole attachment authority (see 2108160017).
Frontier Communications is hardening Arizona systems to make 911 more reliable, the company said at an Arizona Corporation Commission meeting Tuesday. Commissioners urged Frontier to be more proactive and questioned the company on its board's and management’s ability to get the company on the right path, said staff meeting notes emailed to us by the commission. When complete, staff’s probe could recommend adjustments to Frontier’s system or propose a show-cause order that could lead to sanctions. At a June meeting, commissioners criticized Frontier 911 reliability before unanimously agreeing to open the probe (see 2106080049). Frontier updated the Arizona commission Aug. 12 about its progress looking into recent 911 service outages and increasing reliability in docket T-03214A-21-21-0198. “Frontier's leadership continues to make its investigation and remedy plan a priority,” Director-Government Affairs Jack Phillips wrote Utilities Division Director Elijah Abinah.