T-Mobile/Sprint foes see "legal error" in the California Public Utilities Commission-proposed OK of the wireless deal. The Utility Reform Network, CPUC Public Advocates Office and Communication Workers of America had a March 19 call with an aide to assigned Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket A.18-07-011. The groups raised concerns about the proposal not including “necessary findings” or “structure appropriate enforcement mechanism,” and urged the CPUC to revise it. Commissioners may vote April 16 (see 2003160043).
Vermont mapped public Wi-Fi hot spots and their passwords. The Public Service Department announced the map Friday.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau won’t lift its termination of a public safety license formerly held by Warminster Township, Pennsylvania. On Dec. 17, 2017, the agency terminated the license. The township notified the FCC four days later it had “completed the installation of the antenna and associated equipment,” the bureau said Monday. “Warminster has failed to demonstrate that its claimed ‘site acquisition delays [that] pushed back installation of the antenna and associated equipment’ were due to causes beyond its control,” the bureau said. The township can file a new application and a request for special temporary authorization, it said.
The FCC is closing a Pennsylvania pole-attachment dispute between Verizon and power companies due to the state's taking authority over pole attachments last week (see 2003190032), the FCC ordered Monday in docket 19-354. The FCC transferred the case to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) has until May 20 to answer the telecom industry’s challenge of the state ISP privacy law, the U.S. District Court of Maine ruled Sunday in case 1:20-cv-00055 (in Pacer). The one-month delay is due to the federal court’s Wednesday order responding to COVID-19, which extended by 30 days all civil and criminal case deadlines earlier than May 1.
The California Public Utilities Commission asked communications companies to share COVID-19 response and business continuity policies. Executive Director Alice Stebbins sent a letter Friday to executives at Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Frontier Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications and Charter Communications. “Please indicate: (1) which essential functions can and cannot be performed remotely or transferred between locations; (2) how your company responds when employees are unable to work at their assigned job sites; (3) how your company is responding to shelter in place orders ... (4) whether continuity planning differs for pandemics versus events such as earthquakes or wildfires; and (5) whether your company has already activated your business continuity plan.” The CPUC sought any related communications to employees or customers. The agency asked if companies implemented Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interim guidance, what effects the coronavirus might have on call centers and credit-and-collections processes, and if companies suspended disconnections or implemented bill payment plans. Elsewhere, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission closed its office to the public and Saturday said business continues, with most staffers working remotely. The Wyoming Public Service Commission ended paper filing requirements Friday and made phone participation “mandatory” for Tuesday’s meeting. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) issued an executive order Sunday suspending certain Public Service Commission administrative rules and empowering the agency to respond to the emergency. The Florida Public Service Commission said Monday it will limit in-person participation at its March 31 meeting. The South Carolina PSC won't close its office but encourages e-filing and is suspending physical hearing appearances except for legal counsel, the agency said Monday: Weekly meetings will continue but can be livestreamed. Many state commissions are responding to the virus (see 2003200014).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau granted a request from Hudson County, New Jersey, for special temporary authority to operate its travelers information station at 10 times its allowed power rate “during the national- and state-level emergencies associated with the Novel Coronavirus,” said an order released Friday. In 2014, the bureau denied the county’s request to permanently operate the 10-watt station at 100 watts but said then it could allow it temporarily during an emergency. The county TIS station “is its only means of communicating with all of its residents and transients during this national emergency, and the station has only limited reach within the County at its licensed power,” the order said. The order requires the TIS to cease operating at increased power either after 90 days or when the national emergency ends, whichever is sooner. The station also has to filter audio bandwidths above 3 kHz, notify a nearby broadcaster when it increases power, and reduce power if it receives an interference complaint.
Pennsylvania and FirstEnergy got permission from the FCC Public Safety Bureau to add VHF channels to a joint 800 MHz system. “Petitioners note that due to the superior propagation characteristics of VHF transmissions, VHF channels provide optimum coverage in Pennsylvania’s rugged terrain and densely forested areas,” said an order posted Friday in docket 19-255: “They point to a recent incident -- the largest manhunt in Pennsylvania’s history -- in which the existing 800 MHz system did not provide full coverage in these areas.”
The California Public Utilities Commission suspended renewal requirements for the state LifeLine program for 90 days “to ensure continued access to affordable communications services during the COVID-19 outbreak,” ruled assigned Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma Thursday in docket R.20-02-008. Shiroma asked for comments by April 3 on how long the suspension should continue and if the CPUC should adopt other LifeLine measures... The Vermont Department of Public Service said it's collecting information on telecom and internet availability during the emergency... The Regulatory Commission of Alaska closed doors to visitors Friday because of "confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alaska and in abundance of caution"... NARUC and the National Regulatory Research Institute launched a state commission COVID-19 response tracker.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission certified to the FCC that the state now regulates pole attachment rates, terms and conditions. Pennsylvania rules are now effective, the PUC said in a Wednesday letter to the FCC in docket 10-101. The FCC updated its list of certified states Thursday. West Virginia similarly reverse pre-empted FCC authority last month (see 2002030022). That makes 22 states and Washington, D.C., with pole-attachment authority; the FCC regulates the rest.