The Oklahoma Corporation Commission voted 2-1 to increase the state USF’s per-connection surcharge, at a livestreamed meeting Thursday. The flat fee will increase to $2.02 monthly per connection in September, from $1.85, under the commission’s second interim order in case OSF2022-000045. Before voting no, Commissioner Bob Anthony noted the draft order was distributed late afternoon Wednesday. In a written dissent, the Republican noted Oklahoma USF (OUSF) collected about $7 million two decades ago, yet Thursday’s order says the fund requires $110 million in fiscal year 2023. “That’s more than 15 times higher than 20 years ago, and the statute still provides no cap.” The government program is opaque, complained Anthony. “Basic transparency and disclosure about this program should enable the public to know: Where do these OUSF monies actually go? To network improvements, infrastructure buildout, and modernization? Or to better salaries, higher profits and larger dividends for a few dozen independent telephone companies and/or their owners?” At the commission’s July 11 meeting, OUSF Administrator Mark Argenbright said the increased surcharge should put the commission on track to eliminating a current USF deficit in September 2024. Argenbright disagreed with CTIA, which said the increasing surcharge shows Oklahoma’s connections-based contribution method isn’t working (see 2307110078).
The Wireless ISP Association urged California Senate appropriators Wednesday to advance an Assembly-passed bill that would explicitly authorize wireless broadband providers to apply for California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) federal funding account (FFA) grants. AB-1065 cleared the Senate Communications Committee last month (see 2306200053) and is in the Appropriations Committee’s suspense file, a category reserved for bills deemed to be costly. The California Public Utilities Commission “has only funded fiber projects through the FFA, which has led to many California residents lagging woefully behind the state in accessing high-quality internet service,” said WISPA’s letter to Appropriations Committee Chair Anthony Portantino (D). The industry group said fixed wireless “can quickly and efficiently step into this gap.”
California faces higher-than-expected construction costs as it works to complete the state’s middle-mile network, said Mark Monroe, deputy director-California Technology Department (CDT) Broadband Middle-Mile Initiative, at a partly virtual California Broadband Council meeting Thursday. And many more miles of fiber will be needed than originally planned, he said. Other state broadband officials said it’s important to keep funding the federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) as California makes gains enrolling households.
Massachusetts advocates are optimistic about making jail and prison calls free in this year’s state budget, they said in interviews this week. Legislators, who are a month late passing the budget, heard testimony on a stand-alone no-cost calls bill at a Joint Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. If lawmakers can quickly finish the job, call costs will be “one less thing I have to worry about,” said Joanna Levesque, an advocate whose partner is incarcerated in Massachusetts.
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska got wide industry support for making permanent its recently adopted emergency regulations for Alaska USF. Making them permanent would extend the AUSF sunset through June 30, 2026. The RCA received supportive comments in docket R-21-001 this week from Alaska Communications, Alaska Telecom Association (ATA), Alaska Remote Carriers Coalition, GCI, Ketchikan Public Utilities (KPU) and Matanuska Telecom Association. ATA said the RCA's actions to continue AUSF “are crucial in ensuring the provision of essential telecommunications services to rural areas in Alaska.” The RCA should adopt a change proposed by the Alaska Universal Service Administrative Company (AUSAC), some industry groups said. AUSAC urged the RCA July 13 to reinstate a reporting and remittance exception for de minimis carriers, which pay up to $100 annually. "Without the de minimis exception, additional time will be spent on processing paper reports and remittances from de minimis carriers as electronic payments are cost prohibitive for a carrier to remit $8 or less,” the administrator said. “AUSAC has had past experiences with carriers, who were unaware of the de minimis exception, taping coins to mailed remittance reports." KPU supported that proposed change unless it "would create unnecessary delay in adoption or otherwise risk disapproval by the Department of Law.”
AUSTIN -- New NARUC Telecom Committee Chair Tim Schram praised NTIA efforts making broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) allocations, in a Wednesday interview. Also, Schram and another Republican committee member, South Dakota Commissioner Chris Nelson, told us they’re glad the FCC may soon finally have all five seats filled.
AUSTIN – State commissioners softened a draft resolution meant to discipline telecom providers still using network equipment that might pose a national security risk. At NARUC’s conference here Tuesday, the Telecom Committee unanimously supported a measure that would recommend lower scoring for grant applications by providers with equipment on the FCC’s covered list.
AUSTIN – NARUC's Telecom Committee supported permanent annual funding for the affordable connectivity program (ACP) in a nearly unanimous vote at the association’s conference Tuesday. Congress will fear ending ACP if enough people sign up, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council CEO Robert Branson told state commissioners on a diversity panel Monday. Panelists said it’s important for digital equity efforts to keep the program that’s meant to help low-income communities afford broadband.
Assessing a 5% fee on streaming TV gross annual revenue is necessary to keep community media thriving, Massachusetts state Rep. Joan Meschino (D) said Thursday at a Joint Advanced Information Technology Committee livestreamed hearing. The committee heard testimony on Meschino’s H-74 and the similar S-34. Community TV officials supported the bill, saying the fee is necessary to restore lost funding from declining cable franchise revenue. The committee’s House Chair Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D) agreed with the goal of saving community media and local news but said she sees “a lot of work to do” to decide how to do it. Senate Chair Michael Moore (D) asked if the proposed law is preempted by an FCC August 2019 order restricting local franchise regulation of non-cable services being delivered by cable networks. Mass Access President Dave Gauthier said it wouldn’t be preempted. Rep. Jeffrey Turco (D) questioned if adding a tax to consumers' streaming bills would be good policy since many people cut cable to save money. Taxing streaming companies through the bills might violate the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, said TechNet Executive Director-Northeast Christopher Gilrein. “Beyond being an ill-timed burden on your constituents, this new tax would be duplicative and administratively burdensome.” Also at the hearing, the committee weighed a bill (H-82) by Rep. Michael Soter (R) to ban TikTok on government devices. If the federal government thinks TikTok is risky, Massachusetts should take the issue seriously, he said. New England Cable and Telecommunications Association President Tim Wilkerson raised concerns that the committee is considering several bills to expand communications regulation. He urged the state legislators to take note that the FCC should soon have five commissioners and is the body that should decide whether to make new rules.
The California Public Utilities Commission denied Verizon an extension to migrate TracFone customers to its network, the carrier told the service list for docket A.20-11-001 Thursday. CPUC Executive Director Rachel Peterson denied Verizon’s June 2 request for a one-year extension, in a letter to carrier Wednesday. It’s a good decision, albeit somewhat generous to Verizon, Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) Legal Counsel Paul Goodman said in an interview.