FairPoint Communications reached a settlement agreement with the Vermont Department of Public Service that would resolve the state's service quality investigation pending since December (see 1503040062), said a company news release. The settlement calls for FairPoint to pay a significant number of retroactive customer bill credits for out-of-service repair delays and to provide better guidance to phone customers who are eligible for such credits in the future, it said. The agreement supports a new proceeding at the Vermont Public Service Board on the scope of regulatory obligations applicable to FairPoint in light of significant changes in the competitive telecom landscape in the past several years, the release said. The agreement requires approval by the Vermont Public Service Board. The PSB will consider the settlement agreement during scheduled hearings in September.
PCIA is supportive of the reply comments filed by CTIA and the joint reply comments filed by the Arkansas Cable Telecommunications Association, which reflect a growing need for the state to modernize pole attachment rules, PCIA said in reply comments in Public Service Commission docket 15-019-R. PCIA also wants the PSC to adopt the FCC's fully compensatory cable rate formula to determine pole attachment rates in Arkansas. The association recommended that the state commission prevent pole owners from collecting undefined “administrative costs” from attaching entities.
Sonim Technologies received two contracts through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), a news release from the company said. Sonim was chosen to provide FirstNet Band 14-enabled devices, accessories and applications to public safety organizations statewide in New Jersey and New Mexico, the release said.
Seattle selected Rave Mobile Safety's Alert Emergency Notification System as its emergency mass notification system, said a news release from the company. AlertSeattle lets residents and city employees receive important emergency and community updates, by email, text, voice call, and on social media, the firm said. The tight integration between AlertSeattle and King County's Smart911 system allows residents to opt to provide critical information they wish to make available to responders in the event of a 911 call, it said.
The Wayne County, New York, 911 Communications Center selected Intergraph for dispatch, records management, mobility and integration services, the company said in a news release Monday.
Twelve public safety answering points (PSAPs) in the nine-county Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area regional 911 system supported by the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board selected Airbus DS Communications to upgrade their technology to the latest Vesta 911 system, said a news release from Airbus. Allina EMS, Carver County, Dakota County, City of Edina, Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis, Ramsey County and Scott County are among the PSAPs taking the first steps to build a regional next-generation 911 system, it said.
The Community Technology Advisory Board for Seattle endorses the proposed modernization of the Lifeline program with conditions, said a letter from the board in response to the FCC public notice: Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, in docket 11-42. Despite agreeing with the addition of the coverage of broadband under the program, the board believes there should be one Lifeline broadband subsidy and one Lifeline phone subsidy per household, not one or the other, it said. It also recommended that voicemail, call waiting, national long distance, at least 250 text messages each month, 500 minutes of calling, and low-cost data plans be included in all Lifeline plans.
Charter Communications' planned buy of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable would help the newly formed New Charter in promoting diversity, said an ex parte filing from the California Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP in FCC docket 15-149. New Charter would be able to emphasize progressive inclusion practices and ensure access to independently owned and minority-focused programming, the letter said. The deals would also promote better relations within many minority groups, it said.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision and remanded Sprint's appeal of the U.S. District Court in Des Moines' ruling that dismissed its complaints against the Iowa Utility Board, said a decision issued Friday. Sprint argued that fees it was required to pay Windstream for unpaid state access charges for VoIP calls fell under information calls, so they weren't subject to regulations. The IUB said the calls fell under telecom services and were, in fact, subject to state regulations. The companies had no immediate comment Friday.
TDS Telecom joined Adtran's Enabling Communities, Connecting Lives program, a news release from Adtran said Thursday. TDS provides high-speed Internet, phone and TV entertainment services in more than 150 rural, suburban and metropolitan areas, Adtran said. The company is using Adtran's gigabit services platform for its TDS Fiberville Fiber-to-the-Home service within selected New Hampshire communities, Adtran said. The Enabling Communities, Connecting Lives program shows how innovative technologies are being used in cities, towns and communities across the country to support economic growth and urban development, it said. It said earlier this week it had activated broadband services to 200 communities (see 1508120033).