The $4 billion available for closing California's digital divide, including broadband equity access and deployment program funds and those allocated by the state legislature, won't be enough to bring broadband infrastructure to all unserved locations, the state Public Utilities Commission said Monday in its draft five-year BEAD action plan. The agency said it also lacks enough money to address underserved locations as well as community anchor institutions lacking 1 Gbps service. Citing CostQuest cost modeling, the PUC said fiber-to-the-premises for all unserved locations would cost $9.78 billion. The PUC California's size also could make it a challenge for some BEAD-funded subgrantees to get their work done within the required timeline. Comments are due Aug. 7, replies Aug. 11, on the action plan, which is due to NTIA by Aug. 27.

VantagePoint asked the FCC to approve a transitional middle-mile plan in Alaska to "provide eligible Alaska Plan Phase 1 carriers the ability to commit to enhanced performance obligations with temporary transitional relief from ultra-high middle mile transport costs." It said the plan is "a logical step" to take before the FCC implements the Alaska middle-mile expense support (AMMES), per an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 10-90. VantagePoint noted that estimates for a three-year transitional middle-mile plan would constitute 25% of the Alaska Plan's available reserve funding, "leaving 75% for AMMES in Phase 2 of the Alaska Plan."

Wisconsin will open grant applications under the state’s broadband infrastructure program Aug. 14, with a deadline sometime in November, the governor’s office said Wednesday. The program is funded by $42 million from the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund, which was established by the American Rescue Plan Act. “These federal investments will play a critical role in helping us build upon our efforts over the last four years as we keep working to close the digital divide and ensure every kid, family, and business has access to quality, high-speed internet, no matter where they live in our state,” said Gov. Tony Evers (D). The Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s broadband office will provide more details soon, the governor’s office said. PSC Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq said the "funding will allow us to focus on bringing affordable and reliable broadband to the places that the pandemic hit the hardest.”

The West Virginia Public Service Commission approved rules Wednesday to implement a 2020 law updating state emergency wireless telephone rules. The law required commercial mobile radio service providers to collect separate monthly fees from in-state two-way service subscribers for wireless enhanced 911, public safety and wireless towers. The PSC received no comments on proposed rule changes distributed in April, said the final order in docket GO 187.62.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission delayed voting on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to amend state USF rules until the commission’s Aug. 3 meeting. The PUC was scheduled to consider the item in docket L-2023-3040646 at Thursday's meeting.

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.

Send an update this month on Lumen settlement talks with Oregon Public Utility Commission staff, PUC Administrative Law Judge Sarah Spruce ordered Tuesday (docket UM 1908). In March, the PUC extended a price plan for Lumen’s CenturyLink through Sept. 28 to give parties more time to negotiate an agreement for a successor plan (see 2303280008). Staff said in May it expected to file a stipulation in June, but since then “no party has submitted any other settlement updates or a stipulation,” said Spruce. File an update or the stipulation by July 28, said the ALJ: If they can’t reach settlement, parties must propose a schedule for testimony, hearings and briefs “as soon as possible.”

Indiana opened the final round of a broadband grant program for applications, Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said Wednesday. Indiana will make $80 million in state funds and U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund support available for local governments in the Next Level Connections program’s fourth round. The state will award $5 million maximum per grant for projects by telecom providers and utility cooperatives; providers must provide at least a 20% match. Local governments will inform the state about unserved and underserved parts of their communities. “This final round … will be yet another critical component of the transition to the recently announced $868 million of additional funding from” NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment program “to connect more Hoosiers to begin being implemented next year and beyond,” said Holcomb.

Expect a California administrative law judge to schedule an initial hearing on AT&T’s request for carrier of last resort (COLR) relief “in the coming weeks,” said a California Public Utilities Commission spokesperson: Expect a prehearing conference in Q3 this year, with a scoping ruling to follow. California consumer and county groups protested AT&T’s June 30 request to shed COLR obligations for most of the state (see 2307070040). AT&T responded Monday that “the world has moved on” from copper networks required by COLR. “The historical regulatory compact is broken, as the Commission’s COLR obligation persists in treating AT&T California as though it were still a monopolist and saddles AT&T alone with the obligation to provide a tariffed standalone voice service to any requesting customer within its service area.” AT&T seeks “tailored relief from this anachronistic barrier to broadband investment and competition,” it said. Protesters’ "arguments are grounded in outdated policies and would slow California’s progress toward universal broadband.”

The Michigan Public Service Commission seeks comments by Aug. 14 on proposed discontinuance rules for basic local exchange services (BLES), said an order approved 2-0 by commissioners Friday. The commission also scheduled an Aug. 1 in-person public hearing. With existing rules expiring March 21, the PSC “seeks to re-promulgate the same rules with minor changes and to add rules” on what information BLES providers must include in discontinuance notices, said the PSC in case U-21368.