The National League of Cities has been meeting with the Commerce Department and Economic Development Administration to ensure small and rural communities have access to grant dollars available for broadband under the recently enacted infrastructure bill, NLC Executive Director Clarence Anthony said at an NLC City Summit virtual news-media briefing Wednesday. “Most of that funding is going to be routed through state governments,” but local governments can compete for some grants, plus some state funding “is intended to be passed directly to localities,” said Director-Federal Advocacy Irma Esparza Diggs: Cities also will pay attention to digital equity programs.

California will fund 18 middle-mile broadband pilot projects through this year's $6 billion broadband law before finalizing a statewide map, which is expected by Dec. 31, California Technology Department (CDT) Broadband Middle-Mile Initiative Deputy Director Mark Monroe said at a California Middle Mile Advisory Committee virtual meeting Wednesday. CDT asked California Public Utilities Commission staff to identify the “early wins,” which will help the state learn about building, design, leasing and connectivity issues that will inform future projects, said Monroe. Displaying a map showing the pilots spread through the state, Monroe said they will benefit urban, rural and tribal communities. "These 18 initial projects were not meant to exclude anyone or understate any communities' need” but reflect places where the CPUC had done enough work to move forward, he said. Monroe expects "a lot more" projects to be announced in Q1. The pilots represent a “critical first step” that make good on the governor and legislature's promise to move quickly, said Sen. Mike McGuire (D). Assemblymember Jim Wood (D) said he’s concerned about projects in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and Orange counties: “These projects are going to give people some angst.” He asked about the breakdown between unserved and underserved areas, but Monroe said he didn’t have those numbers. Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) said she’s "stunned and surprised at how well this process is moving forward."

The California Public Utilities Commission scaled back some conditions in its proposed conditional OK of Verizon/Tracfone before a planned Thursday vote. Administrative Law Judge Thomas Glegola issued a revised draft Tuesday after Verizon and Tracfone raised concerns in docket A.20-11-001 (see 2111050039). Verizon would have to participate in California LifeLine for 20 years rather than endlessly, as at first proposed. Another change increases to two years from six months how much time Verizon would have to migrate to its network all Tracfone customers currently on other networks. Citing global supply constraints, the revised draft allows Verizon to give 4G devices to LifeLine customers for the first year of the migration, but it would have to offer 5G handsets from then on. Verizon now would have until Dec. 30, 2025, to have at least 200,000 LifeLine subscribers. The first draft would have required that by June 30, 2023. The revised draft extended interim milestones. Glegola added findings that the applicants “failed to make commitments or provide certainty that former TracFone customers will have more options in terms of devices and plans without incurring additional costs” or “to make commitments to pass on any verifiable or quantifiable cost savings or service improvements to former TracFone customers despite claiming such benefits would occur as a result of the merger.” The Center for Accessible Technology, one intervenor that sought conditions, thinks the revised proposal “is thoughtful, incisive, and strong, and implements meaningful and enforceable mitigation measures that will help ensure that former TracFone customers and low-income customers will have access to low-cost telephone services after the merger closes,” Legal Counsel Paul Goodman emailed Wednesday. Lengthening the migration timeline is reasonable because “it’s more important that the migration be successful,” he said. The edits "provide additional flexibility for Verizon to offer free devices for TracFone customers during the transition" and "confirm that the combined company will participate in the state Lifeline program in meaningful ways," emailed The Utility Reform Network Managing Director-Telecom Brenda Villanueva. She praised the plan for requiring collaboration between the CPUC and combined company. Verizon didn’t comment.

Citing recent commissioner nominations, the FCC asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to extend abeyance on a lawsuit by the League of California Cities until March 16. Cities are challenging the FCC’s June 2020 wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling (see 2006240060). The court’s earlier freeze on case 20-7176 was to expire Tuesday. “Further abeyance will provide the opportunity for a fully-constituted Commission to consider how to proceed in this case,” wrote the agency.

U.S. District Court in Vermont froze state net neutrality litigation until Jan. 3 or when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resolves litigation on California’s open internet law, whichever happens first. Monday’s order finalized last week’s agreement between Vermont and ISP groups (see 2111100070). Case 2:18-cv-167 would have resumed Monday without extension.

The Utah Public Service Commission is seeking comments by Dec. 15 on proposed state USF rule changes, said a Utah State Bulletin issue Monday. The draft rules may take effect Jan. 1, it said. Proposed changes include establishing an $18 per line monthly broadband subsidy for low-income customers and setting a standard $25 per line monthly rate to be imputed to rate-of-return regulated providers for wholesale consumer broadband-only loops, up from the current weighted average rate of $8.97, it said.

Frontier Communications sought rehearing of a California Public Utilities Commission program to enforce conditions in its order clearing the telco’s bankruptcy reorganization. The CPUC program “will expose Frontier to exorbitant penalties, far beyond the range of potential fines applicable to other California telecommunications companies for the same conduct,” it said Thursday. “This result is not just unfair and competitively destabilizing, it is also unlawful. ... The Commission should promptly correct this erroneous result to avoid annulment of the Resolution by a reviewing court.” The carrier raised those concerns before commissioners unanimously adopted the program last month (see 2110070046). Wednesday, the CPUC proposed a resolution (T-17756) for commissioners' Dec. 16 meeting to authorize Communications Division staff to rescind California Advanced Services Fund grants if the project grantee withdraws and returns funds, or when staff determines the project doesn’t comply and no funds were distributed.

Vermont and ISP groups agreed to extend a freeze on net neutrality litigation until Jan. 3 or when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resolves suits on California’s open internet law, whichever happens first. Defendant Vermont and plaintiffs ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and the New England Cable & Telecommunications Association filed a stipulation Wednesday at U.S. District Court of Vermont. Case 2:18-cv-167 could resume Monday if the court doesn’t extend terms of a previous order (see 2105030047).

Consumer advocates said to reject changes proposed by Verizon and Tracfone to the California Public Utilities Commission’s conditional draft OK of the companies’ combining. CPUC members plan to vote Nov. 18 on Verizon/Tracfone, showed a Tuesday agenda. The companies disagreed last week with state LifeLine and customer migration conditions in the draft (see 2111050039). The companies' proposed edits are “factually incorrect, legally unsupported, and, if adopted, would make this merger detrimental to the interests of California consumers,” the CPUC’s Public Advocates Office replied Tuesday. The companies seek to “weaken or outright eliminate critical conditions” for low-income customers, PAO said. The Utility Reform Network and the Center for Accessible Technology agreed. Verizon said the proposed decision, with its recommended changes, “accomplishes the goal of ensuring that the Transaction is in the public interest.” Additional conditions proposed by the other three groups are “unnecessary and appropriate,” it said.

Texas urged a state court to again dismiss carrier claims that the Public Utility Commission didn’t adequately fund Texas USF (TUSF). Judge Karin Crump of Travis County District Court in Austin heard livestreamed, virtual oral argument Tuesday on a challenge by AMA TechTel. Crump dismissed a similar challenge by two state telecom associations June 7 (see 2106210048). The Texas Appeals Court for the 3rd Judicial District in Austin will hear the associations’ appeal of that decision Dec. 15, said Texas Assistant Attorney General Carl Myers. “This case is about AMA and AMA only,” and the court should decline relief because “it would take the pot of money ... from the case pending before the 3rd Court of Appeals” and due to lack of jurisdiction, he said. The legislature, not the court, should fix TUSF, he said. The other case’s plaintiffs are ILECs, but AMA is suing from its perspective as a CLEC, said its attorney Kevin Terrazas of Cleveland Terrazas. AMA isn’t asking the court to order the PUC to increase TUSF surcharges, but to follow a law requiring the commission to maintain an adequately funded TUSF. The PUC set the amount AMA should receive, but it isn’t paying that amount, he said: The law gives the PUC discretion on how to fund TUSF but not whether to fund it. Crump believes she made the right decision in the first case but wants to understand the distinctions between cases, the judge said. The hearing continued after our deadline.