California Commissioners Reflect on Communications Regulatory Role
The California Public Utilities Commission is taking a fresh look at communications, said members and staff at a commission meeting livestreamed Monday. Commissioners want to better understand future communications needs so they can determine the right role for the state regulator. They highlighted network issues during wildfires and low access among rural and low-income populations as possible issues.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The CPUC may decide to open a proceeding later after it holds more hearings, Communications Director Cynthia Walker said. The agency plans to write a report summarizing Monday’s event plus related comments due Thursday, she said. While underlying technology has changed, communications remains vital, she said.
States used to have more regulatory oversight, but now “we seem to be just a figment to … pre-empt the local government oversight and negotiations over the quality of service through access to the right of way,” said President Michael Picker. “These are the kinds of challenges that we face as these industries renationalize after the return to local service that seemed to be promised by the breakup of Ma Bell.”
Picker wants to “understand what are the obligations that we as regulators have to the public in terms of overseeing and [ensuring] service,” and providers’ obligations. “How do we actually make sure that the needs of the state of California are met at the same time that these industries become more openly competitive?” he asked. “What does it mean that the chase [for customers] is turning now more to wealthier populations buying more services,” leading to “telecommunication deserts in parts of our communities?”
It’s a good time to reflect on communications because “so much has changed and is changing,” said Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen. “Even though our regulatory jurisdiction has shifted over time, we now know that access to telecommunications is as essential as any of the other goods that we regulate.” Rural, tribal and low-income populations lack access, and policymakers should ensure that they catch up not only to existing technology but to what’s coming, he said.
Access is even more important in light of recent wildfires and other disasters, Rechtschaffen said. “We're looking very hard at this issue because frankly, our telecommunications providers and the service has not functioned or performed as well as we'd like in those circumstances.”
“If we lift low-income customers, we will lift all," said Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma, who started there about three months ago and is taking over as lead on California LifeLine issues. Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves, previously in that role, said she's mostly interested in how to "retain this basic utility for all.” Policymakers have gone from treating communications as a regulated utility to a “somewhat competitive” market, she said.
Areas of digital exclusion and places with high wildfire or flooding risk appear to overlap, said former Commissioner Catherine Sandoval, now a Santa Clara University School of Law professor. Many of those areas are tribal land, she added. “What people need is not just a device and a phone plan” but “a systematic plan” that eliminates silos related to infrastructure, disaster and recovery, and economic topics, she said.
Commercial networks weren't reliable during wildfires due to lack of site hardening and insufficient backup power, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Fire Protection Operations Staff Chief Kevin Guerrero. “Where we work, there are a lot of areas that do not have cellphone coverage” or broadband connectivity, he said. “It’s becoming less of convenience and more of a necessity.”
People assume their cellphone will always work but not every place has coverage and disasters can knock out service, said Budge Currier, 911 branch manager at the California Office of Emergency Services. Public safety needs better visibility into what's happening with networks during disaster, including which ones have gone down, where and why, he said. California Highway Patrol’s reliance on mobile data has increased exponentially, and 81 percent of 911 calls come from wireless, said Chief Information Officer Scott Howland. “If the public has a cellphone, but no coverage, they can’t call for help.”
“Digital equity is a 21st century right,” said California Emerging Technology Fund Director Sunne Wright McPeak. CETF’s 2019 survey showed 22 percent of Californians aren't connected or have only a smartphone to go online, she said. CPUC data shows that 43 percent of rural Californians lack reliable internet access, she said. Regulators need to decide that broadband is an essential service, and try to spur competition and keep rates low, said CPUC Public Advocate's Office Program Manager Ana Maria Johnson.