Pennsylvania PUC Proposes ‘Some Relief' for Telecom Providers
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission sought to retain telecom authority while agreeing Thursday to propose changes to some state rules to reflect changing competition. “We can improve our regulatory construct while continuing to exercise our jurisdiction responsibly,” said Vice Chairman David Sweet before commissioners voted 4-0 for an amended NPRM at the PUC’s teleconferenced meeting. Later in Wyoming, CenturyLink said it’s complying with a 2019 agreement to get landline deregulation in rural areas of that state. California and Texas commissions also mulled telecom matters at Thursday meetings.
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.
Pennsylvania commissioners voted unanimously for a motion by Sweet to amend staff’s recommended order in docket L-2018-3001391. The commissioner proposed the changes after members failed 2-2 last month to agree on a proposed order (see 2007160040) that followed up on a February commission ruling to extend waivers of certain regulations for Verizon through 2022 (see 2002270009).
The amendment would provide “some relief to all, but not all relief to any,” said Sweet. The PUC aims to address today’s reality that regulated wireline carriers must compete against providers that aren’t regulated by the state, with many of the rules set before the unregulated carriers existed, the commissioner said. The PUC should update rules, Sweet said, but he can’t support “wholesale repeal of regulations” because “some remain necessary to protect the public interest,” including of utilities and consumers.
Sweet rejected staff's recommendation for a two-tiered regulatory structure that would have imposed different rules for competitive and noncompetitive areas. “A bifurcated set of regulations is not optimal as a permanent solution,” so the motion takes a “one-tier, evenhanded approach,” the commissioner said. The amended rules would reduce utility reports and some other burdens, Sweet said.
Commissioner John Coleman sees a “highly competitive marketplace” and wanted to go further to level the playing field for regulated providers that compete with unregulated entities, he said. But Coleman said Thursday’s action moves in the right direction. Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille supported revising rules but sought more input on issues including reliability and service quality. Two industries -- telephone and cable -- provide more than 90 percent of connections, she noted.
Brown Dutrieuille slammed Verizon and other telecom providers for tardiness on interconnection agreement petitions approved by the PUC Thursday. It isn't new for carriers to miss the state's 30-day shot clock from when they finish private negotiations, the chairman said. “The carriers routinely file this type of interconnection agreement late, even prior to the pandemic,” she said. “The timing and volume of this noncompliance concerns me because it directly impacts other competitors’ ability to adopt” such pacts.
More State Meetings
CenturyLink is maintaining its Wyoming network “as best as we can,” while meeting terms from the Public Service Commission’s Feb. 28, 2019, deregulation order, said CenturyLink Government Affairs Director Tim Kunkleman at a PSC hearing streamed from Cheyenne, with many participating virtually. The stipulation addressed service-quality concerns and required CenturyLink to partly subsidize Hughes satellite VoIP in some areas (see 1903010027).
Rural service options are improving with state and federal support, said Kunkleman. He noted recent Connect America Fund awards and $86 million in federal coronavirus support that Gov. Mark Gordon (R) tagged for broadband earlier this month. Several states recently made plans to use Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding for broadband (see 2008260005, 2008250003 and 2008240046).
The California PUC opened a fresh docket on the California Advanced Services Fund to promote broadband. Commissioners voted unanimously for the item Thursday as part of the consent agenda at their virtual meeting. The new case will include unresolved matters from the previous docket (R.12-10-012), plus proposed rules and programmatic changes to “maximize broadband infrastructure deployment and leverage multiple funding sources to better meet the goals of the program,” said the proposed CPUC order. If the legislature passes SB-1130 or AB-570 to increase the state broadband standard from 6 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up (see 2008210031), the commission plans to use the docket to draft implementing rules, it said. CASF needs more funding to meet the state's broadband need, said Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves. "We are very encouraged by the leadership of the governor and the legislature in taking this on, and we're extremely hopeful for a successful outcome."
California commissioners also approved on consent a $3.75 million fine to AT&T that the carrier challenged. The CPUC sanctioned the carrier for not providing next-generation 911. AT&T said it was reviewing the decision Wednesday and didn't add anything Thursday (see 2008260068).
Texas commissioners unanimously agreed to send more comments to the FCC responding to the National Lifeline Association raising concerns about reimbursement for Texas services (see 2007130045). Deny NaLA’s petition to revoke Texas’ opt-out certification from the national Lifeline accountability database, said drafted comments approved at the PUC’s livestreamed Thursday meeting. Texas low-income discount administrator methods are valid, comprehensive and transparent, the PUC said. “There have been no failures in the design or management of the program or processes.”