NTIA should guide Ohio to revise its draft proposal for the broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program to make it conform with NTIA policy on defining unserved areas, wireless groups said Monday. The Wireless ISP Association (WISPA), NATE, the Open RAN Policy Coalition and the Competitive Carriers Association sent NTIA a letter about the issue Monday. WISPA and the other groups said volume one of the state’s draft initial proposal has problems due to an Ohio budget bill (HB-33) passed earlier this year. Wireless groups had raised concerns with the state budget including a section removing wireless broadband from definitions of tier one and tier two broadband services for the purposes of getting grants (see 2307050064). The law “includes locations served by licensed fixed wireless broadband in the definition of ‘unserved,’ regardless of the quality of service delivered,” WISPA and the other groups said Monday: This is "a material change in policy -- one that could potentially add millions of additional unserved locations to the BEAD program if applied nationally at a time when many states are already deciding how to best stretch their BEAD allocations.” Treating areas with licensed spectrum as unserved would be inconsistent with the BEAD notice of funding opportunity, they said.
Ohio must find a “long-term solution” to fund 988, said state Rep. Gail Pavliga (R) at an Ohio House Finance Committee hearing livestreamed Tuesday. Pavliga’s bipartisan HB-231 proposes a 10 cent fee on VoIP, wireline and wireless monthly bills and each retail sale of a prepaid wireless service in the state. The state has relied on federal funding for the mental health hotline, but that won’t last forever, said Pavliga. In its first year, Ohio's 988 program received 8,671 calls and 3,368 texts and chats per month, she noted. The committee didn’t vote.
Wisconsin is seeking comment on its digital equity plan draft for NTIA, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission said Thursday. Comments are due Oct. 19 in docket 5-BP-2023, the PSC said. Meanwhile, Louisiana’s broadband office said Friday that NTIA approved volume one of its initial proposal for the broadband, equity, access and deployment program.
The California Public Utilities Commission plans hearings on AT&T’s application to relinquish eligible telecom carrier designation, Commissioner John Reynolds said in a scoping memo Wednesday in docket A.23-03-002. The CPUC plans an evidentiary hearing in April; Reynolds directed an administrative law judge to set a specific date. The commission plans public participation hearings in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024, showed a schedule in the memo. Intervenor testimony is due Oct. 25 and AT&T rebuttal testimony is due Nov. 30, it said. The CPUC won’t consolidate the proceeding with AT&T’s separate request to shed carrier of last resort obligations (docket A.23-03-003), the memo said. "The legal standards, potential evidence, and analysis used in each proceeding will be different,” plus the parties in each matter aren’t the same, it said. However, the memo noted there will be coordination between the dockets and "their schedules are very related."
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission granted multiple petitions to discontinue and abandon telecom services in the state at a livestreamed meeting Thursday. Commissioners voted 5-0 for petitions by Mitel Cloud Services, RCLEC and Mosaic Networx. Also, the PUC unanimously supported applications filed by Plenary Broadband Infrastructure and PBI PA AssetCo to provide telecom service as a competitive access provider. And the PUC voted 5-0 to approve an Entouch Wireless petition to partly relinquish its eligible telecom carrier designation in the area previously served by underlying carrier Verizon Wireless, and to remove AT&T as the company’s underlying carrier. Thursday was Commissioner Stephen DeFrank’s first meeting as PUC chairman, but he participated virtually because he said he had COVID-19. It was also Kimberly Barrow’s first meeting as commissioner. Commissioners elected her vice chair before the meeting. The Pennsylvania Senate confirmed Barrow last month (see 2308300037).
Utah could nearly double its connections-based USF surcharge to 71 cents from 36 cents per access line monthly, effective Dec. 29. The Utah Public Service Commission distributed the proposal Wednesday. “The increase in the surcharge is necessary to ensure the [Utah USF] can meet statutory obligations while remaining within policy norms,” said the PSC. Chair Thad LeVar said the increase will ensure the fund has sufficient balance to pay three months of disbursements without incurring a deficit and that telecom carriers have predictable funding for networks. The PSC sought comments by Dec. 15 (docket 23-R008-01). Utah switched to a connections-based contribution mechanism in 2018.
Lumen restored 911 services Tuesday in northeast Wyoming caused by a fiber cut by a third party, the carrier’s spokesperson said: “Our techs worked nonstop to fix the issue as quickly as possible.” Thousands were left without service Tuesday morning, said a news report. Fiber cuts led to a Lumen outage in Nebraska earlier this month, prompting an investigation by the Nebraska Public Service Commission (see 2309120046 and 2309010021). The Wyoming PSC didn’t comment.
The Texas Public Utility Commission should grant eligible telecom carrier (ETC) status to Dish Wireless, staff recommended Wednesday in docket 54475. In an amended application Monday, Dish said it received ETC designation in Colorado, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Vermont. California authorized it to provide state LifeLine service, it said. Also, Dish has a pending application at the FCC for states that rely on the federal agency to decide ETC designations. States that don’t certify wireless carriers include Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Dish previously amended its application Aug. 30 (see 2308310025)
The Oklahoma Broadband Office is seeking comment by Oct. 20 on volume one of its initial proposal for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment program, the office said Wednesday. Oklahoma's draft added facilities serving the incarcerated to the federal definition of community anchor institutions. The document also details the state’s planned challenge process. The state was allocated $797.4 million.
A Pennsylvania Senate panel unanimously supported a kids’ social media bill while removing the original proposal’s private right of action. At a livestreamed hearing Tuesday, the Communications Committee voted by voice on a bipartisan basis for SB-22, which would amend the state’s mental health statute to add rules for minors on social platforms, with penalties for violations. It would require parental consent for anyone under 16 to open a social media account and prohibit data mining for any user under 18. Legislators crafted an amendment after months of negotiations with tech companies, said Vice Chair Kristin Phillips-Hill (R), the bill’s co-sponsor. It replaces a private right of action with exclusive enforcement by the state attorney general, revises the definition of a social media platform, elaborates on social media companies duties for age verification and tweaks the bill’s data mining section, she said. The bill doesn’t apply to e-commerce companies, said the vice chair, responding to a question by Sen. Frank Farry (R). “The data shows that far too many minors are struggling with mental health and that social media is a contributing factor,” said Phillips-Hill. The Computer and Communications Industry Association opposed the bill before the amendment, including because of the private right of action. CCIA declined to say Tuesday if the amendment addressed its concerns.