The California Public Utilities Commission asked communications companies to share COVID-19 response and business continuity policies. Executive Director Alice Stebbins sent a letter Friday to executives at Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Frontier Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications and Charter Communications. “Please indicate: (1) which essential functions can and cannot be performed remotely or transferred between locations; (2) how your company responds when employees are unable to work at their assigned job sites; (3) how your company is responding to shelter in place orders ... (4) whether continuity planning differs for pandemics versus events such as earthquakes or wildfires; and (5) whether your company has already activated your business continuity plan.” The CPUC sought any related communications to employees or customers. The agency asked if companies implemented Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interim guidance, what effects the coronavirus might have on call centers and credit-and-collections processes, and if companies suspended disconnections or implemented bill payment plans. Elsewhere, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission closed its office to the public and Saturday said business continues, with most staffers working remotely. The Wyoming Public Service Commission ended paper filing requirements Friday and made phone participation “mandatory” for Tuesday’s meeting. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) issued an executive order Sunday suspending certain Public Service Commission administrative rules and empowering the agency to respond to the emergency. The Florida Public Service Commission said Monday it will limit in-person participation at its March 31 meeting. The South Carolina PSC won't close its office but encourages e-filing and is suspending physical hearing appearances except for legal counsel, the agency said Monday: Weekly meetings will continue but can be livestreamed. Many state commissions are responding to the virus (see 2003200014).
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America and others asked to extend the April 6 deadline to comment on proposed changes to rules for the 5.9 GHz band. ITS America cited the “unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” in a filing posted Monday in docket 19-138. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials sought a 90-day delay. “State Departments of Transportation are on the front lines trying to maintain current operations of the transportation system as well as respond to nearly hourly and daily requests from Governor’s and other leaders needs for changes and exemptions to current regulations,” the group said. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation supported AASHTO's request.
The FCC is expected to issue an order soon delaying one or more filing deadlines during COVID-19. Commissioner Brendan Carr said last week relief may be on the way (see 2003190049). The FCC has delayed deadlines in the past when the government closed. Here, the delay would help commenters caught up in the pandemic. An extension is expected soon on the FCC’s net neutrality refresh, with filings now due April 29, after various groups complained (see 2003120070) because one topic is how the reclassification of broadband service affects public safety, a key issue to state and local governments dealing with the coronavirus, industry officials said. Unclear is whether the FCC will extend other deadlines.
Negotiations dragged on Monday on a third economic stimulus bill addressing the effects of COVID-19, with congressional lawmakers having yet to reach a bipartisan deal. A second bid for the Senate to invoke cloture on the legislative vehicle for the hoped-for compromise measure (HR-748) failed on a 49-46 vote amid continued Democratic objections to the current contours of a legislative proposal that has GOP buy-in. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was circulating her Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act counterproposal, which includes pandemic-specific Lifeline and distance learning funding.
The Public Safety Bureau has granted a request from Hudson County, New Jersey for special temporary authority to operate its traveler’s information station at ten times it’s allowed power rate “during the national- and state-level emergencies associated with the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic,” said an order Friday. In 2014, the bureau denied the county’s request to permanently operate the 10-watt station at 100 watts, but said then it could allow it temporarily during an emergency. The county TIS station “is its only means of communicating with all of its residents and transients during this national emergency, and the station has only limited reach within the County at its licensed power,” the order said. The order requires the TIS to cease operating at increased power either after 90 days or when the national emergency ends, whichever is sooner. The station also has to filter audio bandwidths above 3 kHz, notify a nearby broadcaster when it increases power, and reduce power if it receives an interference complaint.
The FCC is closing the open window at its headquarters and won't accept filings delivered by hand, it said in public notice and Friday's Daily Digest. Effective immediately, the change comes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said. "We encourage outside parties to take full advantage of the Commission’s various electronic filing systems," it said. It will continue to accept materials by mail and overnight services. Earlier this month, FCC headquarters was closed to most visitors (see 2003120063).
Telecom and tech continued responding Friday to COVID-19 with actions including moving to telework and canceling or postponing events, or moving them virtual.
Passing 5G and other state telecom bills may be less likely as lawmakers respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, local and industry officials told us last week. One seeming casualty is an industry-backed section in the New York budget to streamline small-cells deployment by pre-empting local governments. Alabama’s small-cells bill is close to the finish line and may pass this spring, said Alabama League of Municipalities Deputy Director Greg Cochran.
Talks on a third economic stimulus bill addressing the effects of COVID-19 appeared likely to drag on into the weekend, with telecom-related provisions likely still in the negotiations mix. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday he considers “inadequate” the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (S-3548) from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Schumer and other Democrats were pushing strongly for the third COVID-19 bill to address pandemic-related infrastructure, including broadband capacity and distance learning resources (see 2003180066), lobbyists told us.
The massive shift of workers and students to their homes due to COVID-19 is gobbling up data transmission availability and challenging employers with their networks optimized for an in-office workforce, network and data experts said in interviews last week. Employers are rapidly ramping up the number of VPN licenses. The issue isn’t expected to reach the point where carriers have to plow additional investments into their networks.