Verizon throws three more broadband subsidy tantrums


Can you hear me now?

To get a broadband construction subsidy from the California Advanced Services Fund (CPUC), you have to show that the area where you want to build is at least underserved, as defined by the California Public Utilities Commission speed standard of 6 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up. Incumbent carriers are then given a chance to prove you wrong.

In the current round of CASF grant and loan applications, submitted last February, some projects – particularly Golden Bear in north California and ViaSat all over the map – drew protests from a wide range of providers.… More

Competitive ADSL upgrade subsidies recommended for California's Mendocino County

27 September 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,

DSL upgrades installed by a competitive local exchange carrier in two Mendocino county towns will be largely paid for by the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), if the California Public Utilities Commission approves draft resolutions released yesterday. With AT&T and Verizon quietly shutting down DSL service in rural areas of California, these types of projects might be a way to avoid forcing residents to rely on the costly wireless service preferred by the incumbents.

Both projects were proposed by WillitsOnline.… More