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New rules for federal broadband loans in rural areas don't change eastern bias

3 August 2015 by Steve Blum
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Most of the broadband blank zones are in the west, most of the money goes east. Go figure.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is the arm of the federal agriculture department that runs broadband grant and loan programs. It’s just published new application rules for loans to build broadband infrastructure in poorly served rural areas. Highlights include…

  • The minimum acceptable broadband speed is set at 4 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up; any area with less than that is considered unserved by federal standards.
… More

If you like low pay and no privacy, the FBI has a deal for you

1 August 2015 by Steve Blum
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On the other hand, it’s probably easier to pass than the math test at Google.

If it seems like the federal government is losing the war for cyberspace, it might be because it is. And that’s due to a lack of talent in key positions, particularly at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to a federal justice department study, as reported by Reuters, the FBI launched what it called the Next Generation Cyber Initiative in 2012, which involved hiring 134 computer scientists and creating cybersecurity task forces at all of its 56 field offices.… More

Everyone is wireless, who cares if copper is crap AT&T tells CPUC

31 July 2015 by Steve Blum
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Apple pie versus orange pie.

In a refreshingly honest, lay-your-cards-on-the-table move, AT&T told the California Public Utilities Commission that it shouldn’t bother investigating the condition of wireline phone systems in the state, because…

The number of wireline customers is now a small fraction of the Communications market. As of 2013, wireline customers made up only 20% of the market…Just five years prior, the wireline market was 35%.

Thus, not only is the wireline share very small, it is falling precipitously.

… More

Come and take us away, Verizon's employees tell Frontier

30 July 2015 by Steve Blum
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Hey! I’m over here.

Verizon’s unionised workforce in California want a new boss. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) dropped its previous opposition to Frontier Communication’s purchase of Verizon’s wireline telephone systems in California, after reaching an agreement with Frontier to extend the current union contract for two years, with pay increases and 100 shares of stock for each union member, and add 150 union jobs in the state.

Initially, CWA warned the California Public Utilities Commission of “the potential harm to thousands of its members in California” and lodged a protest against approval of the sale, saying “this transaction will impact the economic health of millions of households, businesses, schools, health care facilities, government agencies, and other institutions in California”.… More

$10 Internet access for low income homes is the only novel requirement of AT&T-DirecTv deal

29 July 2015 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission released the details yesterday regarding the conditions imposed on AT&T in exchange for approving its purchase of DirecTv.

Those conditions a commitment to build out and offer fiber-to-the-premise service to 12.5 million customer locations, restrictions and reporting requirements on AT&T’s management of its Internet service business, and a discount stand-alone broadband offering for low income households which is the only major element of the deal that you could call truly new.… More

Frontier tells CPUC it can fix Verizon's problems

28 July 2015 by Steve Blum
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Been there, done that.

Frontier Communications already knows how to upgrade Verizon’s ageing copper telephone networks and make them broadband capable, according to Melinda White, president of Frontier’s western region, which includes California.

“We’ve done this before with Verizon so we’re very familiar with the products, and attributes of this deal”, White said. Frontier bought ten small copper-line phone systems in California from Verizon a few years ago, she said. Eight of those were telephone only, with no broadband service offered.… More

USDA broadband grants ditch California again

27 July 2015 by Steve Blum
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It’s sounding like a broken record (if anyone actually remembers what a broken record sounds like). The federal agriculture department’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announces another round of Community Connect grants, for local broadband projects in poorly served or completely unserved areas, applications come in, the winners are announced and California comes up with goose eggs (anyone remember what that means either?).

That’s been the story for four years running now. RUS awarded a total of $13 million in Community Connect grants for five projects in four states: Alaska, Minnesota (which was down for two), Oklahoma and Virginia.… More

CPUC says yes to Petrolia and queues up Backus


Click to get the big picture for Backus Road.

Frontier Communications will get $203,000 from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to build a microwave middle mile connection to the Humboldt County town of Petrolia and upgrade DSL service to 25 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up. The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to award the grant. Petrolia was initially identified as a candidate for a CASF subsidy by the Redwood Coast Broadband Consortium and is the first on a long list of high priority communities – as determined by the CPUC – to get actual project approval.… More

AT&T gets green light to buy DirecTv, FCC gets a press release

25 July 2015 by Steve Blum
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Potemkin would be proud.

AT&T has the blessing of the Federal Communications Commission to buy DirecTv. That’s the big regulatory hurdle that the deal had to clear – the federal justice department already seemed okay with it – and yesterday the FCC said yes, with conditions…

As part of the merger, AT&T-DIRECTV will be required to expand its deployment of high-speed, fiber optic broadband Internet access service to 12.5 million customer locations as well as to E-rate eligible schools and libraries.

… More

CPUC leaves a hard decision on its broadband authority for another time

24 July 2015 by Steve Blum
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Some games go on forever, and reach no result.

The California Public Utilities Commission passed on the opportunity to officially assert its jurisdiction over broadband infrastructure and service yesterday. By a unanimous vote, commissioners allowed Comcast to simply withdraw its now moot application for permission to take over Charter and Time Warner cable systems in California.
The mega-merger died in April, after federal regulators insisted on deal killing conditions. The CPUC had also spent about a year reviewing it, amassing a huge amount of data and documents, in addition to the even bigger stash developed by the Federal Communications Commission.… More