distribute

Local agencies would be able to challenge cell tower permits in court, under bill in California senate

13 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, , ,

Not so fast.

A bill to put teeth in the FCC’s shot clock rule for local review of permit applications for wireless towers and equipment has been watered down a bit in the California legislature. As it reads now – after being amended twice so far in the senate – it basically says that if a mobile carrier or other wireless telecoms company provides all the necessary information, a permit application for a new site has to be acted on by local agencies within five months and a collocation request within three.… More

Frontier tells CPUC it will expand DSL service in rural California


Click for the full-sized version.

Frontier Communications executives outlined the company’s plans for the Verizon wireline systems it intends to acquire – ex parte communications in regulatory jargon – were made public last week.

The meetings confirmed that Frontier will get the retail businesses – “voice, Internet, VoIP and video service”, including FTTH FiOS systems – while Verizon will keep its mobile network and “other businesses”, which presumably include middle mile and commercial fiber. Verizon owns a lot of that in California.… More

Federal regulators will shoot down big cable deals because big is bad, says analyst

11 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, , ,

By its very existence, big cable is a barrier to new broadband infrastructure investment by potential competitors, according to Nancy Rose, a senior administrator at the federal justice department in charge of economic analysis. In a speech she gave to the American Bar Association last month, and posted on the BTIG Research blog, she said that the buying power of big cable companies gives them an advantage in creating video packages that would-be competitors can’t overcome…

There was certainly some suggestion made to us that broadband investments are less attractive, at least at present, if you can’t also get access to low cost video programming and put together a cable-like package…to offer customers.

… More

Muni FTTH pitch in Pacific Grove goes from no cost, no risk to pay us $1 million a year


Bawtree-Jobson in Pacific Grove yesterday.

A fiber to the home plan for the Monterey Peninsula city of Pacific Grove has transformed from a commercial business venture into an appeal for public money. SiFi Networks, a British company with a corporate heritage of real estate development, began last year by putting a simple proposition in front of several Californian cities: give us unlimited access to your streets, sidewalks and, yes, sewers and we’ll build fiber to every home and business in town.… More

Two commissioners buck CPUC president and vociferous opposition from AT&T and Verizon to push for wireline study

9 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, , ,

Not the view that AT&T and Verizon want you to see.

California public utilities commissioners Catherine Sandoval and Mike Florio want a full assessment of AT&T’s and Verizon’s wireline infrastructure in the state and have put a resolution on the table that would tell the CPUC to get on with the job. By doing so, they’re opposing a move by commission president Michael Picker to short circuit the CPUC’s existing investigation into the state of California’s copper telephone networks.… More

Frontier says California approval delayed is funding denied

8 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Let’s hope there will be something to celebrate come New Year’s Eve.

It’s worth $192 million to rural areas of the state if the California Public Utilities Commission sticks to the schedule it set for reviewing Frontier Communications’ proposed purchase of Verizon’s wireline telephone systems. That’s one of the significant points of a joint response made by the two companies to questions posed by the Federal Communications Commission as it also reviews the transaction.

Frontier says it will use state and federal subsidies to upgrade broadband infrastructure in California…

If Frontier is able to obtain regulatory approvals for the Transaction prior to December 31, 2015, it will utilize available funding for broadband deployment in the high cost areas within the Transferring Companies’ territories.

… More

Verizon offers yet another reason to be glad we're in California

7 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, ,


Watch out, come harvest season.

The usual suspects are viewing Frontier Communication’s purchase of Verizon’s wireline business in California with alarm, but maybe we should be counting our blessings. Out east, Verizon’s deployment of fiber to the home service seems to be falling short of the benchmarks it promised New York City it would meet.

According to a story in TechDirt (h/t to the Baller-Herbst list for the pointer), Verizon deployed its FiOS plant to about half the homes promised, and not the half that really needed the upgrade.… More

FCC tells ISPs to ask permission first before getting on with business

6 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, ,


It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, so slip it under the door and we’ll get back to you.

The Federal Communications Commission is making the same catch-22 offer about its new common carrier broadband regulations that it made regarding data privacy rules. It’s basically saying we’re not in any hurry to actually write the rules – hey, it’s a holiday weekend, after all – so why don’t you just tell us what you want to do and we’ll get back to you on whether it’s OK or not.… More

Federal justice department has no problem with AT&T's takeover of DirecTv

3 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, , ,

Move along. Nothing to see here.

AT&T’s purchase of DirecTv is about to get the green light, without any inconvenient conditions, at least from the federal justice department. That’s the word from Bloomberg, which has a pretty good track record on this kind of reporting. According to a story by Todd Shields and David McLaughlin…

Justice Department officials closed their investigation without demanding any conditions, such as promises about fair treatment of Internet traffic, or demanding the sale of business units, said the person who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

… More

Move at the FCC to unlink rural broadband subsdies from telephone service

2 July 2015 by Steve Blum
, ,

Wouldn’t it be easier to just Skype?

Federal Communications Commission rules require any service provider that applies for broadband subsidies under universal service fund programs also offer telephone service. It’s not because of any law of nature – the California Advanced Services Fund functions quite well without screwing around with dial tone requirements – but rather simply the result of bureaucratic inertia.

The FCC’s decision to bring broadband service and infrastructure under common carrier rules hinted at broadband-only subsidies.… More