public policy

FCC lifeline plan puts mobile carriers' interests ahead of program goals

27 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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PC World’s 2012 test results, click for the full article.

The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote later this week on a plan to transition its lifeline program from voice-only service to a combination of voice and broadband. The program gives a subsidy to service providers – $9.25 per month – so they can offer discounted packages to low income households.

The FCC won’t let the public know the details of the plan until after its been approved.… More

AT&T writes its own permission slip to end California wireline service

23 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Cheaper to chop than fix.

AT&T wants to rip out its copper phone networks in California and sell wireless voice and broadband service instead. Its lobbyists in Sacramento wrote a bill – assembly bill 2395 – that would give AT&T blanket permission to shut down regulated plain old telephone service and replace it with whatever kind of unregulated technology it deems most profitable.

For customers lucky enough to live in a high potential area – someplace dense enough with customers and cash to make wireline service sufficiently lucrative – that’ll mean voice over Internet protocol phone service running on one flavor or another of DSL broadband.… More

FCC tongue-tied as appeals court judge blows holes in muni preemption

22 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission has serious difficulties explaining why it has the power to preempt state laws that restrict municipal broadband service. Matthew Dunne, an FCC lawyer, argued the agency’s case before three federal appeals court judges on Thursday, defending last year’s decision to remove state-imposed restrictions on municipal broadband systems in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina.

The case hinges on whether the FCC is using authority granted (or not) by congress to remove barriers to broadband deployment, or if it’s simply interfering in a state’s traditional – and well litigated – right to manage what its cities and counties can do, and how they can do it.… More

AT&T tries $100 million grab from California taxpayers

21 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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AT&T wants to change California law so that it can take $100 million from taxpayers, for broadband service that’s considered unacceptable under state standards. Assembly bill 2130 was rewritten by AT&T lobbyists and re-introduced last week. It would 1. freeze the current California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) broadband infrastructure subsidy program, 2. authorise the collection of $100 million more from taxpayers, 3. distribute it according to byzantine rules that all but guarantee that the money would go to AT&T to spend as it pleases, while 4.… More

Charter offers to upgrade Californian systems if CPUC okays deal

18 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Charter Communications is willing to accept a long list of conditions on its purchase of Time Warner and Bright House cable systems in California, albeit not as long a list as the groups that are opposing the deal want.

In a filing with the California Public Utilities Commission, Charter offered to upgrade 70,000 Californian homes from 1980s style analog-only TV service to full digital broadband and video capabilities. That includes systems in the Salinas Valley that it has committed to upgrade, as a result of a negotiated settlement with the City of Gonzales and Monterey County.… More

FCC leaning toward allowing Charter to buy Time Warner

17 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Word is beginning to leak out of the Federal Communications Commission that Charter Communications’ pending purchase of Time Warner and Bright House cable systems will get a green light from regulators. According to Politico, there are serious discussions going on regarding conditions that would be attached to federal approvals…

The latest development shows the Charter deal is further along the path than Comcast’s failed $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable, which never reached the point where regulators seriously considered conditions, the sources said.

… More

Frontier asks for CASF subsidy for Shasta County middle mile project

14 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Right down the middle.

A grant application for a $546,000 subsidy from the California Advanced Services Fund was filed last week by Frontier Communications. It’s proposing to build a 12-mile fiber middle mile system in Shasta County, with the goal of injecting more bandwidth into existing DSL facilities that serve 1,200 homes in the Shingletown area…

These sites are currently fed with Ethernet over copper technology and the existing bandwidth is not capable of providing more than 3 Mbps download speeds and 768 Kbps upload speeds.

… More

FCC broadband lifeline proposal is slow and slower

13 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Low aspirations.

The broadband lifeline plan under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission would perpetuate the gap between people who have access to wireline broadband at home, and those who rely solely on mobile service. Floated last week by FCC chair Tom Wheeler, the new program would allow low income consumers to opt for subsidised broadband service, instead of or in addition to lifeline telephone service.

But it sets one standard for wireline (and fixed wireless) subscriptions, and another for mobile.… More

Fast mobile broadband decisions forced on California cities

11 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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California cities (and counties) need to overhaul the way wireless broadband permits are processed. That’s the plain message that the California legislature sent last year, when it passed assembly bill 57. The new law put teeth in the Federal Communication Commission’s wireless shot clocks: if decisions – yes or no – on permit applications for new towers or other facilities aren’t made within 150 days, then the answer is yes. Permits are “deemed approved”.… More

Broadband subsidies break down barriers to competition and incumbents don't like that

10 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Broadband service uptake is primarily a function of cost – that’s the clear conclusion of three separate studies last year. When providers offer fast service at competitive prices, more people buy it. It’s not complicated. On the other hand, when monopoly providers control an area, service quality is low and prices are high – sometimes by any standard ($150 per month for 3 Mbps!) and always in comparison to costs in competitive areas.… More