Today’s Regulatory Mix: California PUC Petitions FCC to Reconsider, Legislation Would Set Broadband Services Levels for Federally Supported Programs

California PUC Petitions FCC to Reconsider 

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) filed a petition urging the FCC to reconsider its decision in its Second Report and Order, released March 18, 2021, to maintain the presumption of confidentiality for all information contained in the Network Outage Reporting System and Disaster Information Reporting System filings. According the CPUC, the FCC erred by not seeking comments on the issue, stating that “The FCC should conduct an updated confidentiality analysis concerning the information contained in these outage and disaster reports because circumstances have significantly changed since the FCC’s last 2004 analysis. This Petition demonstrates that the general information in these reports do not implicate national security concerns and some information is already public. Given the increased need for public awareness of outages and disasters, disclosing non-critical infrastructure information from the reports would also better ensure public safety. Finally, disclosure would promote competition rather than harm it.” 

Legislation Would Set Broadband Service Levels for Federally Supported Programs

U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), both members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced the re-introduction of the Broadband Parity Act.  Under the act, the FCC would coordinate with other federal agencies to establish minimum levels that internet service providers would have to provide customers when offering service through a federal broadband support program.  “By removing inconsistencies in service and improving broadband access, this bill takes an essential step toward equal access to health care, education, and economic opportunity. I will continue working on forward-thinking legislation to increase internet access for all our communities in Nevada and across the nation,” Senator Rosen stated. Rosen and Capito originally introduced a similar version of the bipartisan Broadband Parity Act in November 2019

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.

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