Washington state assessed Lumen’s CenturyLink a $226,000 penalty for raising customer rates without telling regulators, in violation of a 2014 alternative regulation plan. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission upheld the penalty last week, it said Monday. The telco violated the 2014 agreement last year, the UTC said. CenturyLink admitted to violations in June but sought mitigation of the proposed penalty due to COVID-19 personnel reductions and other reasons. Worker shortages caused by the pandemic don’t relieve the telco of its obligations, the commission decided in docket UT-220397. The commission rejected the company’s arguments that consumers weren’t harmed and that the agency improperly calculated the number of violations. Lumen declined to comment Monday.

Connecticut's top enforcer will investigate Altice after getting about 500 complaints since 2017 about the cable company’s internet speeds, fees and technical support, Attorney General William Tong (D) said Monday. Altice faces possible violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, the AG office said. Many consumers with 300 Mbps or 400 Mbps plans told the AG they didn’t get those speeds, said the office: And the AG is scrutinizing a $3.50 “network enhancement fee” for internet customers. “Our investigation seeks comprehensive records dating back to January 2017 to determine exactly what Altice Optimum knew and what they were doing to deliver the internet speeds and service they promised,” said Tong. “We will not hesitate to hold them accountable.” Bipartisan leaders of Connecticut’s House and Senate technology committees supported the probe. “Households relying on these services for employment, education and entertainment can experience significant harm if they lack reliable internet service,” said the Senate panel’s Chairman Norm Needleman (D). “If Altice Optimum contributed to that harm, they should face the consequences.” Connecticut should thoroughly review consumer complaints, said the same committee’s Ranking Member Paul Formica (R). Frontier Communications settled a similar Connecticut AG probe last summer by agreeing to invest $42.5 million to upgrade DSL to fiber and to end a “hidden” $6.99 monthly internet infrastructure fee (see 2208310057). "Altice shares the state’s goal of ensuring Connecticut residents and businesses receive high-quality service and have a positive customer experience," said the company's spokesperson, noting Altice is deploying a 100% fiber network across the state and earlier this year launched multi-gigabit speeds. "We are proud to serve our Connecticut communities and will cooperate with state officials to provide relevant information."

A Michigan fund for rural ILECs wound down Friday after 12 years, the Michigan Public Service Commission said. The PSC created the intrastate switched toll access restructuring mechanism (ARM) in 2010 to give temporary assistance to rural ILECs to soften revenue loss from lowered intrastate access rates mandated by a 2009 state law. All Michigan intrastate retail telecom service providers and commercial mobile voice service providers had to contribute monthly to the fund. The PSC said Friday it had issued final monthly disbursements to 38 eligible providers. Over its 12 years, ARM collected about $162 million from a monthly average of 240 contributors, the agency said: The PSC distributed $157 million to eligible providers and used the rest for fund administration. The PSC said it will issue a final annual ARM report to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and the legislature by Dec. 1.

Arkansas filed two broadband fabric challenges at the FCC because it found about 12,000 unserved locations missed by FCC maps, State Broadband Director Glen Howie said on a Broadband.money webinar Friday. New York state earlier said it filed a challenge for about 32,000 locations it said were unserved but not included in the fabric (see 2210310068). Some states have more capability to file challenges than others, noted Howie. States unable to file challenges could receive less federal funding from NTIA’s broadband, equity, accessibility and deployment (BEAD) program, he said. “You don’t want to get shorted.” Howie said Arkansas broadband office staff is reviewing broadband availability maps released Friday (see 2211180062). “No map ever is 100% perfect or accurate, but it’s a great improvement from what we’ve had before,” said Howie, saying Arkansas looks forward to “investigating that further.” Howie declined to comment on his state’s status for receiving funding for BEAD or digital equity fund planning but said the state is ready to move forward when the shot clock starts running. Pennsylvania and Nebraska received planning funds last week (see 2211170032).

The New York Public Service Commission granted a Dish Wireless petition for eligible telecom carrier designation. Thursday's unanimous action clears Dish to receive federal USF and wireless Lifeline service throughout the state. Commissioners also received a report on Verizon service quality in Q3 2022. Verizon satisfied timeliness-of-repair and repair call center answer time metrics in all three months, said a summary. But Verizon missed a companywide customer trouble report rate metric and the PSC’s guideline for complaint rate in all three months, it said.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to update rules for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) broadband infrastructure grant account (docket R.20-08-021). The changes are part of the CPUC’s implementation of California’s $6 billion broadband law last year. One significant change in the decision updates speed requirements for completed projects to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, “which ensures that public funds support projects that deliver the speeds necessary for videoconferencing, streaming and supporting multiple users in a household,” said Commissioner Darcie Houck at the CPUC’s virtual meeting. Revising the definition of an unserved location to places lacking speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps will make more areas eligible for funding, she said. Also, the decision requires grantees to provide low-income broadband plans and participate in the federal affordable connectivity program. The changes are "vital in achieving the state's broadband objectives,” said CPUC President Alice Busching Reynolds. Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen applauded the decision for recognizing that affordability continues to be a major issue for many Californians: "It's not just access.” Consumer advocates mostly supported the draft in comments last month, but telecom companies raised concerns with proposed changes to the challenge process in the broadband support program (see 2210210055). Also, industry expressed concern about the staff’s proposal to require applicants to freeze prices in project areas for at least five years.

A New Hampshire panel approved revised draft rules for a one-touch, make-ready policy. After refusing to clear them last month due to concerns about ambiguous terminology (see 2210200016), the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) cleared a second draft unanimously and without discussion Thursday. The New Hampshire Department of Energy (DOE) sent the revisions to the committee Nov. 2. The edits are “intended to address and resolve all of the comments and potential bases for objection identified by” the Office of Legislative Services, the department’s Commissioner Jared Chicoine said in a cover letter. The department next must adopt final rules, which most likely will take effect Dec. 1, DOE Legal Director David Wiesner told us Thursday.

Consolidated Communications may set its own rates for basic local exchange service in competitive parts of Vermont, under a three-year incentive regulation plan (IRP) adopted Wednesday (case 21-4060-PET). It replaces an IRP that expires this year. "With appropriate conditions to protect consumers ... alternative regulation will provide benefits to Vermont ratepayers,” the Vermont Public Utility Commission said in a final decision that largely tracked last month’s draft (see 2210030064). The PUC said competition including from wireless and VoIP providers increased since the first reduced-regulation IRP in 2000. "To protect against a sudden increase in the rates for basic services,” the new IRP includes “stepped limits on rate increases” over three years. “We expect that the freedom provided in the Successor IRP will be an incentive for Consolidated to invest in its network and offer new and improved services to remain a viable option in competitive areas, resulting in benefits to its Vermont customers in both regulated and non-regulated municipalities.” A Consolidated spokesperson said the "changes adopted are important in light of the rapidly changing and competitive telecommunications landscape in Vermont. This new plan will allow us pricing flexibility in competitive markets within Vermont and reduce and streamline regulatory reporting requirements."

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission reopened the record in its inmate calls proceeding (docket R.20-10-002) to seek comments on pleadings in a related court case. The agency granted a motion Wednesday by the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association to supplement the record with two pleadings from New Mexico v. Stephen Bailey (case D-202-CR-2021-00974) in New Mexico’s Second Judicial District Court. The PRC sought comments by Tuesday on the pleadings, which the defenders’ association said are relevant to recording attorney-client calls at jails and prisons. The PRC aims to amend inmate calling service rules by year-end (see 2210270038).

Comments are now due Dec. 21 on a California Public Utilities Commission report about network outages and the information the FCC requires in its automated reporting management information system, CPUC Administrative Law Judge Thomas Glegola ruled Tuesday. Replies are due Jan. 6, the ALJ said in docket R.22-03-016. Glegola previously extended comments on his Aug. 31 ruling (see 2210070052).