Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmeita urged FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to develop incentive auction rules “designed to prevent aggregation and promote competition.” Without reasonable auction controls, “Louisiana customers ultimately may see a duopoly of national wireless providers,” wrote Skrmeita Dec. 6 in a letter posted Monday to docket 12-269 (http://bit.ly/1bnAus7). Skrmeita said the nation’s two largest providers now control 78 percent of the low-frequency spectrum. “The FCC should take steps in the upcoming auction to limit further aggregation,” he wrote. The Incentive Auction Task Force said last week that a report and order establishing the auction’s framework will be presented to the FCC this spring (CD Jan 31 p8).

Alaska Communications said it’s buying full control of Alaska-based IT services firm TekMate; it had bought 49 percent of the company in 2010. The telco did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Alaska Communications said the buy will help it offer “seamless integrated systems and personalized technology solutions.” TekMate’s 60 employees will join Alaska Communications’ managed services group (http://bit.ly/1dn4WlV).

Puerto Rico Telephone Co.’s application to discontinue interconnected VoIP services in Puerto Rico wasn’t automatically granted by the FCC, said the Wireline Bureau in a public notice Thursday (http://bit.ly/LiRcSm). The commission had received 10 comments in opposition to the proposed discontinuance, including one from the Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico. “Because the comments filed by customers and the Puerto Rico Board require further analysis to determine whether the Applicant’s proposed discontinuance would serve the public interest, PRTC is notified by this public notice that its application to discontinue its PhoneMax service will not be granted automatically,” said the bureau. The docket is WC 13-298.

NARUC will consider five telecom resolutions at its winter meeting in Washington, it confirmed this week, releasing a document with all the drafts (http://t.co/xPNT99ZbXi). One proposed resolution, sponsored by outgoing Telecom Committee Chairman John Burke, a member of the Vermont Public Service Board, would ask the FCC to revamp the contribution side of USF. Another draft resolution proposes to improve rural broadband deployment by allowing utilities and critical infrastructure industries to tap Connect America Fund money in unserved and underserved areas where no incumbent provider is given support. Another possible resolution would back location accuracy standards for wireless 911 calls, both indoor and outdoor. One proposed resolution would encourage the National Association of Public Affairs Networks “to establish public affairs networks in every State” -- non-profit television networks akin to C-SPAN, focused on public access and government transparency -- and have each PUC coordinate with the FCC and state executive branches and legislatures, among other stakeholders, to improve digital communications networks. The final draft resolution would ask the FCC to ensure a consumer protection standard before approving any IP transition trials. If approved, it would ask the FCC to make sure “residential and small business customers in affected areas avoid any (i) degradation in the capability, quality and reliability of voice services; (ii) reduction in the availability of voice service options/providers; or (iii) increase in rates for equivalent voice services (such as federal and State Lifeline services).” None of the drafts is NARUC policy until the NARUC board approves them, and the drafts can be substantially modified or rejected outright when considered by the NARUC telecom subcommittee, which consists of state commission staff members, or the telecom committee, consisting of state regulatory commissioners. The meeting will be Feb. 9-12.

A bicameral, bipartisan agriculture bill would create a pilot for gigabit networks. Lawmakers in the House and Senate unveiled several hundreds of pages worth of a conference report on what’s known as the “Farm Bill” Monday night (http://1.usa.gov/M9TrYK). The Agriculture Act includes a section on access to broadband telecom in rural areas, specifying how loans will be distributed and that the government is “to prioritize loans and loan guarantees to all or part of rural communities that do not have residential broadband service that meets the minimum acceptable level of broadband service,” said the conference report starting at Section 6104 on page 533. It specifies that the minimum acceptable broadband speeds for rural areas are 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. The Farm Bill also mentions that the Department of Agriculture would create what’s known as the Rural Gigabit Network Pilot Program, with its own loan allowances. Any entities interested in gigabit network loans must show the government they have the ability to provide such fast broadband service, apply and then build out the fast network within three years, with $10 million authorized for each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2018, according to the bill conference report. When describing broadband loans more generally, it includes a notice requirement that the secretary of agriculture must “promptly provide a fully searchable database on the website of the Rural Utilities Service” that contains information on loan applicants and the regions they propose to serve. Anyone receiving assistance would have to “submit a semiannual report for 3 years after the completion of the project,” it added. The bill proposes specific unserved levels that the government should be focusing on. The measure would also compel the secretary of agriculture to do a study within 180 days of the bill’s enactment in conjunction with the secretary of commerce and the chairman of the FCC of how data collected through the Agriculture broadband programs, specifically looking at “address-level data,” could be shared to help support the National Broadband Plan. Within 60 days of completing the report, the Agriculture Department would have to report these findings to congressional committees. The House may consider the bill as early as Wednesday.

NATOA “strongly supports” expanding access to the Connect America Fund, it said in a letter to the FCC Thursday (http://bit.ly/1hsSB3R). “Repurposing a portion of the CAF to new entities -- particularly non-traditional providers of communications services -- will significantly aid in the provision of broadband to the residential, business, and community anchor institution sectors,” the group said. “Non-traditional providers such as municipalities, counties, tribes, public electric utilities and cooperatives, and non-profit providers (such as research and education networks) have demonstrated a track record in recent years of providing reliable and affordable broadband service in unserved and underserved markets. Making the CAF available to fund these network projects will result in more entrants into the broadband provider market in regions of need, more pilot projects for innovative service models, more gigabit capacity networks, and more public-private partnerships with the goal of expanding the broadband user base."

C Spire said it’s making it easier and more convenient for residents of various Mississippi cities to sign up for the company’s 1 Gbps fiber-to-the-home service. On Monday, the company opened specialized kiosks in 13 retail stores to sell the service.

Some residents of Provo, Utah, were able to sign up for Google Fiber as of Wednesday, according to a Google Fiber blog post (http://bit.ly/1aLGASK). Only residents who live in the area of the former iProvo network can sign up, it said. “We can’t install fiber to everyone in Provo all at once, so we're going to work in waves, starting with the North Park area next month and finishing in the Foothills area hopefully by the end of this year."

Fibertech Networks will build a new fiber network in Detroit and surrounding suburbs, it said in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/KDEInN). The network will encompass more than 750 route miles, the company said.

The city of Charlotte, N.C., will use Motorola Solutions' Migration Assurance Program, the company said in a news release Thursday. Charlotte will use the program “to keep their ASTRO P25 network software and hardware refreshed as well as implement technology enhancements over the coming years, helping to ensure their first responders are always equipped with the best technology needed to meet public safety communications demands,” it said (http://bit.ly/1dxBzRZ). Charlotte Shared Services Director Chuck Robinson praised the program’s flexibility, affordability and efficiency, in a statement.