Connecticut telecom regulators expect Frontier Communications and subsidiary SNET “to continue to comply with all state statutes, regulations and Authority orders regardless of the location of their headquarters,” a Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) spokesperson emailed. Frontier said Wednesday it will move to Dallas from Norwalk, Connecticut (see 2309130044). “As a holding company, Frontier was not required to provide notice to PURA regarding its headquarters and did not do so," the PURA spokesperson said.

Data reported on California’s foster youth pilot program from February through July “is likely to contain inaccuracies that require further review and analysis, and caution should be exercised in reaching any conclusions based on this preliminary data,” T-Mobile and iFoster said Tuesday. The California Public Utilities Commission last week sought comments by Sept. 26 on a staff proposal to make the California LifeLine foster youth pilot program permanent (see 2309050080). But in a Tuesday letter to the CPUC, the companies running the pilot said “iFoster identified numerous discrepancies in the phone numbers for the foster youth on the service provider bills beginning with the February bill.” T-Mobile and iFoster said they have been working for months to investigate and correct the problems. “The account portal that T-Mobile provided for iFoster’s use in March encountered a system error which caused the portal to omit broadband usage for a significant number of lines for the months of March and May 2023,” they said. “T-Mobile corrected that issue and it appears that the integrity of the data for other iFoster reporting months was not affected.” Another “error involved the misalignment between phone numbers used as placeholders on T-Mobile phones pending disbursal, and the permanent phone numbers that were later associated with those same phones,” said iFoster and T-Mobile: That “caused an understatement of text, voice, and data usage for many of the youth lines, affecting the accuracy of some of the data reported by iFoster beginning in February 2023.” T-Mobile expects to correct data and to implement a “new ordering and kitting process in place within the next few weeks,” they said.

ISPs may compete for $374 million from the American Rescue Plan Act state and local fiscal recovery funds to expand Oklahoma high-speed internet, the state’s broadband office said Wednesday. The office released a notice of funding opportunity and will accept proposals from Monday until Oct. 9. It said to expect final approvals to be unveiled in January.

New York state will nearly double the maximum fine for telemarketers who contact people on the do not call list. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) Wednesday signed a bill (A-4456/S-4617) to increase the penalty to up to $20,000 from $11,000. New York set the previous penalty in 2004. The state aims to “send a clear message that New York won’t tolerate these frustrating, unsolicited calls,” Hochul said. Assembly sponsor Alex Bores (D) said, "This law is a victory for every New Yorker who would like to be able to pick up their phone in peace.”

States and territories should connect anchor institutions to gigabit broadband and include them in planning for broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) funding, the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition said. Also in a Wednesday memo to state and territory leaders, the coalition urged broadband leaders to broaden their definitions of community anchor institution to include nontraditional entities like prisons and ranger state. “By including anchor institutions, fostering transparency, resolving pole attachment disputes, and considering innovative solutions such as open access, we can bridge the connectivity gap and pave the way for a more equitable and connected future for all,” SHLB Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen said in a news release. Kansas Broadband Development Director Jade Piros de Carvalho said anchor institutions will be important partners in closing her state’s digital divide.

Broadband mapping and electronics right-to-repair bills are nearing the finish line at the California Legislature. The Senate voted 39-0 Tuesday to send the bill on adjusting state mapping requirements (AB-286) back to the Assembly for concurrence with senators’ amendments. The Senate voted 31-5 for AB-1194, which would say businesses aren’t required to comply with government requests for emergency access to personal information on abortion and contraception. It also needs Assembly concurrence. In the Assembly, members voted 65-1 for the electronics repair bill (SB-244). The Senate must concur with amendments. The session ends Thursday.

The state senator behind California’s net neutrality law is seeking to develop AI safety rules. Sen. Scott Wiener (D) on Wednesday introduced SB-294, an “intent bill” that’s too late to move through the standard legislative process this year. “We will collect feedback and continue refining the proposal throughout the fall in preparation to move a fully developed policy through the legislative process in January,” said Wiener. SB-294 would require AI labs to rigorously test the most advanced models for safety risks and tell California about how they plan to respond to any risks found. A reviewing body would assess the disclosures and conduct audits as needed. The bill would establish liability for damages caused by foreseeable safety risks. Also, it would create CalCompute, a cloud-based computer cluster in the state’s public university system for use by AI researchers and small developers. Wiener’s bill follows Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order on AI (see 2309060037). “Large-scale AI presents a range of opportunities and challenges for California, and we need to get ahead of them and not play catch up when it may be too late,” said Wiener.

The California legislature passed bills on broadband permitting, video franchising and social media Monday. On concurring with Senate amendments, Assembly members voted 80-0 for AB-965 and 73-1 for AB-41. On concurring with Assembly amendments, senators voted 39-0 for SB-60. AB-965 would allow simultaneous processing of multiple broadband permit applications for similar project sites under a single permit and require local governments to decide applications within a reasonable time (see 2306200053). AB-41 aims to tighten digital equity requirements in the state’s video franchise law but was opposed by a public interest group (see 2309080031). SB-60 would require social media platforms to remove posts on illegal drug sales. The bills still need signatures from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Also Monday, the Senate punted on AB-1282 by sending the measure to the legislature’s inactive file. The bill would require a study on mental health risks of social media for children.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission will investigate why required redundancy failed in Lumen and Windstream’s back-to-back 911 outages (see 2309050015), the PSC said Tuesday. The commission voted 5-0 to launch the probes. “The disruptions in 911 service that occurred in these two separate incidents is unacceptable,” said Nebraska PSC Chair Dan Watermeier. “The Commission expects 911 service providers to maintain diverse and redundant connections between 911 centers and their networks.” The PSC will ask in docket 911-075 why the Lumen fiber cuts led to a statewide outage, said one order Tuesday. In the Windstream probe, the agency will look into why a fire and power loss at one facility resulted in 911 disruptions over a large part of southeast Nebraska, said a separate order in docket 911-076. Windstream stands "ready to engage constructively" with the Nebraska PSC, a spokesperson said. Lumen didn't comment by our deadline.

Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) signed a sweeping privacy law (HB-154), his spokesperson said Tuesday. The bill takes effect Jan. 1, 2025. While it could be stronger, Delaware’s privacy law is better for consumers than some other states’ recent laws, said Consumer Reports. The group praised the bill for requiring companies to honor global opt-out requests from browsers; expanding children’s privacy protection to children under 18, up from 16; and broadly defining sensitive and biometric information. About a dozen states now have comprehensive privacy laws.