The revamped New Mexico Public Regulation Commission scheduled four virtual planning sessions to plot its mission and goals for fiscal years 2025-2027, the agency said Thursday. The commission had elected members until this year; three governor-appointed commissioners were sworn in seven months ago. The livestreamed sessions will guide the agency in “adapting to any necessary changes in regulating utility, telecommunications, and motor carrier companies to ensure that these industries continue to offer reasonable rates and quality services to customers,” the commission said. The New Mexico PRC had its first planning session Thursday.

Nebraska Public Service Commission staff recommend changes to state USF reverse auctions to “better incentive participation,” said Telecom Director Cullen Robbins at a partially virtual PSC hearing Wednesday (docket NUSF-131). The commission had a sound framework for conducting the first reverse auction in August 2022, said Robbins. But it makes sense to raise starting reserve prices next time, he said. “Afterall, it is a reverse auction [and] the main goal of the reserve price is to incentivize bidding -- ideally, by multiple parties -- so that the price can be lowered in successive rounds.” Staff recommends setting the reserve price two to three times higher than the model price, Robbins said. Also, the commission should reconfigure the units up for bid, said Robbins. “Since the bidding units in the last auction were census block groups, sometimes the blocks that made up the group were scattered and not contiguous,” which may have ballooned possible project costs, he said. Staff recommends allowing participation by the originally assigned price-cap carriers that returned USF funding or were withheld support, said Robbins: They might want to bid since they could get more money than they would have under the previous USF distribution mechanism, especially with the proposed higher reserve prices and smaller bidding units. Such companies are also likely to have the closest facilities and may be able to provide service for the least cost, he said. Also, staff recommends all participants have eligible telecom carrier designations to participate, which would allow carrier of last resort obligations and ongoing support to be transferred to the winning bidders, said Robbins: Bidders should commit to taking those obligations. Commissioner Tim Schram (R) suggested the Nebraska PSC at least ask applicants to say whether they will connect all the way to a customer’s location, such as in a situation where the customer has a half-mile-long driveway. Also, Schram wants to make sure winning bidders will connect customers to the state’s nearly complete next-generation 911 network. “We've spent millions ... to modernize that network and I just want to make sure that consumers have the ability to connect to it." Fixed wireless can participate if they can meet the program’s requirements for 100 Mbps symmetrical broadband, Robbins answered Commissioner Kevin Stocker (R). “I believe they can meet the speed requirements according to what I’ve seen them claim in the past.”

Kansas seeks comment on its draft initial proposal for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, Gov. Laura Kelly's (D) office said Wednesday. NTIA allocated $451 million to Kansas. Comments on the draft are due Aug. 30.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission indefinitely delayed considering an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) on amending state USF rules. The PUC was scheduled to hear the item in docket L-2023-3040646 at its July 13 meeting but postponed it to Aug. 3 (see 2307130020). But the ANOPR isn't on an agenda released Wednesday. It’s unclear when the item will return. The Pennsylvania PUC doesn’t speculate about agenda items, a spokesperson said.

The Utah Public Service Commission should quickly approve Dish Wireless’ application for eligible telecom carrier designation so it can participate in the Lifeline program, Dish Vice President-Gen Mobile Robert Yap said in Tuesday testimony at the PSC (docket 3-2641-01). Dish will provide Lifeline services “using its own facilities or a combination of its own facilities and resale of another carrier’s services,” said Yap. At the Texas Public Utility Commission, Dish sought an extension until Aug. 31 to file an amended ETC petition in response to Administrative Law Judge Christina Denmark’s July 18 order directing the company to correctly show the state’s rural and non-rural areas. Dish recommended the PUC order staff to review the amended petition in docket 54475 by Sept. 20. The Wyoming PSC may vote Tuesday on Dish’s similar application there (see 2308010073).

The Wyoming Public Service Commission won't vote at Thursday’s meeting on a staff proposal to grant a Dish Wireless application for eligible telecom carrier designation. The application in docket 60061-6-RA-23 was on the consent agenda, but Commissioner Chris Petrie said he has questions for Dish and asked to table the item until the Aug. 8 meeting at 1:30 p.m. MDT. Dish seeks “limited designation to provide Lifeline service to qualifying Wyoming consumers, including those customers residing on federally recognized Tribal lands,” said a July 24 staff memo. The company doesn’t seek access to USF high-cost support. The Utah PSC last month set a Nov. 28 hearing on a similar Dish petition (see 2307240029).

More telecom companies sought extensions to provide pole attachment data required by a 2021 California Public Utilities Commission decision (D.21-10-019). Consolidated Communications sought an 18-month extension Friday (see 2307310030). In Monday letters to CPUC Executive Director Rachel Peterson, Verizon sought 10 more months, T-Mobile requested six more months and ExteNet also asked an additional six months. Sonic Telecom urged the commission Sunday to change the company’s deadline to 60 days after each major pole owner shows it has implemented required security measures to handle proprietary and confidential data. “Although the Order gave pole attachers 12 months to submit attachment data after the pole owners’ advice letters were approved, Verizon and other attachers have only started to receive information from the pole owners as to the data submission process, their poles, and templates in the last two months,” wrote Verizon. “This means that attachers now have only one to two months remaining to review the poles, gather, and submit data before the current deadlines.”

Further extension of Lumen’s Oregon price plan is likely, said Oregon Public Utility Commission Administrative Law Judge Sarah Spruce Tuesday (docket UM 1908). The plan currently expires Sept. 28 (see 2307280037). Spruce said parties should file their next status report on settlement talks Sept. 1 and propose a new expiration date. If no settlement is reached by Sept. 1, the PUC will have a prehearing conference Sept. 12 to set a schedule to resume the contested case process, she said.

Florida’s landline count dipped below 1 million in 2022, the Florida Public Service Commission said Tuesday. The PSC said its annual telecom competition report found 900,000 total landlines in the state last year, down from 1.2 million reported by carriers last year (see 2208020019). Business landlines exceeded residential ones for the 12th year, though counts of each tanked last year. Residential landlines declined by 16.5%, and business landlines declined 21.3%, it said. Lumen’s CenturyLink had a 17.8% decline in residential lines during 2022, and AT&T had a 17.4% drop and Frontier 23.7%.

California Privacy Protection Agency enforcers will review connected vehicles and related technologies, the CPPA said Monday. The Enforcement Division will consider data privacy practices for cars’ cameras, location sharing, web-based entertainment and smartphone integration, the agency said. “Modern vehicles are effectively connected computers on wheels,” said CPPA Executive Director Ashkan Soltani. “They’re able to collect a wealth of information via built-in apps, sensors, and cameras, which can monitor people both inside and near the vehicle. Our Enforcement Division is making inquiries into the connected vehicle space to understand how these companies are complying with California law when they collect and use consumers’ data.” The agency is conducting the review under 2018’s California Consumer Privacy Act. A court recently delayed CPPA enforcement under the more recent California Privacy Rights Act (see 2307030025). California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) last month announced an "investigative sweep" into how employers are handling CCPA compliance (see 2307140051).