FirstNet Adds 50,000 Square Miles of LTE Coverage

FirstNet announced that it has increased LTE coverage area for the AT&T network and FirstNet public safety communications platform by more than 50,000 square miles nationwide, covering an additional 1 million individuals.  The added LTE coverage is a result of their ongoing network build initiatives to expand and enhance connectivity for consumers and first responders in both urban and rural areas – on both indoor and outdoor sites.

“The demand for data has been on a nonstop, upward trajectory for years,” said Marachel Knight, senior vice president, wireless and access engineering, construction and operations, AT&T. “Our ongoing work to launch new sites and build out our LTE network is delivering increased network speeds and capacity. By the end of this year, we expect our network capacity to increase by 50% since the end of 2017 while simultaneously laying the foundation for a 5G future.

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The Regulatory Mix Today: FirstNet Adds 50,000 Square Miles of LTE Coverage, Oregon Retail Service Quality Workshop, Oklahoma Rulemaking Meeting, Utah Universal Service Fund

Oregon Retail Service Quality Workshop

The Oregon Public Utility Commission will hold a workshop on January 16, 2019, to consider changes to its retail quality of service rules for telecommunications providers.  The workshop in Docket AR 624 is intended to facilitate a recommendation to the Commission concerning rule changes that would: 1) modernize standards; 2) delete obsolete requirements; 3) make necessary corrections; and 4) clarify requirements.  Entities that might be interested in attending include those who are required to report or who have reporting waivers but are still required to measure and retain service quality metric data:  ILECS, CLECS, Co-Operatives.

The planned agenda is:

• Introductions and Contextual Information
• Scoping ‑ Summary of Staff’s List of Rules it Intends to Address in the Rulemaking
• Feedback on Staff’s Intended Scope
• Discussion – Staff Information Gathering – Benefits of and methods to obtain public input
• Discussion – Implementation of OAR 860-100-0200(1)(i) OUS Fund Support Eligibility
• Preview of Cost of Compliance to be made after draft rules are available
• Next Steps

Oklahoma Rulemaking Meeting

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Public Utility Division will hold a n industry meeting on January 23, 2019, to  continue developing consensus on the Commission’s proposed revisions to its Chapter 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59 rules.  The meeting will start at 9:30 AM in PUD's large conference room on the 5th floor of the Jim Thorpe Office Building.  There is no call in number for this meeting.  The PUD said it is working on a few changes to the Chapter 55 and 59 rules but does not expect to proposed changes to the Chapters 56, 57, or 58 rules.  Interested parties with specific redlined proposals to introduce for any of these chapters should email them to Jeff Kline. 

Inteserra Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 12/3/18

Utah Universal Service Fund

The Utah Public Service Commission (PSC) has requested the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to file an updated estimate on the potential increase to the Utah Universal Service Fund contribution surcharge by February 6, 2019.  This will allow a comment period prior to the May 1, 2019 deadline for the PSC’s submission of a rule change to the Utah Division of Administrative Rules to accommodate a July 1, 2019 effective date.  In making its updated estimate, the PUC asked the DPU to remain mindful of the concerns expressed by Utah Rural Telecom Association regarding the analysis behind the estimate, and urged it to submit as much of that analysis as the DPU considers appropriate.

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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.