The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily 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 a TMI Briefing.

FCC Data on Internet Access Services

The FCC released a report on Internet access connections in the United States as of December 31, 2015, as collected by FCC Form 477.  Among the findings of the report are:

• The total number of Internet connections increased by 11% between December 2014 and December 2015 to 355 million.
• Most of the growth in total Internet connections is attributable to increased mobile Internet access subscribership. The number of mobile Internet connections increased 13% year-over-year to 253 million in December 2015, while the number of fixed connections grew to 102 million – up 4% from December 2014.

• Between December 2005 and December 2015, total (business and residential) fixed connections grew from 48 million connections to 102 million connections – at a compound annual growth rate of 8% per year.  Over the same ten-year period, residential fixed connections grew from 44 million connections to 93 million connections – also at a compound annual growth rate of 8% per year.  
• The median downstream speed of all reported fixed connections was 25 Mbps and the median upstream speed was 4 Mbps. For residential fixed connections, the median downstream speed was 25 Mbps and the median upstream speed was 5 Mbps.

FCC Orders Recovery Of USF Support Overpayments

The FCC took a series of actions against Sandwich Isles Communications, a provider of phone and broadband service to customers on Hawaiian Home Lands, for violations and apparent violations related to Universal Service Fund (USF) support.  The company will be required to repay the USF over $27 million, representing support amounts that it was paid but not entitled to under the rules of the high-cost program.  In addition, following an investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, the FCC proposed more than $49 million in fines against Sandwich Isles, its parent company Waimana Enterprises, and its former controlling owner Albert Hee for apparent violations impacting the high-cost program.  Sandwich Isles is charged with violating the FCC’s accounting rules and methods, and submitting and certifying inaccurate data used to obtain millions of dollars in improper high-cost support payments. This is the FCC’s first enforcement action in the high-cost program.  The FCC also modified a previous agency ruling regarding payments made by Sandwich Isles for use of a submarine cable built and directed the National Exchange Carrier Association to no longer allow the company’s inclusion of excessive expenses in its revenue requirement.

California

The PUC will hold public meetings in Oakland, Berkeley, and Hayward to inform the public and hear comments on a proposed new area code that would be added to the area now served by the 510 area code in order to provide additional numbers for customers.  The area served by the 510 area code includes the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.  Click here for more details.