Kansas Broadband & Telecom News - November 2024
Kansas BEAD Application Window Extended To December 20th
November 18, 2024 – The Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD) has announced that the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program application deadline has been extended to December 20, 2024. KOBD opened the BEAD application portal on October 21, and will now close it at noon on December 20th. Applicants can access the application portal online. Under the BEAD program, Kansas is expected to award $451.7 million for projects that deploy high-speed internet to unserved locations (no internet access or access under 25/3 Mbps) and to underserved locations (access at speeds under 100/20 Mbps). KOBD previously announced there are 403 project areas containing 52,343 BEAD-eligible locations. BEAD applications will be scored on their cost-effectiveness, consumer affordability, fair labor practices, technology, speed to deployment, and community engagement.
President-Elect Trump Names Brendan Carr Next FCC Chair
November 17, 2024 – President-elect Donald Trump has announced he will nominate current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr to be the FCC’s next chairman. Commissioner Carr was appointed to one of the Republican seats on the FCC by Trump in 2017. In an X post online, Carr provided the following response to the news: “Thank you, President Trump! I am humbled and honored to serve as Chairman of the FCC. Now we get to work.” Commissioner Carr’s official FCC bio states that he has worked in communications and tech policy for nearly 20 years. He has held other positions at the FCC, including legal advisor and the agency’s general counsel. Commissioner Carr has previously laid out his priorities as FCC Chairman: The FCC needs to change course and bring new urgency to achieving four main goals: (1) Reining in Big Tech, (2) Promoting National Security, (3) Unleashing Economic Prosperity, and (4) Ensuring FCC Accountability and Good Governance.
KCC Penalizes AT&T LLC For Eight Violations Of Kansas Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act
November 14, 2024 – The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has issued a notice of penalty assessment for violations of the Kansas Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act (KUUDPA) and pipeline safety regulations in the amount of $8,000 against AT&T LLC. The $8,000 total civil penalty assessed against AT&T LLC equates to a $1,000 fine for each of the eight violations of the KUUDPA. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 25-DPAX-195-PEN. The KCC’s Utilities Division’s Report And Recommendation provides the following summary of the KCC’s investigation and the facts that led to the decision:
AT&T is an Operator of Tier 1 facilities as defined in K.S.A. 66-1802. Operators of Tier 1 facilities must inform excavators of the tolerance zone of the underground facilities by marking, flagging, or other acceptable method per K.S.A. 66-1806. Operators of Tier 1 facilities have two working days before the excavation scheduled start date assigned by the notification center to inform excavators of the location of their facilities per K.A.R. 82-14-3(f).
Staff performed an investigation and reviewed non-response tickets from April 1, 2024 thru May 22, 2024 for AT&T in a given region. Non-response tickets are initiated by excavators when a member utility or operator fails to respond to a requested utility locate within the allotted time as specified above. Staff identified 10 non-response tickets and issued a NPN to AT&T on May 23, 2024. The NPN alleged that AT&T did not inform the excavator of the tolerance zone for its underground facilities within the required time frame which is a violation of KUUDPA.
AT&T responded to each of the ten alleged non-responses on June 18, 2024, refer to Attachment A. For eight of the 10 responses, AT&T did not contest Staff’s allegations of non-compliance. AT&T contested two of the violations arguing they either provided locates within the allotted time or cleared the excavator as there were no buried utilities within the locate area. Staff recommends the Commission penalize AT&T for each of the eight violations which were not contested.
Wheat State Revises Tariff To Account For Elimination Of Printed Telephone Directories
November 13, 2024 – Wheat State Telephone Company, Inc. d/b/a Wheat State Technologies has filed revisions to its General Exchange Tariff with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC). The purpose of the filing is to revise tariff language related to no longer providing a printed telephone directory. According to the revised tariff language, Wheat State will no longer provide printed telephone directories, but will provide, upon request and without charge, a list of the telephone numbers applicable for the exchange area in which a customer resides. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 25-WHST-214-TAR.
Rainbow Telecommunications Requests Waiver Of Certain KCC Billing Practice Standards
November 8, 2024 – Rainbow Telecommunications Association, Inc. has filed an application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) requesting a waiver of certain requirements in the Kansas telecommunications billing practice standards. Specifically, Rainbow has requested a waiver of the requirement to mail paper notices of suspension or disconnection of service. In most cases, Rainbow will instead email notices of suspension or disconnection of service. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 25-RNBT-212-MIS.
Light Source Communications, LLC Applies For CLEC Certificate Of Convenience And Authority
November 7, 2024 – Light Source Communications, LLC has filed an application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) requesting a Certificate of Convenience and Authority to provide resold and facilities-based local exchange service in Kansas. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 25-LSCT-209-COC. Light Source, a Michigan limited liability company, is seeking CLEC authority in all exchanges served by incumbent price cap LECs AT&T Kansas and CenturyLink, and all other service territories currently open to competition. In its application, Light Source states that it “will not provide voice services, including switched access,” and therefore “is not providing an intrastate switched access tariff.” In Exhibit A to its application, Light Source provides the following additional details on the services it intends to provide:
Applicant seeks authority to provide facilities-based and resold local exchange and access telecommunications services throughout the state of Kansas. LSC proposes to begin providing telecommunications service in Kansas shortly after it has obtained the Commission certification
Applicant intends to provide high-bandwidth, fiber-based communications networks, and related competitive data services for high-bandwidth customers. Applicant seeks to provide primarily facilities-based Dark Fiber, Private Line and Wavelength Services between multiple customer facilities and key carrier meet-point locations and local data centers. LSC customers consist of large business enterprises, governmental organizations, educational institutions, data centers, and others to best meet their individual needs, providing networks with unmatched security, flexibility, scalability and reliability.
Applicant seeks authority to provide local exchange services in all areas that are currently open, or become open in the future, to competition. Applicant does not intend to provide voice telephone services, however LSC would use existing local exchange boundaries and local calling scope of the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) in Kansas. LSC concurs with the maps and exchange boundaries filed with the Commission by the ILECs. LSC will perform network and equipment maintenance as necessary to ensure compliance with any quality of service requirements. Applicant will comply with all applicable Commission rules, regulations and standards, and will provide safe, reliable and high quality telecommunications services in Kansas.
Brightspeed Companies of Kansas File Tariff Revisions
November 4, 2024 – Brightspeed Companies of Kansas have filed revisions to its Access Service Tariff with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC). Specifically, Brightspeed Companies of Kansas are revising language for Shared Use Facilities, which includes grandfathering DS3 Entrance Facilities. Brightspeed has requested an effective date of December 6, 2024 for the tariff revisions. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 25-UTDT-206-TAR.
Haviland Requests Waiver Of Certain Telecommunications Billing Practice Standards
November 1, 2024 – Haviland Telephone Company, Inc. has filed an application with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) requesting a waiver of certain requirements in the Kansas telecommunications billing practice standards. Specifically, Haviland is requesting a waiver of the rules in Section IV.D.(1) and (2) that require the mailing of a notice of suspension or disconnection of service and the grace period before suspending or disconnecting service. Haviland has requested the KCC grant a waiver that allows Haviland to substitute electronic mailing of notices of suspension or disconnection of service. The KCC Docket Number for the proceeding is 25-HVDT-204-MIS.