California Bill to Encourage Timely Deployment of Broadband Projects, Kentucky Awarded $1 Million for Internet Build-out, FCC Order Requires FRNs Information Kept Current
California Bill to Encourage Timely Deployment of Broadband Projects
California Governor signed Assembly Bill 537 into law on October 4, 2021. The new law adopts the FCC’s rules (47 C.F.R. § 1.6003) establishing reasonable time periods in which a local government must respond to applications and/or permits for wireless carriers. According to the bill, some local jurisdictions approve permits for broadband projects very quickly while others take months or years to approve the same type of project. It goes on to say that there are currently over 1,000 broadband permits pending with local jurisdictions in California that would improve internet connectivity for several million residents.
Kentucky Awarded $1 Million for Internet Build-out
Kentucky has been awarded a $1 million federal grant to help expand high-speed internet access.
The American Rescue Plan allocates $3 billion in supplemental funding to help communities across the country. All 59 states and territories are eligible to apply for a $1 million grant through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Statewide Planning program. Kentucky’s Broadband Deployment Fund was established this year to help private sector entities and governmental agencies in the cost of creating the “last mile” of high-speed internet access.
Order Requires FRNs Information Kept Current
Effective November 29, 2021, entities and individuals doing business with the FCC are required to provide a valid email address when they register for FCC Registration Numbers (FRNs). Filers must keep the email information current along with other information used to register. Published in the Federal Register today, the FCC’s Report and Order is a non-substantive change to an information collection effected by the revision to § 1.8002(b)(2) of the Commission’s rules which was approved by the Office of Management and Budget on August 11, 2021. This change will enable the Office of Managing Director to remove access to legacy CORES from the Commission’s website at a later date and maintain only the modernized version of CORES for FRN registration.
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.
