How to resolve AdBlock issue? The action by the Board of Supervisors came a week after Congressman Mike Thompson led a bipartisan letter to CPUC President Alice Bushing Reynolds urging the CPUC to reject AT&T’s petition to end access to landline services, as Lake County News has reported.
AT&T filed a document with the CPUC in December seeking relief from its “carrier of last resort,” or COLR, obligations across the state. It’s seeking an expedited process in its request.
The CPUC website for the proceeding explains a carrier of last resort as “a telecommunications service provider that stands ready to provide basic telephone service, commonly landline telephone service, to any customer requesting such service within a specified area. At least one telephone company in a specified area is legally required to provide access to telephone service to anyone in its service territory who requests it. This is known as the Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) obligation, which ensures that everyone in California has access to safe, reliable, and affordable telephone service. AT&T is the designated COLR in many parts of the state and is the largest COLR in California. Where AT&T is the default landline telephone service provider means that the company must provide traditional landline telephone service to any potential customer in that service territory. AT&T is proposing to withdraw as the COLR in your area without a new carrier being designated as a COLR.”
Deputy County Administrative Officer Matthew Rothstein presented the draft letter to the board on Tuesday afternoon.
He explained that AT&T’s proposed withdrawal as carrier of law resort would impact much of Lake County.
The letter notes that in rural areas where population density is low, “the market frequently leaves residents with few quality, affordable telecommunications options. For numerous Lake County residents and rural Californians, Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is a critical lifeline, and the most reliable means to access 911 and 211 services.”
The letter raises the “considerable dangers” AT&T’s proposal creates for communities in high fire areas that don’t have “reliably continuous alternative services.”
It continues, “Plainly, COLR relief should not be considered without meaningfully addressing the vulnerabilities it would create. Winter storms of recent years have likewise left communities with damaged landlines and without cell service for periods of time. Thousands of Lake County residents living in rural communities rely on telecommunications to manage medical and other critical needs.”
The letter notes that AT&T says it will maintain service for landline customers “during a transition period to newer technologies,” but not providing “meaningful assurance service will be continually available in the future. Natural disasters and other events frequently damage communications equipment and infrastructure, and there is no guarantee of timely repair. While emerging technologies may be promising, availability and adoption in rural communities typically significantly lags more population-dense areas.”
Following that statement, the letter asks for the CPUC’s “engagement and commonsense regulation is essential to ensuring no California communities are left with zero telecommunications options.”
Another concern the letter raises is that AT&T fails “to adequately consider the relative difficulty vulnerable customers (such as those of advanced age, medically vulnerable and economically disadvantaged individuals) may have in accessing alternative services.”
The board’s letter asks that the CPUC reject AT&T’s application and insist that more adequate measures are undertaken first when it comes to planning for vulnerable communities.
“Taking away a tool that meaningfully promotes public safety without first replacing its functionality is clearly wrong, and antithetical to the State’s interest in well serving ALL residents,” the letter said, concluding with asking the CPUC to put vulnerable Californians first and reject the proposal.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska moved to approve the letter, with Supervisor Michael Greene seconding and the board approving it 5-0.
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