Introduction and Summary

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) appreciates the opportunity to comment on changing the California Public Utility Commission’s (CPUCs) rules regarding Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) rules.[1] CPUC should modernize its COLR rules.

California Should Modernize Its Carrier of Last Resort Requirements

At a time of unprecedented growth in the broadband market, California’s broadband laws remain unchanged, and it is costing consumers faster, more reliable Internet. Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) rules used to make sense, as they guaranteed every household a landline telephone by requiring certain providers to serve anyone who requested it.[2] But those laws are now trapping consumers in the past by preventing Internet service providers (ISPs) from retiring copper networks.[3] Wide deployment of superior broadband technologies like fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite has rendered copper telephone networks obsolete.[4] Nevertheless, COLR rules require ISPs to sink resources into maintenance for these obsolete networks rather than invest them in next-generation infrastructure.

These outdated rules are doing real harm to consumers.[5] Only about eight percent of U.S. homes still use copper for broadband access, as almost everyone in the country is covered by newer technologies.[6] But COLR laws prevent ISPs from retiring unused copper networks in areas already served by these newer technologies. Money, workers, and equipment cannot be used on modern high-capacity networks if they are instead being used for upkeep on obsolete copper ones. Meanwhile, the tools and components needed to fix copper systems are becoming rare and expensive because they are no longer widely manufactured.[7] That means longer outages and slower repairs for anyone still stuck with a copper connection.[8]

The solution is for California to eliminate COLR requirements in areas with better technologies available, such as big cities like Sacramento and Los Angeles, as well as smaller cities like Santa Rosa, Riverside, and Redding.[9] This will allow ISPs to retire legacy copper networks where they are no longer needed. Potential consumer protection concerns regarding the retirement process exist, but ISPs and governments can address them during the transition, so consumers don't experience a lapse in service.[10] The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which provides $42.5 billion in federal funding to states for broadband deployment, will address some of the major concerns around copper retirement by connecting every home in the United States to high-speed Internet.[11] At the same time, copper networks can be strategically retired and replaced with home and mobile replacements without leading to discontinued service for anyone. Ensuring everyone has a phone or Internet connection, especially in an emergency or power outage, is why updating communications infrastructure is so important.[12]

Other states and regulators are already moving forward on COLR reforms. Utah passed a bill to update its COLR laws, and the FCC has made it easier for providers nationwide to retire old copper lines.[13] U.S. broadband policy is focused on closing the digital divide, and it’s time for the Golden State to take this golden opportunity to connect every Californian to the best broadband technologies.

Endnotes