Communications: California Advanced Services Fund.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) program to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians. Existing law provides that the goal of the program is to, no later than December 31, 2022, approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households, as provided. Existing law requires the commission, in approving infrastructure projects, to approve projects that provide last-mile broadband access to households that are unserved by an existing facility-based broadband provider, and give preference to projects in areas where internet connectivity is only available through dial-up service, as provided. Existing law authorizes the commission to collect a sum not to exceed $330,000,000 to implement the CASF program through the imposition of a surcharge that is collected starting on January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. Existing law prohibits the surcharge collected for the CASF program from exceeding $66,000,000 unless the commission determines that collecting a higher amount of surcharge for the CASF program in any year will not result in an increase in all surcharges collected from telephone customers for that year. This bill would instead require the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund program to encourage deployment of 21st century-ready communications, as provided. The bill would provide that the goal of the program is instead to, no later than December 31, 2024, approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide high-capacity, future-proof infrastructure, as defined, based on current engineering and scientific information available at the time of program application, to no less than 98% of California households, as provided. The bill would require the commission, in approving infrastructure projects, to approve projects with a goal of providing high-capacity, future-proof infrastructure to households that are unserved areas, as defined, or unserved high-poverty areas, as defined, prioritize projects in unserved areas and unserved high-poverty areas where internet connectivity is available only below specified speed thresholds or not at all, and ensure that no awardee receives a grant for an infrastructure project for which the awardee has already received the full cost of the project from a federal grant. The bill would repeal the authority of the commission to increase the maximum amount of the surcharge collected for the CASF program in any year if the commission makes the above-described determination. Existing law establishes the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account in the CASF, and makes moneys in the account available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for grants for projects that deploy infrastructure capable of providing broadband access at speeds of at least 10 megabits per second (mbps) downstream and one mbps upstream to unserved households and provide last-mile infrastructure to unserved households, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to annually offer an existing facility-based broadband provider the opportunity to demonstrate that it will deploy broadband or upgrade existing facilities to a delineated unserved area within 180 days, with opportunity for extension beyond the 180 days, as provided, if the commission makes a specified finding. This bill would revise the requirements applicable to grants awarded from the account. The bill would require an eligible project to deploy infrastructure capable of providing broadband access at speeds of at least 25 mbps downstream and 25 mbps upstream and with a latency that is sufficiently low to allow real-time interactive applications to unserved areas and unserved high-poverty areas, and provide last-mile infrastructure to unserved areas and unserved high-poverty areas. The bill would require the commission to annually offer an existing facility-based broadband provider the opportunity to demonstrate that it will deploy broadband or upgrade existing facilities to a delineated unserved area within 90 days, rather than 180 days. Existing law authorizes an individual household or property owner to be eligible to apply for a grant from the account to offset the costs of connecting the household or property to an existing or proposed facility-based broadband provider. Existing law requires the aggregate amount of these grants to not exceed $5,000,000. This bill would delete these provisions. (2) Existing law requires the commission to conduct various interim and final audits of the California Advanced Services Fund to ensure that funds have been expended in accordance with the approved terms of the grant awards and loan agreements, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to report the interim findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2020. This bill would require the commission to also report interim findings by April 1, 2022. (3) Existing law requires the commission to, until April 1, 2023, annually provide a report to the Legislature that includes certain information, including the remaining unserved areas in the state, the status of the California Advanced Services Fund balance, and the projected amount to be collected in each year through 2022. This bill would instead require the commission to provide this report until April 1, 2025. The bill would require that the information specified above include the remaining unserved areas and unserved high-poverty areas in the state and the status of the fund balance and the projected amount to be collected in each year through 2024.