The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said it selected the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults to operate the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) for Hawaii. The NDBEDP provides up to $10 million in annual funding for the distribution of communications equipment to deaf-blind individuals who are considered low income, the FCC said Tuesday. The HKNC replaces Island Skill Gathering as Hawaii’s designated NDBEDP program operator, the FCC said. The commission mandated in 2011 that one entity per state could receive support through NDBEDP. The HKNC will “work in partnership with local agencies to meet the needs of the deaf-blind population throughout Hawaii,” the FCC said. The center operates NDBEDP programs in Iowa and New York, along with 14 other states’ programs in partnership with the Perkins School for the Blind, the FCC said.

The FCC 911 governance and accountability rulemaking’s desired transparency and situational awareness goals “may be able to be reasonably achieved without being overly cost-prohibitive or unduly burdensome,” Texas 911 officials told Public Safety Bureau officials during a meeting Wednesday. Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications General Counsel Patrick Tyler and Richard Muscat, Bexar Metro 9-1-1 Network District director-regulatory affairs, met with Deputy Chief David Furth and other bureau staff members to discuss potential benefits from additional communication and collaboration among 911 stakeholders to “enable more detailed review and consideration of issues and potential optimal alternatives,” the Texas officials said in an ex parte notice posted Monday. The bureau is accepting comments on an NPRM, in dockets 13-75 and 14-193, through March 9. Replies are due April 7. The Texas officials said more-detailed contingency plans filed with the FCC “might provide a coherent picture of relevant 9-1-1 information in a transparent manner.” Updates to those plans could be coordinated with notices of “material changes” similar to the notices the FCC uses to notify competitors about changes to LECs that might affect competitors, with any updates that go beyond minimum transparency requirements potentially benefiting all stakeholders, the Texas officials said. This approach to contingency plans "might be preferable to including within new FCC rule requirements at this time subcontractors, operating system suppliers and/or system integrators responsible for certain functions," the officials said. The IP transition and the shift to next-generation 911 technology “is still in the early stages,” with areas that have transitioned to NG-911 and IP technologies usually still needing to address “wholesale” 911 interconnection and competitive carrier issues included in the FCC’s local competition order, the Texas officials said. There may be potential opportunities for more “voluntary cooperation” on 911 transparency and situational awareness given that most areas are still in early stages of implementing NG-911 and IP technologies, the officials said.

Telecom-related complaints were among the top consumer issues that attorneys general in Illinois and Michigan dealt with in 2014, offices for the AGs said separately Monday. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office said it received 2,162 telecom-related complaints during 2014, its third-most-frequent issue during the year. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office said it received almost 1,000 telecom-related complaints during 2014, again making telecom its third-most-frequent issue. Both offices said telecom-related issues included robocalls, telemarketing and cable/satellite services. Madigan, a Democrat, identified data breaches as a rising threat in Illinois, with her office receiving 2,617 complaints about such breaches and other identity theft problems during 2014. Madigan is pushing legislation from state Sen. Daniel Biss and state Rep. Ann Williams, both Democrats, that's designed to strengthen Illinois’ existing Personal Information Protection Act. Schuette, a Republican, said ransomware and mobile payment systems scams are developing into emerging threats in Michigan.

The New York City Department of Education began allowing students Monday to carry cellphones and other mobile devices into city public schools. The move came after a rulemaking by the Department of Education’s Panel for Educational Policy last week that allowed cellphone use in city schools in accordance with rules set by individual schools. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, announced an end to the city’s ban on in-school cellphone use in early January (see 1501070037).

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 3-2 Thursday to partially approve Verizon’s petition to deregulate the telco’s wireline phone service in its Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg/York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton/Wilkes Barre service areas. The PUC chose not to grant deregulation in 41 of the 194 zones Verizon sought, including in Philadelphia suburbs like Ardmore, Chester and Langhorne. PUC Chairman Robert Powelson, Vice Chairman John Coleman and Commissioner Pamela Witmer voted for the petition. Commissioners Gladys Brown and James Cawley, both Democrats, said they voted against the petition because they were concerned it would result in steep bill hikes for the estimated 100,000-200,000 customers who retain wireline service in the affected areas. Regulated wireline phone service prices in Pennsylvania average $22 per month.

The New York Public Service Commission extended the deadline for its review of the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable (TWC) deal, with Comcast saying in a letter to the PSC that the commission is now expected to issue a final order on the deal by March 19. The PSC had been expected to vote by Thursday and had previously planned to issue a final order by March 3 (see 1501210058).

Comcast and other telcos related to the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable (TWC) deal urged the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Wednesday to approve CPUC Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer’s proposed decision approving the deal, but asked the commission to modify multiple conditions included in the proposed decision to make them less onerous. Most public interest advocates who spoke at an all-party meeting on the deal Wednesday in San Francisco, including the Greenlining Institute, Media Alliance and The Utility Reform Network, urged the commission to vote against the deal entirely (see 1502190054). One notable exception was the California Emerging Technology Fund, represented by former FCC Commissioner and CPUC Commissioner Rachelle Chong, who said the CPUC should approve the deal with changes that strengthen conditions related to Comcast’s Internet Essentials program and broadband deployment. Several public interest advocates raised concerns about the CPUC’s ability to enforce conditions in the proposed decision, while California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies Executive Director Sarah DeYoung said the commission should create a separate proceeding post-deal to specifically monitor that Comcast is abiding by conditions included in the CPUC’s decision.

A coalition of consumer advocates said they collected 90,000 signatures on a petition urging the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to reject the Comcast's planned buy of Time Warner Cable. The entities -- Common Cause, Consumers Union, Courage Campaign, Credo, Daily Kos, Greenlining Institute, Media Alliance, Presente, The Utility Reform Network and Writers Guild of America, West -- said they planned to deliver the signatures to the CPUC San Francisco headquarters Wednesday in advance of an all-party meeting on the deal. The meeting is seen as likely to be crucial to the outcome of the CPUC review given that the commission is now considering a draft decision that would approve Comcast/TWC with significant conditions. Public advocates and the telcos involved in Comcast/TWC appeared likely to criticize portions of the proposed decision during the meeting (see 1502190054).

The Kentucky House passed HB-152 71-25 Tuesday to significantly reduce the Public Service Commission’s oversight of wireline service and completely end its jurisdiction over consumer wireless complaints and consumer broadband complaints. AT&T, Cincinnati Bell and Windstream no longer would be required to provide basic wireline phone service in most cities and major suburbs, including state capitol Frankfort and Lexington. The telcos instead could opt to provide basic service in those areas solely through wireless or VoIP, said the bill's text. Customers in rural areas can seek to retain wireline service, the bill said. HB-152, which requires state Senate approval via SB-3, would retain PSC jurisdiction over wholesale issues, carrier-to-carrier issues and anti-competitive telecom practices. State Rep. Rick Rand, a Democrat who sponsored HB-152, said in a speech prior to the vote that AT&T and other telcos are “asking us to allow them to move from old technology to new technology.” Rep. Chris Harris, a Democrat who voted against the bill, said during debate on the bill that he’s worried “that what we're doing here is leaving behind that section of the state … that our regulations were meant to protect -- poor, rural families who do not have lobbyists here to represent their interests.” Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, endorsed HB-152 in a statement as “an important piece of legislation that strikes a right balance between providing consumer protection and creating economic development opportunities that result from robust broadband accessibility in communities all across the commonwealth.”

The Virginia Cyber Security Commission held the first of a planned series of town hall meetings on the commission’s work and related cybersecurity issues Tuesday in Blacksburg, Virginia, said Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s (D) office. The next town hall will be March 23 at New College in Martinsville, with additional meetings April 24 at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, May 19 at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and June 9 at Norfolk State University. “The cyber security industry is a cornerstone of the new Virginia economy, and these town hall meetings are a great way for our commission members to hear concerns and suggestions from citizens, academia, and industry across the state,” said McAuliffe in a news release. McAuliffe has made cybersecurity one of his administration’s priorities since taking office last year, adopting the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s “Version 1.0” Cybersecurity Framework soon after its release in February 2014 (see 1502230063).