[Make-wifi-fast] Fwd: Please take action to support Fixed Wireless in California

Wed Jun 22 10:43:39 EDT 2022

While the bill overly broadens to those that don't deserve subsidy, having
all these phone numbers more "out there" feels like a good thing.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: WISPA <sschwerbel at wispa.org>
Date: Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 7:15 AM
Subject: Please take action to support Fixed Wireless in California
To: Dave Taht <dave.taht at gmail.com>

Dear Dave,

Recently, the California Assembly passed AB 2749
<https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148531335&mm=62160541707>, which
makes clear that wireless internet service providers have access to apply
for and receive money from the Federal Funds Account (FFA) under the
California Advanced Services Fund. The bill also specified that if the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) did not review an application
and notify the applicant of its decision within 180 days, the application
shall automatically be deemed approved. These provisions would help
California take steps toward a more business-friendly climate by
maintaining an even playing field and making important decisions in a
timely fashion.

However, before being taken up by the state Senate, the bill was amended in
a way which dropped the provision that WISPs have clear access to the FFA.
This provision is critical to giving WISPA members certainty when deciding
whether to go through the grant application process. This change
significantly weakens the bill’s technology-neutral intent.

The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications will hear
this bill on Monday, 6/27: they can still correct this error by introducing
an amendment that returns the bill to its original intentions. But your
voice is needed to help the Committee understand what is at stake.

*We encourage you to take a moment this week to call* *one or more
committee members* to express your support for a technology-neutral grant
process that gives all providers access to state broadband grants, and to
explain to them how your company provides the reliable internet services
that all Californians need. Below you will find proposed talking points for
calls to your elected officials:

   - I am a broadband provider that delivers high-speed, reliable service
   to my customers via fixed wireless access. *If you provide service in
   the Senate district you are calling, mention how many customers you cover.*
   - Internet Service Providers like myself often use fixed wireless
   solutions to provide service to your constituents in communities where the
   topography or economics simply don’t justify fiber deployments. WISP
   projects can offer the same speed and reliability as fiber and can be
   deployed for one-ninth the cost and in a fraction of the time a fiber
   project would take.
   - All I ask is that we are given the flexibility to use the right tool
   for the job so we can get those that are truly unserved today connected
   now, not years from now.
   - The original intent of AB 2749 was to ensure that all internet service
   providers have equal access to state grant dollars and that the program is
   administered in a technology-neutral fashion. Please reinstate the
   recently-deleted provision that “*A fixed-wireless internet service
   provider may apply for and receive funding from the Federal Funding
   Account.*”

The members of the Committee are listed below. If you provide service to
areas in any of these Senate districts, please let the office know you
serve their constituents! Your voice and your insight are important in
helping these legislators see the connections between technology-neutral
rules and better broadband for everyone.

   - Chairman Sen. Ben Hueso
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148532557&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4040
   - Vice-Chair Sen. Brian Dahle
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148533779&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4001
   - Sen. Josh Becker
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148535001&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4013
   - Sen. Andreas Borgeas
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148536223&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4008
   - Sen. Steven Bradford
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148537445&mm=62160541707>: *(916)
   651-4035*
   - Sen. Bill Dodd
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148538667&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4003
   - Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148539889&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4005
   - Sen. Lena A. Gonzalez
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148541111&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4033
   - Sen. Shannon Grove
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148542333&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4016
   - Sen. Robert M. Hertzberg
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148543555&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4018
   - Sen. Mike McGuire
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148544777&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4002
   - Sen. Dave Min
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148545999&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4037
   - Sen. Susan Rubio
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148547221&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4022
   - Sen. Henry Stern
   <https://members.wispa.org/ct.php?lid=148548443&mm=62160541707>: (916)
   651-4027

Thank you,

Steven Schwerbel

Click here to unsubscribe
<https://www.viethconsulting.com/members/optout.php?orgcode=WISP&msg=103176805&mid=1959771181>
Message sent by Steve Schwerbel, sschwerbel at wispa.org
WISPA | PO Box 742 | Van Wert, OH 45891

<http://www.viethconsulting.com>

-- 
FQ World Domination pending:
https://blog.cerowrt.org/post/state_of_fq_codel/
Dave Täht CEO, TekLibre, LLC
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