Oakland, CA –
Right now, there is a choice facing Governor Newsom that will affect California phone and internet service for decades to come, and telecom experts and consumer advocates have significant concerns. The governor must decide whether to accept $1.42 billion from the federal government’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which now comes with a very dangerous condition that will require California to forgo enforcement of key consumer protections, known as condition 50.
BEAD condition 50 purports to require the state to relinquish its ability to regulate telecom providers that have received BEAD funding and their affiliates for fourteen years.1 The language of condition 50 is so broad that large corporations will likely use the provision to avoid compliance with key consumer protections such as net neutrality, which is specifically referenced. This type of relinquishment would have catastrophic effects on the state’s ability to implement laws and regulations, particularly those impacting public safety and affordability.
California is a national leader in net neutrality, which ensures that providers do not lower the speed of the internet, called “throttling.” Net neutrality ensures that fire stations and first responders don’t get slowed down to increase speeds for a higher-paying customer. Lastly, California is a leader in establishing network resiliency rules and service quality standards, which ensures that communications really work when we need them to.
Condition 50 will likely also be used by companies like AT&T and Verizon to argue they don’t have to comply with California’s carrier of last resort (COLR) rule, which ensures all people and businesses have access to reliable phone service, so that they can reach emergency services and receive critical public safety updates even in rural parts of the state.
Condition 50 also targets phone and internet affordability in California by giving providers the chance to argue that the state cannot collect the fees that fund the California Lifeline Program. Millions of hardworking, low-income people rely on the discount provided by the California LifeLine Program to afford phone and/or internet service. Without this program, the digital divide in California will become exponentially worse.
California must not accept BEAD funding without first removing condition 50!
The following quote can be attributed to Mark Toney, Executive Director, TURN.
“It’s no secret that AT&T and Verizon are trying to get out of their obligation to provide basic service in California and are trying to use the FCC to undermine California. Condition 50 is just another attempt to evade state regulation and undermine consumer protections. It is better to turn down potential BEAD funding than risk upending net neutrality and all the Commission’s work to ensure California Residents have access to reliable and affordable telecommunications. This is a matter of public safety.”
The following quote can be attributed to Frank Arce, Executive Vice President, Communications Workers of America District 9 (CWA D-9).
"It is long past due for investment in robust broadband buildout, in every corner of the state. However, closing the digital divide should not be a tradeoff from robust regulation of the industry. CWA was very involved in the development of BEAD, which included a strong commitment to high road labor standards and an expansion of good union jobs in California and the country. Condition 50 is a direct abandonment and violation of the key principles that California deserves.”
The following quote can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Legal Director, Public Knowledge.
“California should not have to give up billions of dollars in broadband affordability benefits and essential consumer protections to receive federal broadband funding. Condition 50 threatens the state’s ability to enforce net neutrality, protect first responders, and hold broadband providers to their commitments, even outside areas receiving BEAD funding. Governor Newsom should demand that this condition be removed and, if necessary, challenge it in court.”
The following quote can be attributed to Tracy Rosenberg, Executive Director, Media Alliance.
“California has been a national leader in preserving and protecting communication rights including statewide network neutrality, California Lifeline, and the nation's most rigorous public interest review process for telecom mergers. This work is now endangered by Trump Administration efforts to blackmail states into abandoning the needs of their residents in order to access BEAD funds. California must say no, as we have so many times to other insane demands from this federal administration that hurt Californians.”
The following quote can be attributed to Phil Grosse, Chair, Legislation Committee, California Democratic Party Rural Caucus.
“The CDP Rural Caucus urges the Governor to resist this extortion on behalf of the Trump Administration to overturn sound legal and administrative policy prescriptions worked out thoughtfully in California. Being able to chart our own course is not just a cherished tradition in this state, but a model for the rest of the country. The value of being able to protect our citizens from rapacious corporate behavior is worth far more than the funding being offered. All of California would be damaged by the striping of legal protection that accepting this poison pill would bring about, but rural residents would be devastated. There are real life-or-death issues here.”
The following quote can be attributed to Jibran Ludwig, Policy Strategist, Fight for the Future.
“Donald Trump is holding rural and tribal communities hostage in a bid to dismantle California’s strong net neutrality protections. While the details may seem arcane, the consequences of losing them will be anything but. If Governor Newsom accepts BEAD funding with Condition 50, Californians will pay higher rates for less reliable internet service. That means emergency services may once again have their data throttled during a wildfire, as happened in 2018. The state needs to stand up to Trump and the ISPs by taking the government to court to remove Condition 50.”
The following quote can be attributed to Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, Director, Demand Progress Campaigns.
"Gov. Newsom has a clear choice: fight Trump and protect a free and open internet for everyday Californians, or accept his corrupt deal and willingly let him undermine California’s laws. If Newsom accepts the administration's money, California risks forfeiting the power to hold companies like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and SpaceX accountable when they throttle internet connections and jack up prices. Gov. Newsom must reject Trump’s crooked bargain."
Contact: Lee Trotman • TURN Communications Director • Ltrotman@turn.org • (415) 929-8876 ext. 316
