The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) last week established new standards for phone service in the state. The rules are especially relevant for emergency situations.
The action was taken at the September 18 Voting Meeting. General Order 133-E for the first time extends minimum service quality standards to fixed interconnected VoIP calls.
“It is important that Californians receive quality communication services regardless of the technology used to provide the service,” Commissioner Darcie L. Houck, the official assigned to the proceeding, said in a press release about the new California phone service standards.
“I am proud of our decision’s approach to setting stricter minimum service quality standards and enforcement mechanisms to incentivize carriers to meet those standards. These measures will further the CPUC’s goal of ensuring customers receive safe and reliable communication services.”
Highlights of the new California phone service standards:
- Service restoration standards: Requires 90% of service outages for landline and VoIP to be restored within 24 hours, eliminating exclusions such as Sundays and federal holidays.
- Automatic customer credits: Ensures customers receive compensation for prolonged outages or poor service quality.
- Corrective action plans and penalties: Introduces tools for holding providers accountable, including fines and mandated infrastructure investments.
- Expanded reporting requirements: Mandates the collection and publication of more comprehensive outage and performance data from providers
The CPUC is active. Late last month, it created a pilot program to help provide broadband to eligible low-income households. The three-year pilot, which will be run through the California LifeLine program, is technology neutral and allows participants to use the subsidy for any broadband plan that meets the program’s standards.
In July, the CPUC announced that it is supporting 14 projects for a total of $1,424,050. The support, which is in the form of digital equity grants, is expected to provide training to 1,831 people in underserved communities.
