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VIDEO and PRESS RELEASE. From the San Mateo County Supervisor’s meeting on March 12th, 2024, at 9:00am, as a hybrid meeting. SMCo Supervisor’s Board agendas.
Staff Report
Click for 3/12/2024 Video
Starts at 1:17:56
Item #5: Receive testimony from representative of Pacific Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California (“AT&T”) regarding AT&T’s recent applications to the California Public Utilities Commission and consider possible County actions to address emergency preparedness in the unincorporated area, including the Coastside.
The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to provide direction to the County Attorney’s Office to draft a resolution opposing AT&T’s application with the California Public Utilities Commission to terminate its “Carrier of Last Resort” obligations in California.
PRESS RELEASE. From the San Mateo County Executive’s Office on March 12th, 2024
Redwood City – San Mateo County supervisors today took the first step toward opposing a move by AT&T that local officials said could put residents in rural areas at risk during wildfires and in other emergencies.
At the request of Supervisor Ray Mueller, supervisors voted 5-0 at today’s regular Board meeting to direct the County Attorney’s Office to draft a resolution opposing AT&T’s application with the California Public Utilities Commission to terminate its “Carrier of Last Resort” status, which would allow AT&T to end landline service to thousands of customers.
“Vulnerable residents living in rural areas and semi-rural areas in San Mateo County do not have reliable access to communications other than their copper landline service provided by AT&T,” Mueller said. “That is the means of communication they rely on in storms and wildfires and emergency medical events on a day-to-day basis.”
Mueller represents thousands of residents who live in the coastal hills west of Skyline Boulevard, an area with often spotty or non-existent cell coverage.
“There is a tremendous digital divide that still exists and puts residents at risk,” Mueller said. “Because of business decisions, a short distance from the heart of Silicon Valley, we have residents who are living without access to reliable communication other than a copper landline.”
Currently, AT&T is a “Carrier of Last Resort” in certain areas of the state, including San Mateo County. This means, among other things, the company provides basic services such as free access through landlines to 911 and Telephone Relay Service, which allows persons with hearing or speech disabilities to place and receive telephone calls.
AT&T has sent a letter to customers informing them the company may no longer provide landline services in certain service areas throughout California. A list and map posted on the CPUC website appears to show that landline AT&T service in all of San Mateo County would be eliminated, save for areas near Coyote Point Recreation Area and parts of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Watershed.
That could put thousands of residents who live in areas with unreliable cell coverage, as well as residents in areas prone to power outages, at risk. In addition to the coast, this includes residents who live in hilly areas on the bayside, supervisors said.
And in a region prone to wildfires, storms and earthquakes, that’s unacceptable, especially when the power goes out, Mueller said.
“It’s also our ability to reach out to them through reverse 911,” which was used during 2020’s CZU Lightning Complex Fire, Mueller said
Mueller said he will testify against AT&T’s proposal during a CPUC public forum this Thursday, March 14, in Indio (Riverside County). He said AT&T has failed to propose a workable alternative that would provide reliable communications in all areas where it would drop landline service.
The CPUC’s own Public Advocate’s Office states in a legal filing that “AT&T fails to provide a customer outreach plan that includes, at minimum, the list of all impacted customers, an outreach and communication schedule, the method by which customers will be notified, including accessible and in-language customer notifications,” among other issues.
Today’s meeting included questioning of a representative from AT&T who had also met with County leaders beforehand. A proposed resolution opposing AT&T’s application is expected to come to a vote before the Board at their regularly scheduled meeting March 26, 2024.
More on AT&T on Coastside Buzz
2024 Election
The 2024 Board of Supervisors, from left: Ray Mueller (D3), Noelia Corzo (D2) Warren Slocum (D4, BOS President), David J. Canepa (D5, BOS Vice President) and Dave Pine (D1, outgoing BOS President).
Author: Coastside Buzz
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