Winter of Discontent with CPUC
CPUC gives middle finger to Briones broadband
The California Public Utilities Commission issued a ruling that denys Etheric’s application to be designated as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier. This effectively blocks the funding that Etheric won at auction from the Federal Communications Commission as part of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. This funding would have subsidized low-latency, gigabit service to Briones, among many other rural regions of California. CPUC’s denial was based in part on their opinion that Etheric’s technical capability was inadequate. They based this on just a single reference to a report by a fiber proponent. In less than a page of flimsy reasoning, CPUC declares that fixed wireless won’t work because it “generally depends on line-of-sight.” One is reminded of the late Herman Cain saying that it is impractical use aerial bombardment against a particular military adversary because of its mountanous terrain. The expert concensus is that fixed wireless (aka WISP) broadband will be the dominant last-mile medium for low-density (i.e. rural) regions. Technology is rapidly advancing toward gigabit speeds.
On a lighter note, The Brionean is pleased to republish this classic but little-known masterpiece of geology by Andrew Lawson, for whom Lawson Hill is named. The full, remastered and restored version is available, albiet a rather large download. The pictures below are samples.
Andrew Cowper Lawson was a supremely accomplished professor of geology at UCB from 1890 until his death in 1952, and a renaissance man. A biographical memoir is available here.
