The California Public Utilities Commission used a July 15 public participation hearing to expand the record in its proceeding on whether wireless service should face quality standards similar to those already applied to landline and VoIP service.
Administrative Law Judge Tom Gligol said the hearing was meant to hear directly from the public about wireless phone service, including outages, billing issues and other customer-service problems. Assigned Commissioner Darcy Hauke said commissioners will review the hearing record — along with written comments already submitted — before deciding whether to extend the commission’s current standards under General Order 133E to wireless service or adopt additional wireless-specific rules.
The commission said it had already received nearly or more than 800 written public comments, and it scheduled additional remote forums for the following week. People who wanted to add more input were told they could submit written comments through the proceeding’s docket card on the CPUC website.
Speakers described dropped calls, dead zones, slow data speeds and trouble receiving two-factor authentication codes. Several said unreliable service affected work, telehealth, caregiving, emergency access and family communication. Others raised billing disputes and customer-service complaints involving carriers including Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.
Not all commenters favored new regulation. Some warned that more rules could raise costs or slow investment in wireless networks, and urged the commission to balance service standards with continued infrastructure spending.
The hearing ended without a vote. The commission said the five commissioners will ultimately decide whether to approve proposed changes to existing rules or adopt new ones.
