Sponsor proposes automatic outage credits; telecom trade group warns of federal preemption

Delegate Wu told the House Environment and Transportation Committee that HB 1562 would make carriers automatically provide credits to customers affected by qualifying service outages instead of forcing consumers to file claims.

"Customers should be fairly compensated for this inconvenience without having to go through phone calls and customer service to file a complaint themselves," the sponsor said, citing a January Verizon outage that affected roughly 200,000 customers in the Baltimore region.

Industry witnesses pushed back. Mike Blank, representing CTIA, said the bill conflicts with federal law and practical network monitoring. "The FCC has reporting requirements and the ability to investigate and impose fines," Blank told members, adding that the bill's automatic‑credit requirement could amount to state rate regulation preempted by federal law. He also said carriers may not be able to determine precisely which customers were affected by a given outage, especially where "last‑mile" connections use varied technologies.

Committee members pressed both sides on several technical points: how the FCC reporting regime works; thresholds for mandatory reports; whether credits would be required for outages outside providers' control (for example, natural disasters or cyberattacks); and whether the bill would impose a 24‑hour credit for a shorter outage because of daily billing cycles. Blank said carriers already provide refunds and that competition drives many customer remediation practices; sponsor Wu argued that a statutory backstop would make the process fairer and more consistent.

The committee heard a mix of technical and policy questions and concluded the hearing on HB 1562 with additional conversations expected about liability carveouts for natural disasters, cyber events, and the proper detection standards for impacted customers.

What's next: Sponsor and industry said they would continue to work on narrow technical amendments, including exemptions for declared natural disasters and clarifying the outage detection threshold.