An increasing number of local governments are building high-speed broadband networks, said New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) and CTC Technology & Energy, a communications and information technology engineering consulting firm, in a report Tuesday. Public broadband networks in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wilson, North Carolina, “as well as hundreds of others across the U.S., have demonstrated their ability to provide cutting-edge and more affordable broadband access to their communities,” said OTI Policy Program Associate Patrick Lucey in a news release (http://bit.ly/1fMvipc) on the report (http://bit.ly/1kHd04X). The projects signal “an opportunity for other local governments to define a better broadband future, where private sector-only approaches are unwilling or unable to meet a community’s aspirations or needs,” Lucey said. “In light of the current debates about net neutrality and the potential Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, it is more important than ever that communities begin to discuss local broadband options."

Google Fiber is “impressed by the enthusiasm and engagement” of all 34 cities under consideration for Google Fiber, and all of them have or for the most part completed checklists the company is seeking (CD May 1 p5), Google Fiber said on its blog Thursday (http://bit.ly/1pTbDYT). “There’s still a lot of work to do.” Google Fiber said it will now work on tying up loose ends with the checklists, including working with city councils that have yet to act on approving agreements to allow fiber huts. Video franchise agreements still need to be worked out, said the company. “After all of these steps, we'll start drawing up construction blueprints for local fiber networks. These detailed designs will help us see how complex it would be to build in each city, and will be used as we make our final decisions."

Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad is disappointed with the Legislature’s failure to pass Iowa House File 2472 (http://bit.ly/1flQXo6), which would have provided incentives to expand broadband in the state’s underserved areas, before adjourning for the year Wednesday. “We launched the ‘Connect Every Iowan’ initiative to increase access, adoption and use of broadband technology in Iowa,” Branstad said in a written statement Thursday (http://bit.ly/1rIZ8Lf). “Technology is the great equalizer and we know for Iowa to continue to grow and prosper, we must have quality broadband technology all across Iowa. ... We plan to continue working to bring high-speed Internet access to all corners of the state, not just to population and industrial centers.” The House Republican majority “failed to pass the Governor’s broadband bill, one of his top priorities this year,” countered House Democratic Leader Mark Smith. Republican supporters of the bill couldn’t pull enough Democrats to pass it, because “House Democrats firmly believe the bill does not go far enough in expanding broadband access to more homes and small businesses,” Smith said. The Connect Every Iowan Act (CD April 29 p13) would have exempted broadband equipment and infrastructure installed or constructed in unserved or underserved areas from property taxes until Dec. 31, 2018.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is right to shine a spotlight on “anti-competitive and economically stifling” state laws that bar or impede municipal broadband networks, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) said in a statement (http://bit.ly/1o4juOA) Wednesday. “In an era when policymakers throughout the country have recognized that robust broadband networks are necessary to ensure the nation’s economic future, it is imperative that local communities, entrepreneurs, and innovators have the opportunity to develop next generation networks at the local level,” NATOA said.

The nation’s need to invest more in infrastructure “is by no means a justification for turning the Internet over to private parties to derive maximum profits at the expense of consumers,” said Montgomery County, Md., Councilman Hans Riemer Wednesday, responding to comments by NCTA President Michael Powell. “Because the Internet is not regulated as a public utility, it grows and thrives,” Powell said Tuesday at NCTA’s 2014 Cable Show. “The contribution citizens make to ISPs in the form of providing access to their communities’ public assets such as rights-of-way, many times for free or less than market rates, is often forgotten in statements such as Mr. Powell’s,” Riemer said in a statement. “And I find it ironic that Mr. Powell, speaking for an industry that has torn up the nation’s streets on an ongoing basis, would use potholes as an example of why private industry should be unregulated when using public assets."

A bill that would make it easier for Colorado telcos to be excused from carrier-of-last resort (COLR) obligations was among five broadband bills approved by the state House and Senate Monday. Under HB-1331 (http://tinyurl.om/o2fse9x), sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Angela Williams and supported by CenturyLink, the Public Utilities Commission would also no longer have regulatory authority over basic local exchange service in areas deemed competitive, setting the stage for telcos to no longer provide landline service within two years (CD March 19 p12). In areas not deemed competitive, and where the PUC provides support, providers would still be subject to COLR obligations, but could meet the obligation by providing voice service through any technology, not just traditional landlines. Among the other measures passed in Colorado were HB-1329 (http://bit.ly/1kaR4yK), which removes the PUC’s authority over IP services and HB 1328 (http://bit.ly/1rJZz9Q), which shifts the state’s high-cost support mechanism to a new fund for expanding broadband services in underserved areas.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said he was disappointed by the defeat Friday of Iowa House File 2472 (http://bit.ly/1flQXo6), which would have provided incentives to expand broadband in the state’s underserved areas. “Increased access and adoption of broadband would help Iowa businesses grow and bring more jobs to the state, but Iowa House Democrats were more interested in election year politics than they were in passing good public policy,” Branstad said in a statement. The measure could be reconsidered before the legislature adjourns as early as Tuesday. The Connect Every Iowan Act would have exempted broadband equipment and infrastructure installed or constructed in unserved or underserved areas from property taxes until Dec. 31, 2018. It would have also allowed private providers to buy unused Iowa Communications Network bandwidth at wholesale rates in unserved or underserved areas. It would have allowed the private sector to build off of the ICN to serve retail customers, such as homes, businesses and local governments, Branstad’s office said. Democratic leaders were not immediately available for comment.

The sponsor of a California Senate bill that would have required smartphones in the state to come with a theft-deterring “kill switch” said he will try again after SB-962 (http://bit.ly/1puAfHp) failed in a 19-17 floor vote Thursday. The bill could be brought back up for reconsideration by the end of May, said Democratic Sen. Mark Leno in a news release. The measure would have required all smartphones sold in California to come pre-equipped with technology to render the device useless if stolen. It was prompted by concerns about an increase in smartphone thefts. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón in a joint release with Leno called Thursday’s vote “disheartening given the level of victimization.” The vote was praised by the CTIA, which had opposed the measure. Its news release cited an April 15 announcement (http://bit.ly/1mcQOmq) of the “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment” (CD April 17 p10), in which several companies said new models of smartphones manufactured after July 2015 will have a preloaded or downloadable tool that would wipe out the authorized user’s personal data if reported lost or stolen. It would also render the smartphone inoperable to unauthorized users and prevent reactivation without the user’s permission. Leno criticized the proposal because customers would have to “opt-in” by activating the feature.

More than 55,500 people, including over 15,500 AT&T customers, signed a petition supporting a shareholder proxy (http://1.usa.gov/1mIUNK5) urging AT&T to disclose contributions to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), said SumOfUs.org. The proxy will be presented at Friday’s AT&T annual shareholder meeting, said SumOfUs.org, a global corporate watchdog organization that began the petition. ALEC has backed efforts around the country to deregulate telecom and to make it more difficult for municipalities to create broadband networks, the group said.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage vetoed Legislative Document-1479 (http://bit.ly/1erkbfp), which would have required that any Public Utilities Commission decision on a $67.6 million-a-year public subsidy sought by FairPoint Communications (CD April 10 p30) be confirmed by the legislature. FairPoint had sought the subsidy from the Maine USF to continue providing landline service in the state. Companies like AT&T, CTIA, Sprint, U.S. Cellular and Virgin Mobile complained about FairPoint drawing from a fund the competitors pay into. The bill also would have delayed any Maine USF payment for at least a year. In his veto message, LePage, a Republican, said he’s not in favor of granting the annual average $51.54 surcharge increase that’s needed to pay for the subsidy. Delaying the increase for a year would not solve the problem, he said Wednesday, urging the legislature to do the “hard work to overhaul public policy. ... This is one of the clearest examples of simply punting a hard issue until after the election.” LePage said the bill abrogates the legislature’s taxing authority by not providing direction to the PUC. He said the state’s provider of last resort law is “antiquated,” and the legislature should either decide how to fund the requirement to provide landline service or get rid of the requirement. A PUC spokesman said a decision on FairPoint’s request is expected in late July.