New Jersey’s Division of Rate Counsel appealed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities' April 29 decision (CD May 16 p10) to allow Verizon to meet its commitment to build broadband throughout the state with wireless. BPU had ruled a 1993 agreement, in which Verizon promised full broadband deployment, did not mandate what technology would be used. The Tuesday appeal to the state Superior Court’s Appellate Division in Trenton said wireless “is not comparable to wireline or fiber broadband in service reliability or pricing.” Verizon said it’s reviewing the appeal and had no comment.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, is urging state lawmakers to increase the monthly tax on cellphones from $2.50 to $3.90, said various reports in Chicago area publications (http://bit.ly/1oqwAJr). The move comes as the legislature heads for a scheduled adjournment Saturday. Free-market think tank the Heartland Institute criticized the development. “Mayor Emanuel’s proposed 56 percent increase in the city’s cell phone tax would give Chicago the highest tax of its kind in the nation,” said John Nothdurft, the institute’s director-government relations. “This is the tax equivalent to death by a million cuts. Is it any surprise then that the city has experienced population loss over the last decade?"

TDS Telecom launched service with speeds of 1 Gbps Tuesday in Hollis, New Hampshire, it said in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1oqBOVr). Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., a Commerce Committee member, tweeted praise for the announcement and posted a photo of herself and TDS Telecom officials. The high-speed package is available for under $100 a month with a bundle, TDS said.

Alcatel-Lucent said Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative subsidiary Bolt Fiber Optic Services selected it to create a broadband network for northeastern Oklahoma with a 1 Gbps top speed. Bolt Fiber intends to use the network to also deliver VoIP service and TV services in its service region, which includes rural communities and tribal areas. Alcatel-Lucent said it will use its gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology to ensure Bolt Fiber’s desired 1 Gbps top speed, which is about 100 times faster than the average U.S. broadband connection speed. Alcatel-Lucent said it currently uses the GPON technology in broadband networks in Bristol and Chattanooga, Tennessee; Hong Kong; and Portugal. “Providing access to ultra-broadband will attract jobs and investment, improve lives through services like telemedicine and e-learning, and allow families to stay in the communities they love,” said Bolt Fiber Manager Sheila Allgood in a Tuesday Alcatel-Lucent news release (http://bit.ly/1wfAwyO).

The public sector is using the Internet of Everything (IoE) to “increase efficiency, reduce costs, and ... improve the lives of citizens,” said a Cisco study (http://bit.ly/1o6MrwD) Wednesday exploring how the Internet is transforming government. The study examined 40 public sector jurisdictions in the U.S. and globally, said a news release (http://bit.ly/1kpAi2L). Among the findings: “Public sector organizations are among the world’s leading IoE innovators.” Cities are using comprehensive IoE strategies, as in the case of Amsterdam’s Smart City strategy, to deliver services more efficiently and find ways to increase revenue, the study said. IoE will be the “next wave of the Internet,” with an estimated $19 trillion in potential value over the next decade for both private and public sectors, Patrick Finn, senior vice president of Cisco’s U.S. Public Sector Organization, wrote in a Cisco blog post (http://bit.ly/1gQcS7A).

Vermont Monday became the first state to let customers of the four major carriers text 911 when the state and T-Mobile began implementing the service, said Vermont Enhanced 9-1-1 Board Executive Director David Tucker in an interview Wednesday. Verizon began offering the service in Vermont in 2012, and AT&T and Sprint followed last year, he said. The four major carriers met a voluntary May 15 deadline (CD Dec 10/12 p1) to make their networks capable of transmitting texts nationwide. Vermont is the only state where all public service answering points (PSAPs) are able to handle the texts, he said. About 98 percent of the state’s wireless subscribers, excepting those of smaller carriers not subject to the deadline, can now text 911, he said. Nationally, the May 15 deadline doesn’t mean text-to-911 will be available to all consumers, said National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes in a news release Friday (http://bit.ly/1o6jGQE). Text-to-911 “availability will ultimately depend on funding and the deployment of hardware, software, and training programs” at the nearly 6,000 911 centers across the country, Fontes said. “Progress will vary from one community to the next.” Traditional voice calls to 911 are the fastest and most efficient way to call for help, Tucker said. The text technology is “especially important to the deaf or hard of hearing, or people in a dangerous situation like domestic violence or an intruder in the house when a person may be afraid of making a voice call,” he said.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau is starting an investigation into 911 outage on April 9 and 10 that prevented more than 4,500 911 calls from reaching public safety answering points (PSAP) in Washington state, the bureau said in a public notice Monday. “Given the large area impacted by this outage, the interdependent communications infrastructure spread across multiple states and providers, and the critical importance of dependable and resilient 911 service throughout” the U.S., the bureau “is examining the causes, effects, and implications of this outage,” said the PN (http://bit.ly/1p71NOY). The six-hour outage also affected large areas of Oregon and portions of California, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, the bureau said. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) has also opened a state investigation. CenturyLink said in a April 24 major outage report (http://1.usa.gov/1hVzai5) (CD May 1 p12) filed with the WUTC that a PSAP trunk member (PTM) threshold counter, which routes calls to the appropriate PSAPs, ran out of capacity. The PTM is run by CenturyLink contractor Intrado, in the Englewood, Colo., Emergency Call Management Complex. Neither CenturyLink nor Intrado immediately had a reaction to the FCC investigation.

A budget compromise reached by a Minnesota legislative conference committee would set aside $20 million for broadband development, and while it was far short of the $100 million sought in a proposal this year, proponents hailed the deal on Thursday. “It’s a good down-payment on what needs to be a sustained commitment to broadband infrastructure,” said Sen. Matt Schmit, of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), sponsor of Senate File-2056 (http://bit.ly/1lwFcaX) that sought the larger amount for grants to improve broadband in underserved areas. “Businesses and families across Greater Minnesota have reason to celebrate today because of the historic first step Minnesota has taken in recognizing that the lack of broadband is crippling rural communities,” said a statement from Dan Dorman, executive director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership, a coalition of businesses, nonprofits and cities that advocates for economic development policies. “Border-to-border access to reliable cell phone and high-speed internet coverage will be essential to Minnesota’s continued economic growth. These new investments in broadband infrastructure will help move our state closer that important goal,” DFL Gov. Mark Dayton said in a statement (http://bit.ly/1jQN5eX). Final votes by the Legislature were pending at our deadline.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed the smartphone kill switch bill into law, making the state the first in the nation to require manufacturers to include equipment to disable the devices if lost or stolen (CD May 12 p8). “This law will help combat the growing number of violent cell phone thefts in Minnesota,” Dayton, of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, said in a statement (http://bit.ly/1k4KFIZ) in signing Senate File 1740 (http://bit.ly/1n55aEZ) Wednesday. “The safety and security of wireless users is the wireless industry’s top priority, and we've taken significant actions to provide consumers with the tools and information needed to help deter smartphone theft,” said Jamie Hastings, CTIA vice president, external and state affairs, in a statement Friday. Given efforts like the “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment,” in which companies have pledged either preload phones with kill switches that can be turned on or the ability to download the anti-theft technology, “we question if the Minnesota bill was necessary,” Hastings said.

The sponsor of a Louisiana bill that would bar using a cellphone while driving in school zones said he expects the measure to be approved by the House and go to the governor next week. The law would only apply to making calls, sending texts or being on a social networking site during unspecified posted hours. Offenses would carry a fine of up to $175 for the first violation and up to $500 for each subsequent violation. Rep. Jeff Thompson, a Republican, said HB-370 (http://1.usa.gov/1iQ9ZOq) was approved by the Senate Wednesday with an amendment saying signs must signal where the law would apply. The measure had failed in the Senate on Tuesday but was approved with the amendment. The House is now likely to concur with the amendment and pass it, he said Thursday. “When traveling through active school crossing zones distracted children are certain to be present. In those specific limited areas and limited time periods we need drivers to be particularly aware. ... The momentary inconvenience of setting down a phone to get through a school crossing area with kids in the road is worth it,” he said in an email. A spokesman for Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal was not immediately available for comment.