WASHINGTON, March 8, 2010 – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Monday urged the Treasury Department to clarify the tax implications for the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

NARUC criticized the Commerce Department and the Agriculture Department for failing to clarify whether Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program grants, Broadband Infrastructure Program grants, and broadband mapping grants are taxable.

WASHINGTON, December 4, 2009 – The Senate has confirmed Victoria Espinel to be the first U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.

Her job will be to craft the nation’s next intellectual property strategy. Though former President George Bush created the position of U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement and filled it with Chris Israel, the intellectual property czar has been elevated to a White House position under President Obama.

WASHINGTON, December 2, 2009 – A number of companies have signed onto a letter to members of Congress encouraging the passage of legislation affirming that all internet protocol-based services are subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction, if the services are regulated at all.

Under the approach, state regulation of such services would be barred.

“Absent Congressional action to confirm exclusive federal jurisdiction, IP services will be subject to a patchwork of 50-plus different regulatory regimes, stifling innovation and the industry’s ability to take full advantage of available cost savings,” reads the letter (PDF) obtained by Broadband Census News.

CHICAGO, November 18, 2009 – One striking sentiment dominated this week’s convention of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners: The federal government remains on nearly as steep a learning curve on crafting the future of broadband as many state agencies, and the best work ahead will likely get done when public and private concerns team up.

“Of course more needs to be done, and they’re still learning [in Washington] how to reliably and effectively get the funds out,” said David Svanda of Svanda Consulting in Clarksville, Md., and a past president of NARUC.

CHICAGO, November 18, 2009 – The title of Wednesday’s panel at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners sounded militant enough: “Broadband Plan of Attack.” Yet the speakers on hand gave the distinct impression that across public, private and academic sectors, conclusive battle plans remain to be drawn.

Regulators from Washington, telecom providers and researchers agree that the push forward for wider broadband access remains both a certainty and an imperative. Yet not everyone seems to be dancing the same step just yet—a fact reflected in the frank appraisal of Robert Curtis, director of deployment for the national broadband plan at the Federal Communications Commission.

WASHINGTON, November 18, 2009 – The Universal Service Fund is in need of an overhaul to equalize costs among stakeholders and modernize programs to include broadband services, a group of industry representatives and regulators told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet during a Tuesday hearing.

The hearing examined a discussion draft of the Universal Service Reform Act of 2009, authored by subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb.

The Universal Service program, which existed for decades before being codified in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, is under “tremendous pressure” and requires a comprehensive effort to reform its operations, Boucher said during opening remarks.

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2009 – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Tuesday filed comments at the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency to select its web site, www.BroadbandBestPractices.org, as the commission’s “clearinghouse” for examples of broadband successes.

WASHINGTON, October 12, 2009 – Carl Weinschenck, writing in IT Business Edge, speaks about “Broadband Mapping: Treasure for a New Age.” Carl discusses the rash of interest in broadband data and mapping since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in February 2009, and highlights the work of several data companies. Among the companies highlighted are Ridgeview Telecom, Connected Nation, and BroadbandCensus.com.

WASHINGTON, October 9, 2009 – An advisory board to the Federal Communications Commission consisting of state utility regulators has developed a new web portal for tracking and referencing broadband expansion projects nation-wide.

WASHINGTON, September 28, 2009 – State utility commissioners want the Federal Communications Commission to put broadband carriers on notice that the agency’s own broadband data collection does not relieve operators of the obligation to comply with state requests.