Sixteen percent of broadband homes in Texas own a smart energy device -- such as a thermostat, light bulb, power strip, outlet or plug/adapter -- compared with 12 percent of all U.S. broadband homes, a report by Parks Associates said. “Texans are slightly ahead of the curve when it comes to buying smart energy devices,” Parks Associates President Stuart Sikes said. “Texas companies including Austin Energy and Reliant have been strong leaders in driving consumer awareness of energy programs and products -- 36 percent of Texas broadband households are familiar with energy monitoring and management products, compared to 28 percent nationwide.” In the past year, 12 percent of Texas broadband households bought or received a smart energy device, while nationwide, 9 percent of broadband households bought such a device in the same period.

A new iOS app can track when a user will have mobile service in the New York City subway system -- mapping available reception along all 21 lines, 469 stations and 660 miles of track, said the app's description on its website. New York City is working on connecting all lines to Wi-Fi (see 1509090020), and the app's creators say the program is a stopgap measure that can assist riders until the subway is fully connected.

North Carolina launched a new website for the Broadband Infrastructure Office, which aims to expand access to high-speed Internet services for underserved areas in the state, said the site from the state Department of Information Technology's Broadband Infrastructure Office. The office's goals include creating the "nation’s first giga-state by 2020," expanding broadband access to underserved communities and supporting digital learning by extending Wi-Fi access to every classroom in the state, the site said.

Removing the states' abilities to designate eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) could have negative effects, the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) said in an ex parte filing Monday to FCC docket 11-42. Among its main concerns, the PSC is worried about waste, fraud and abuse increasing if the states aren't allowed to maintain their authority, the letter said. In Michigan particularly, state oversight provides an "efficient means" for companies seeking high-cost support or Lifeline reimbursement, the PSC said. States such as Michigan have more familiarity with the geographic areas and marketplace in which the ETCs are applying for designation, so states’ experience and knowledge in these areas help to fight waste, fraud and abuse, save the FCC time and resources, and help preserve universal service funds, the letter said.

Residents of the West Bluff public housing property in Kansas signed up for Google Fiber last week, making it the first of a number of fiber city locations where the company intends to offer free gigabit Internet, said a Friday Google Fiber blog post. Because about one-third of Americans still don’t have home broadband, Google is working on programs such as the Digital Inclusion Fellowship and the Kansas City Digital Inclusion Fund to help bridge the digital divide, the company said. "We know there is no one-size-fits-all solution to closing America’s digital divide, so we’ll continue to tailor our work at the local level to address the unique needs of each community," Google said. "More people should have access to fast Internet. This year, we're exploring new ways to make that happen." In addition to bringing free gigabit Internet to select public housing, Google said it will be introducing in some cities a low-cost broadband connection that’s fast enough to make video calls and stream HD content.

Sixteen Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) projects were still active and 264 had been completed as of June 30, said NTIA in its latest quarterly status report to Congress, posted Friday. From April through June, BTOP grant recipients had deployed or upgraded 193 additional network miles, making the total since the program's inception 114,697 miles of network infrastructure, NTIA said. An additional 83 community anchor institutions connected during that time period, the report said. Sustainable broadband adoption projects have also generated 671,585 new subscribers over the course of the whole program, NTIA said. Four public safety grant recipients -- Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico and Los Angeles -- have executed spectrum lease agreements with FirstNet, and, as of June 30, the recipients were working on network design and construction activities. The next quarterly report will cover July 1-Sept. 30, 2015.

The California Public Utilities Commission denied motions from AT&T, Cox, Verizon and CTIA in a ruling in its investigation into the state of competition among telecommunications providers in California. AT&T and CTIA had moved for a suspension and/or a six-month extension of the procedural schedule. AT&T also petitioned for immediate workshops. Verizon sought to remove itself from the Order Instituting Investigation or in the alternative to suspend the schedule. Cox asked to remove its affiliated entity from the list of respondents.

American Samoa presents a number of challenges for deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network because of its terrain and location, FirstNet said in a blog post about its initial consultation meeting with the territory. Those challenges must be taken into consideration early in the planning for the network, the post said. Partnerships in American Samoa are also fundamental because additional resources take time to reach the island in the event of an emergency, it said. As a result, the territory's public safety entities and communities are working together to meet the needs of their island community, and many believe FirstNet can be another tool to support that goal, the post said.

The Electric Power Board of Chattanooga hopes to "work with the FCC to resolve" a problem that led the Wireline Bureau to remove the Tennessee utility's rural broadband experiment from further funding consideration, an EPB spokeswoman told us Wednesday: "It seems that wires got crossed in terms of deadline expectations." The bureau denied an EPB petition for a waiver and extension of a June 2, 2015, deadline to provide proof that it had been designated as a USF "eligible telecom carrier" for all rural areas covered by its broadband experiment, which had been provisionally selected to receive $710,147 in commission funding (see 1602020034). An agency spokesman didn't comment.

Cell service was out at four Metrorail stations Wednesday afternoon, said an advisory from WMATA. The affected stations in the nation's capital were Mount Vernon Square, Gallery Place, Judiciary Square and Union Station, all with underground rail service platforms. The cause of the outage was damage to a communication cable that carries the wireless signals, the advisory said. About 2,500 feet of cable will need to be to restore service, WMATA said. The work will require track and tunnel access, and thus will need to be scheduled for an upcoming weekend, it said.