LINCOLN- State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha brought his latest effort before the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee on Tuesday.

Legislative Bill 916 would create a process allowing first- and second-class cities, as well as villages, to provide municipal broadband services if the city or village is in an underserved or unserved area.

Last year, Wayne attempted to add a similar proposal into a larger package that provided $40 million over two years to expand high-speed internet services. Wayne's proposal, which did not make it into the final package approved by the Legislature, would have allowed cities and towns to enter the broadband services market. That effort came after a bill Wayne introduced — which would have struck language in a state law barring municipalities from providing broadband — failed to gain necessary support and was indefinitely postponed.

At the time, Wayne said that broadband should be considered a critical infrastructure need and that private telecommunications companies have not stepped up to serve the whole state.

In Tuesday's hearing, Wayne said this is a bill he will continue to bring back every year. The broadband network, he said, is nowhere close to being completed.

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