Court Hands Municipal Broadband Supporters A Victory

NEW BRITAIN, CT — Superior Court Judge Joseph Shortall just made it easier for cities and towns to begin contemplating what municipal Internet service might look like for their residents and businesses.

In a decision issued last week, Shortall found that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority “overstepped its bounds as an administrative agency” in deciding the municipalities were restricted from using what’s called “free gain” or utility pole space to provide internet service to its residents.

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) sided with internet service providers in May when it ruled that communities could not use utility pole space for municipal fiber deployment. It concluded that giving municipalities “preferential access” could run afoul of the federal Communications Act, which requires that cable television and telecom providers receive “nondiscriminatory access” to utility poles, and bars local authorities from inhibiting any entity from providing telecom service.

Shortall disagreed.

He said the 2013 Connecticut law that allows municipalities to use their space on those utility poles “for any purpose” was clear in its meaning. However, “the authority in its decision paid no attention to the words of the statute, and made no attempt to discern their meaning,” Shortall wrote.

Read more: https://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/20191119_court_hands_municipal_broadband_supporters_a_victory/