APPA on Nov. 19 filed comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Notice of Inquiry (NOI) titled “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployments” regarding Section 253 of the Communications Act of 1934.
The FCC issued the NOI to seek information regarding “state and local statutes, regulations, and legal requirements that prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of wireline telecommunications services in violation of section 253 of the Communications Act.”
In the comments, APPA challenges the FCC’s authority to regulate pole attachment rates and processes for public power utilities given the municipal exemption from federal pole attachment regulations under section 224 of the Communications Act.
APPA argues that Section 253 covers only government entities acting in a regulatory capacity, and that public power utilities do not act in a regulatory capacity when processing pole attachment requests, rather they act as market participants with the same siting and permitting requirements as privately owned entities.
