Cities can't just ignore federal law on utility poles

[Commentary] Ever since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, deployment of advanced telecommunications infrastructure has been a national priority. In fact, Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 specifically directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and each state commission with regulatory jurisdiction over telecommunications services to "encourage the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans." However, broadband deployment is not as easy a task as it seems — network construction is enormously expensive and there are a variety of practical factors, like various government permissions, a provider must address. One of these factors is the little-known, but highly important, issue of how broadband providers may attach their wires to utility poles, which are mostly owned by private companies. To provide guidance, Congress set forth a detailed framework to govern this process in Section 224 of the Communications Act.

Like it or not, broadband is a difficult and, more to the point, an expensive business, so identifying and removing policy-relevant barriers to entry remains a constant challenge. Nonetheless, there are detailed laws which govern our conduct which must be respected, not just for economic reasons, but to protect our health and safety. Having municipalities pass ordinances which are nakedly intended to circumvent those laws and abridge private property rights in the name of promoting "competition" achieves none of these goals.

[Spiwak is the president of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies.]