Opinion ID: 1059020
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Telecommunications Act of 1996

Text: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides in pertinent part: (a) In general. No state or local statute or regulation ... may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications service. (b) State regulatory authority. Nothing in this section shall affect the ability of a State to impose, on a competitively neutral basis and consistent with section 254 requirements necessary to preserve and advance universal service, protect the public safety and welfare, ensure the continued quality of telecommunications services, and safeguard the rights of consumers. (c) State and local government authority. Nothing in this section affects the authority of a State or local government to manage the public rights-of-way or to require fair and reasonable compensation from telecommunications providers, on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, for use of public rights-of-way on a nondiscriminatory basis, if the compensation required is publicly disclosed by such government. 47 U.S.C. § 253. Level 3 asserts that the Commission's expansive definition of public interest gives the Commission unfettered discretion in denying the applications at issue and that this unfettered discretion constitutes a barrier to entry prohibited by 47 U.S.C. § 253(a). In support of its argument, Level 3 cites a number of cases finding that unfettered discretion by a municipality violated 47 U.S.C. § 253(a). New Jersey Payphone Ass'n, Inc. v. Town of West New York, 130 F.Supp.2d 631, 640 (D.N.J.2001); TCG New York, Inc. v. City of White Plains, 305 F.3d 67 (2d Cir.2002) cert. denied, 538 U.S. 923, 123 S.Ct. 1582, 155 L.Ed.2d 314 (2003); City of Auburn v. Qwest Corp., 260 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir.2001); Qwest Corp. v. City of Santa Fe, 224 F.Supp.2d 1305 (D.N.M.2002). However, Level 3's supporting case law concerns application of subsection (c) of 47 U.S.C. § 253 to actions of local government. See New Jersey Payphone, 130 F.Supp.2d at 639; TCG of New York, 305 F.3d at 77; City of Auburn, 260 F.3d at 1177; and Qwest Corp., 224 F.Supp.2d at 1317-18. The Commission's actions at issue come within the provisions of subsection (b) of 47 U.S.C. § 253 which provide a safe harbor for state regulations based on protection of the interest of public welfare and safety. As the Commission notes, there is a vast difference in authority protected by subsections (b) and (c): [T]he division between (b) and (c) seems to define the boundaries of each body's regulatory authority: it suggests that states may regulate broadly with respect to public safety and welfare, service quality, and consumer protection, while local governments, in addition to any powers specifically delegated by the state, have narrower residual authority to manage and demand compensation for the use of their rights of way. Cablevision of Boston, Inc. v. Public Improvement Comm'n of the City of Boston, 184 F.3d 88, 98 (1st Cir.1999). The only limitation on the broad exception set out in 47 U.S.C. § 253(b) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is that the decisions or procedures must be competitively neutral. See U.S. West Communications, Inc. v. Arizona Corporation Commission, 201 Ariz. 242, 34 P.3d 351, 355 (2001); In re Regulation of Operator Serv. Providers, 343 N.J.Super. 282, 778 A.2d 546, 558 (App.Div.2001); RT Communications, Inc. v. FCC, 201 F.3d 1264, 1267 (10th Cir.2000). The public interest standard as applied by the Commission involved the protection of public welfare, was competitively neutral and, therefore, did not violate § 253(a) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.