Section 253 (a) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Becomes a Battle Ground for Broadband Service Delivery

SBC is moving to crush the local government movement into delivery of broadband services. The US Supreme Court has agreed to clarify Section 253 of the (1996) Telecommunications Act at the request of SBC. Local government authorities have been moving into delivering broadband services to their constituencies, in part, because of failures by the CLECs to expand broadband delivery. SBC is arguing that governments movement into broadband/telecom services violates section 253 which states that, "No state or local statute or regulation, or other state or local requirement, may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate telecommunications service."

We believe that broadband services are becomingng critical to business operations just like other public services such as roads, sewers, water, waste disposal, etc., and that we need a new way of addressing broadband connectivity issues (as a public service). Now is the time to begin the public debate or let the courts dictate.

APPA SUPREME COURT BRIEF ASSERTS MUNICIPALITIES ARE ‘ENTITIES’
THAT SHOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE TELECOM SERVICES TO THEIR CONSUMERS