On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 7:56 AM, Fletcher Kittredge <fkittred@gwi.net> wrote:
Wouldn't Federal and State laws preempt Municipal law in this area?
Hi Fletcher, State laws yes. State legislatures tend to narrowly define what laws a municipality is allowed to independently enact. And they tend to be very open to the proposition that standards for utility construction should be uniform across the state. Federal, maybe. The FCC has overstepped its authority and been overruled by the courts many times. And municipal laws can be carefully enough constructed that preemption would unambiguously exceed federal authority. Even if preempted, a state or municipality can make it make it *very* uncomfortable for a communications provider who doesn't want to play ball. Consider, for example, DC's repaving requirements: if you dig up the street, you're required to repave the whole street all the way from the nearest intersections. Completely repave, not just cold-patch. That's pretty expensive. Unless they waive the requirement on a case by case basis. Where the basis has a habit of being whether or not your digging is in line with a government policy objective. This is one reason FIOS deployments lag in DC. Verizon doesn't want to deploy conduit down every street lest they be compelled to open it to competitors and the DC government won't waive the repaving requirements for direct burial fiber. Regards, Bill Herrin -- William D. Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us 3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/> Falls Church, VA 22042-3004