Cities, States Battle Over Municipal Broadband

According to the Federal Communications Commission, 10 percent of Americans don't have access to fixed high-speed networks for Internet service, mostly delivered via cable, fiber-optic or digital subscriber telephone lines. That number jumps to 39 percent of Americans in rural areas. Local governments, supported by the FCC, say they should be able to build out broadband networks, especially in rural areas where commercial service is slow or non-existent. About 490 cities offer some sort of public broadband, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a non-profit advocacy group that promotes community development. Internet service providers have fought against local government efforts. Nineteen states, including Tennessee, have laws on the books limiting municipal broadband networks, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

The question before the Sixth Circuit: How much authority do Tennessee and North Carolina have to restrict local broadband networks, and does the FCC have the power to overrule them? “There’s considerable legal precedent around the ability of states to have unfettered authority on laws impacting municipalities,” said Michael Santorelli, a director of the Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute at New York Law School.