11-26-1997 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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NOV- 7-97 FRI 12:34 PM JUSTIN. PROPERTIES FAX NO. 16126410169 P. 3 TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996 The following outline presents issues and applications of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The following areas are covered: 1) Overview of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; 2) Moratorium issues; 3) Reported cases since the enactment of the 1996 Act. I. Overview of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 A) Introduction The Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub.L. 104 -104, S.652, 104th Cong„ 2nd Sess.; Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 56 (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.), ( "Act ") amends and repeals portions of the 1934 Act. The purpose of the 1996 Act is: to promote competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality services for American telecommunications consumers and encourage the rapid deployment of new telecommunications technologies. The Act addresses seven main areas: Title I Title II Title III Title IV Title V Title VI Title VII Telecommunication Services Broadcast Services Cable Services Regulatory Reform Obscenity and Violence Effect on Other Laws Miscellaneous Provisions Two sections of the 1996 Act are particularly relevant to land use issues: 1) Title I, § 253 of the Act (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 253), which deals with removal of barriers to entry and management of public rights of way, and 2) Title VII, § 704 of the Act (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 332), which deals with facilities siting and the preservation of local zoning authority. These two sections have been at the heart of the tension between municipal authority to regulate wireless communications and the right of wireless communications providers to conduct business under the Act. Salient portions of' each Title of the Act are identified in the following outline. 1 Page 84