|
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025 / VOL. 66 NO. 1 / 13
<br />Suburban Cable Communications
<br />Commission, North Metro Telecom-
<br />munications Commission, and South
<br />Washington Telecommunications
<br />Commission all approved franchises
<br />with similar equitable buildout provi-
<br />sions with similar results).
<br />43. See In re Formal Complaint
<br />Regarding the Services Provided by
<br />the Qwest Corporation d/b/a Centu-
<br />ryLink in Minnesota, on Behalf of the
<br />Communications Workers of Ameri-
<br />ca, MN-PUC Docket No. C-20-432,
<br />at 23 (Mar. 13, 2024).
<br />44. See, e.g., NSCC Digital Discrimi-
<br />nation Reply Comments, at 2.
<br />45. City of Philadelphia Digital Dis-
<br />crimination Comments, at 7, NSCC
<br />Digital Discrimination Reply Com-
<br />ments of the NSCC, at 2.
<br />46. See An Act to Ensure Nondis-
<br />criminatory Treatment of Public, Ed-
<br />ucational and Governmental Access
<br />Channels by Cable System Operators,
<br />2019 Me. Laws 469 (codified at Me.
<br />Stat. tit. 30-A, §§ 3008(5), (7),
<br />3010(5A), (5B), (5C)); NCTA v. Frey,
<br />7 F.4th 1 (1st Cir. 2021) (Maine law
<br />upheld).
<br />47. See, e.g., City of Philadelphia
<br />Digital Discrimination Comments, at
<br />20-21.
<br />48. See Digital Discrimination Order.
<br />49. See, e.g., City of Oklahoma City
<br />et al. Comments, at 4-6, In re All-In
<br />Pricing for Cable and Satellite Televi-
<br />sion Service, FCC 24-29, MB Docket
<br />No. 23-203, https://www.fcc.gov/
<br />ecfs/document/107312541918310/1
<br />(July 31, 2023); City of Oklaho-
<br />ma City et al. Reply Comments, at
<br />3-5, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/docu-
<br />ment/108291549807734/1 (Aug. 29,
<br />2023).
<br />50. See In re All-In Pricing for Cable
<br />and Satellite Television Service, FCC
<br />24-29, MB Docket No. 23-203 (Rel.
<br />March 19, 2024).
<br />51. See, e.g., City of Minneapolis
<br />Digital Opportunity Plan Comments
<br />to the Minnesota Office of Broad-
<br />band Development (June 30, 2023).
<br />52. See City of Philadelphia Digital
<br />Discrimination Comments, at 7,
<br />NSCC Digital Discrimination Reply
<br />Comments, at 3.
<br />53. Recommendations and Best
<br />Practices to Prevent Digital Discrim-
<br />ination and Promote Digital Equity
<br />Submitted to the Federal Communi-
<br />cations Commission by the Working
<br />Groups of the Communications Eq-
<br />uity and Diversity Council November
<br />7, 2022, at 35 (https://www.fcc.gov/
<br />sites/default/files/cedc-digital-discrim-
<br />ination-report-110722.pdf).
<br />54. See, e.g., City of Philadelphia
<br />621 Comments at 9; NATOA 621
<br />Comments at 10.
<br />55. Minn. H.F. No. 4182 (2024),
<br />https://www.revisor.mn.gov/
<br />bills/bill.php?b=house&f=H-
<br />F4182&ssn=0&y=2024.
<br />56. Minn. S.F. No. 4262
<br />(2024), https://www.revisor.
<br />mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=S-
<br />F4262&y=2024&ssn=0&b=senate
<br />57. Minn. H.F. No. 4077 (2024)
<br />(Article 4, Sections 1-11), https://
<br />www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.
<br />php?number=HF4077&type=-
<br />bill&version=1&session=ls93&-
<br />session_year=2024&session_num-
<br />ber=0&format=pdf.
<br />58. See notes 9 and 11 supra.
<br />59. See City of McAllen, at ___,
<br />2024 WL 4799325, *5 (Tex. Ct.
<br />App. Nov. 15, 2024) (consideration
<br />must be sufficient).
<br />60. See notes 9 and 11 supra.
<br />61. See City of McAllen, at ___,
<br />2024 WL 4799325, *8 (Tex. Ct.
<br />App. Nov. 15, 2024).
<br />62. See 47 U.S.C. § 151, note. The
<br />“taxes” prohibited in the ITFA
<br />“do[] not include any franchise fee
<br />or similar fee imposed by a State or
<br />local franchising authority, pursuant
<br />to [the Cable Act], or any other fee
<br />related to obligations or telecommu-
<br />nications carriers under the Com-
<br />munications Act of 1934[,]” nor do
<br />“taxes” include “fee[s] imposed for
<br />a specific privilege, service, or benefit
<br />conferred” by a governmental entity,
<br />such as the privilege of using local
<br />assets.
<br />63. See Accelerating Wireless
<br />Broadband Deployment by Re-
<br />moving Barriers to Infrastructure
<br />Deployment, Declaratory Ruling
<br />and Report and Order, 33 FCC
<br />Rcd. 9088 (2018).
<br />64. See In re: Section 621(A)(1) of
<br />the Cable Communications Policy
<br />Act of 1984 as Amended by the
<br />Cable Television Consumer Protec-
<br />tion and Competition Act of 1992,
<br />34 FCC Rcd. 6844 (2019); 47 CFR
<br />§ 76.43 (Mixed-Use rule).
<br />65. Id.
<br />66. City of Eugene v. FCC, 998
<br />F.3d 701, 710 (6th Cir. 2021).
<br />2025 Mid-Year
<br />Seminar April 25 –
<br />April 28, 2025
<br />Washington, D.C.
|