AT&T Backs Off Nuisance Lawsuit Intended To Hamstring Broadband Competitors Like Google Fiber
from the we-hate-regulation----unless-it-hurts-the-other-guy dept
The boring old utility pole has long been at the heart of this country's broadband dysfunction. As it stands now, competing ISPs looking to deploy fiber need to contact each individual ISP -- and wait for them to finalize layers of paperwork and move their own gear -- before the competitor can attach fiber to the pole. Needless to say, ISPs have often abused this bureaucracy to stall competitors' arrival to market. So over the last few years Google Fiber has convinced several cities to pass "one touch make ready" utility pole reform rules that dramatically streamline this process.
Under these reforms, one licensed, insured contractor (often the same company ISPs already use) is allowed to move any ISPs' gear -- provided they inform the ISP ahead of time and pay for any potential damages. The regulatory change can dramatically speed up fiber deployment, saving numerous months in project delays. That's why Google Fiber convinced cities like Nashville and Louisville to pass these one touch rules a few years ago.
But Nashville and Louisville were subsequently sued by Comcast, Charter and AT&T. The ISPs' lawyers threw out every legal argument they could, including claims that the cities had exceeded their legal authority, that the reforms would dramatically increase service outages, and even that the reforms violated their first amendment rights. Of course the ISPs' real problem is that such reform speeds up the arrival of a concept regional duopolies loathe: actual, genuine competition.
In this case, AT&T's gambit didn't work all that well. Back in August, a Judge killed off AT&T's lawsuit against Louisville, stating the city was well within its legal authority to manage the city's own rights of way (even though AT&T owns 40% of the poles in the city). AT&T appears to have gotten the message, as the telco told news outlets there this week they wouldn't be appealing the ruling:
"AT&T will not appeal a federal judge’s ruling upholding a local law Louisville Metro passed last year to make it easier for new Internet providers like Google Fiber to access utility poles in the city. AT&T spokesman Joe Burgan confirmed the company decided not to appeal U.S. District Judge David Hale’s August 16 ruling upholding the so-called “One Touch Make Ready” ordinance.
The lawsuit still had its intended effect in delaying Google Fiber in Louisville while AT&T worked to lock existing customers there into long-term contracts. Google Fiber meanwhile has been forced to pivot from fiber to wireless/fiber hybrid deployments in part to get around these lawsuits. But the company also managed to use techniques like microtrenching (which involves using machines that bury fiber just a few inches below the road's surface) instead of having to rely on access to utility poles. It's worth noting that a similar Charter lawsuit against Louisville, and AT&T and Comcast lawsuits against Nashville are still pending.
Instead of offering better, faster, cheaper service, these companies' first instinct is almost always to either file nuisance lawsuits, or to quite literally buy state laws that make life harder on would-be competitors. And while you'll often see incumbent broadband duopolies and their policy cronies crying incessantly about "burdensome regulation" while pushing for blind deregulation, the reality is these companies adore regulation -- just as long as it hurts the other guy and slows any attempt to bring competition to bear on a broken market.
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Filed Under: competition, google fiber, lawsuits, one touch make ready, utility poles
Companies: at&t, google
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Anti-SLAPP for Nuisance Suits?
If the defending party can prove that there is a good chance that this lawsuit has no merit and is done only as a delay tactic/nuisance suit, the proposed rule change is not stopped from going into effect AND if the party bringing the lawsuit fails to win, automatic attorney fees for the defending party are paid along with any lost income due to the delay.
Could use this for retaliatory lawsuits too if its verbiage was expanded a little.
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hmmm... Progress?
"Under these reforms, one licensed"
But are we not just creating another fucking monopoly?
Why are all the solutions to these "anti-monopoly" antics another fucking monopoly? I thought this is what we wanted to avoid?
We don't want monopolies, but lets create a monopoly to regulation the situation. Brilliant! I guess now we wait to see if this goes sideways like all the rest have!
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Re: hmmm... Progress?
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Re: Re: hmmm... Progress?
Then the wording needs to be...
"Under these reforms, 'A' licensed, insured contractor"
Right? We already have a problem with fuzzy English comprehension all over government.
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Re: Re: Re: hmmm... Progress?
How about:
Further:
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Re: Re: Re: hmmm... Progress?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: hmmm... Progress?
“Any qualified installer, whether performing the work alone or in cooperation with other qualified installers, shall be permitted to relocate as necessary all pole-attached equipment and wires, without regard to the ownership thereof.”
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An inevitability
Imagine how people might react to an ISP that doesn't abuse them, do unreasonable throttling, or filtering. Doesn't spy on them. Doesn't sell their browsing history to third parties. Protects your info so that you have way less reason to consider a VPN. Maybe AT&T and others should try to be like this today. Competition is inevitable. Their present monopolies are dictated by terrestrial landlines. The primary limitation on competition from satellites is the initial capital investment to build a competitive network.
Also consider, satellite ISPs would offer worldwide service. It might even be possible that with many ground stations, a customer's point of connection to internet backbones might originate from any of many different ground stations. THink of how that might upset things. Watching netflix from a different country for example.
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Re: An inevitability
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About ISP
The Internet was developed as a network between government research laboratories and participating departments of universities. By the late 1980s, a process was set in place towards public, commercial use of the Internet.
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Appaling!
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