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Removing Regulatory Barriers for Utelcos, Municipal Broadband and Wireless CollocationUtilities continue to find new and innovative ways to leverage their infrastructure for non-core purposes, including telephony, broadband and collocation services. This is a win-win for utilities and the communities they serve, because it makes more efficient use of utility resources, and reduces the cost, delay and public outcry against the endless construction of communications facilities under roads and over homes and businesses. Utilities are uniquely positioned to serve isolated and rural communities that may have no choice of service providers or no access to communications services at all. They also build robust communications systems with excess capacity that can be used to offer wholesale services. As such, enabling utilities to leverage their infrastructure in this way helps to promote access and competition in the In order to fulfill this potential, UTC is working to remove regulatory barriers. UTC has fought these barriers all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Some of these regulatory barriers are explicit; for example, some states have enacted laws that prohibit municipal utilities from offering telecommunications or broadband services. Some barriers are implicit; for example, most investor-owned utilities cant lease assets without regulatory approval. UTC opposes these regulatory barriers, which discourage utility efficiency as well as competition and access in the telecommunications/broadband marketplace.
Rather than restricting utilities, lawmakers and regulators should find ways to encourage utilities which have a history of serving the entire community to use their infrastructure to support communications services. Utilities are traditionally conservative and sensitive to regulatory signals. Removing unnecessary regulatory restrictions would provide a green light to utility executives. Providing incentives would be even better, encouraging them to offer and support communications services. As policymakers move towards deregulation of communications markets, it is time for them to think about allowing and indeed encouraging utilities to offer and support communications |
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