A federal court has sided with a
Kentucky municipality and against AT&T in a case concerning access
to utility poles. No state or federal law prevents Louisville, KY from
requiring a “one-touch make-ready” ordinance outlining new procedures
for installing communications infrastructure on utility poles in the
city, a U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled
Thursday.
Make-ready work generally consists of
moving or rearranging existing wires and attachments on utility poles to
make space for new attachments. One-touch make-ready policies seek to avoid delays by having all make-ready work performed at the same time by a single crew.
AT&T subsidiary BellSouth
Telecommunications fought Louisville’s right to allow new users to
rearrange existing pole attachments. AT&T asked the court to declare
the ordinance unlawful, while the city said it has the authority to
manage its public rights-of-way. AT&T told the court it invested
“millions of dollars” to build and maintain a communications network in
Louisville. AT&T owns most of the poles it uses in Louisville and
contracts with Louisville Gas & Electric for others. Continue Reading
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