A US federal appeals court has overturned a Federal Communications Commission ruling allowing city-owned broadband services to expand into areas overlooked by commercial providers, AP reports. The court said the FCC overstepped its authority and could not pre-empt state or local laws.
The decision comes as part of a dispute between the FCC and the two states Tennessee and North Carolina. Both states had passed laws preventing local providers in their respective cities of Chattanooga and Wilson to expand broadband services to surrounding areas. The FCC last year voted 3-2 to override those laws, prompting the court appeal from the states.
State lawmakers have argued that private broadband providers will have difficulty competing with service subsidised by local governments. Attorneys for Tennessee and North Carolina had argued the issue is one of state sovereignty.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the commission is reviewing the ruling. Wheeler said the ruling "appears to halt the promise of jobs, investment and opportunity that community broadband has provided in Tennessee and North Carolina." He said the FCC has a mandate to make sure that people have access to the best possible broadband.
Industry group USTelecom said the court ruling was a "victory for the rule of law" and the FCC could better spend its time eliminating federal impediments to broadband and innovation. The National League of Cities said the decision was an "outrageous blow to local leadership in connectivity" and the state laws pre-empting local decision-making and planning around broadband "serve only to widen the digital divide".
