Tennessee blasts ‘unprecedented’ FCC broadband ruling as unconstitutional in appeals court

Herbert Slatery speaks to reporters about his appointment as attorney general in the Tennessee Supreme Court chamber in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, Sept. 15, 2014. Slatery previously served as Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's chief legal counsel. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) Herbert Slatery speaks to reporters about his appointment as attorney general in the Tennessee Supreme Court chamber in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, Sept. 15, 2014. Slatery previously served as Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's chief legal counsel. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

By Ellis Smith September 24, 2015 4 min read

Tennessee accused the Federal Communications Commission of unlawfully violating state sovereignty in an appeal filed last week, alleging that the federal government is attempting to arbitrarily rewrite state law and vest itself with new powers not granted by the Constitution.

The appeal was filed in response to an FCC ruling that struck down the state’s geographic limits on city-owned utilities’ broadband offerings.

The widely anticipated ruling came as no surprise: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has name-checked Chattanooga in speeches, calling it a poster child for both “the benefits of community broadband networks, and also a prime example of the efforts to restrict them.”

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Tennessee blasts ‘unprecedented’ FCC broadband ruling as unconstitutional in appeals court

Staff Photo by John Rawlston J.Ed Marston is the new marketing director for the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.

Staff Photo by Jeff Guenther - Scott Owens, telecommunications manager of field services for the Electric Power Board holds fiber optic cable. Measuring the width of a human hair, fiber is capable of transfering data at high speeds. The EPB plans to donate extra capacity on it's fiber-optic cable network to Chattanooga to help attract businesses to the city.

Jon Hamilton, an Alcatel employee from Plano, Texas installs CAT-5 Ethernet cabling in a newly renovated EPB building at their facilities on Oak Street and Greenwood Avenue. The system is being installed to service their fiber to home customers.

Back-up batteries fill a room at the newly renovated EPB building at their facilities on Oak Street and Greenwood Avenue. The system is being installed to service their fiber to home customers.

Wheeler told a telecommunications association in April 2014 that he intended to exercise what he believes is the FCC’s power to eliminate state restrictions on municipal broadband. Three months later, EPB and the city of Wilson, N.C., petitioned the FCC to expand their municipal broadband network beyond the boundaries of their respective electric systems.

EPB’s gigabit service, the fastest in the western hemisphere at the time of its unveiling, has drawn particular praise from consumer advocates and regulators who see such municipal networks as a way to get around cable monopolies, which have been slower to roll out ultra-high-speed broadband.