SCOTUS Denial of Certiorari in City of Portland v. FCC Renders Effective FCC's Rulings on Access to Municipal Utility Poles and Rights-of-Way

On June 28, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari filed by consortiums of various municipal governments and associations seeking to overturn the Ninth Circuit's decision in City of Portland v. FCC, which upheld the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) extension of Section 253 protections to municipal property in the public right-of-way, including utility poles. Accordingly, as concluded by the FCC in its 2018 Declaratory Ruling, municipalities may not take actions...
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