Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, Tennessee, City of Wilson, North Carolina, Petitions, Pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Seeking Preemption of State Laws Restricting the Deployment of Certain Broadband Networks, WC Docket Nos. 14-115 and 14-116; Technology Transitions, GN Docket No. 13-5
As the Federal Communications Commission (the “Commission”) considers the potential preemption of state laws governing the ability of their political subdivisions to enter the broadband marketplace, and as the Commission also considers the importance of well-managed technology transitions in serving consumers, promoting competition, and ensuring universal service, NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association (“NTCA”) submits into the record of the above-referenced proceedings a letter recently sent by NTCA’s Chief Executive Officer, Shirley Bloomfield, to the Administrator of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration regarding the efforts of small, rural, rate-of-return-regulated local exchange carriers (“RLECs”) to deliver on our nation’s broadband objectives.