As Promised, AT&T Sues Nashville

NASHVILLE, TN — As promised, AT&T is suing Metro Nashville over the city's new "One Touch, Make Ready" policy.

The telecom giant filed suit Thursday in federal court, asking a judge to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the city from enforcing the Google-backed law. Under the ordinance passed Tuesday by the Metro Council and signed into law by Mayor Megan Barry Wednesday, an approved contractor would be able to move all lines on a utility pole in order to make way for a new user; under previous rules, lines had to be moved by their owners, a process that can take months. Google said the change will expedite the rollout of its high-speed fiber service to the city.

AT&T has vehemently opposed the change from the start — Comcast, too, expressed opposition, though to a far less vituperative degree — saying that the ordinance violates contracts and could cause service interruptions.

In its federal court filing, AT&T — which is represented by high-powered Nashville civil litigator Bill Harbison Sherrard Roe Voigt Harbison and Christian Binnig, of the Chicago's Mayer Brown — makes a tripartite argument.

First is an argument AT&T has made all along and one it is making in a nearly-identical suit in Louisville, Ky.: that local governments cannot regulate privately-owned utility poles, which, AT&T says are the purview of the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T owns about a fifth of the utility poles in Davidson County, with the Nashville Electric Service owning the remainder. It's an argument that council attorney Mike Jameson, among others, have said holds some water.

Secondly, AT&T says that the council cannot legislate on requirements for NES poles either, arguing that the Metro Charter gives that authority to the city's Electric Power Board. Finally, the company says the law violates contracts AT&T has with Metro regarding the relocation of lines, which, it says, is solely the duty of AT&T and not the city or any third party.

For its part, Alphabet's Access group — essentially the Google entity that manages Fiber — promised Metro it would have access to its in-house counsel to fight any lawsuit.

Image via Shutterstock.