Public Rights-Of-Way, Public Management, and the New Urban Telecommunications Infrastructure

Abstract

Public right-of-way (PROW) is prime real estate for the telecommunications industry. Cable television and wired and wireless networks are the latest to seek PROW, and conflicts occur among local governments, utility systems, telecommunications providers, and the federal government. Should local governments profit from ownership of PROW or should utility and telecommunications interests be permitted to capture the profit generated from establishing networks that use extensive PROW? This question is analyzed, resulting in four key findings. First, historically, private utilities had the upper hand in right-of-way (ROW) occupancy, using bribery, negotiation, and eminent domain. Second, local jurisdictions have a defensible rationale for PROW management, but the change from wired to wireless systems is weakening municipal control. Third, federal law has set the parameters of local control of telecommunications PROW. Fourth, local PROW management can be reduced to a set of fee-based policies designed to allow jurisdictions to recover costs associated with controlling ROW.