Justia Communications Law Opinion Summaries

The County petitions for review of an FCC order, which issued rules implementing Section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, 47 U.S.C. 1455(a), also known as the Spectrum Act. The County contends that the procedures established in the Order conscript the states in violation of the Tenth Amendment, and that the Order unreasonably defines several terms of the Spectrum Act. The court concluded that the FCC’s “deemed granted” procedure comports with the Tenth Amendment where the Order does not require the states to take any action whatsoever. The court also concluded that the FCC has reasonably interpreted the ambiguous terms of Section 6409(a): "substantially change" and "base station." Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review. View "Montgomery County v. United States" on Justia Law

This appeal stemmed from a disagreement between CoreTel and Verizon over interconnection agreements (ICAs) under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq. CoreTel disputes the district court’s determination that it owes Verizon $227,974.22 for the use of Verizon’s telecommunications facilities and $138,724.47 in late-payment fees. The court concluded that the district court did not violate the court's own mandate in CoreTel I by awarding as damages any total element long-run incremental cost (TELRIC)-based facilities charges at all; the district court did not err in calculating the total amount owed; and the district court did not err in calculating the late fees CoreTel owes under the ICAs. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "CoreTel Virginia, LLC v. Verizon Virginia, LLC" on Justia Law