Federal grant regulation

The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council lauded the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to grant a writ of certiorari in Federal Communications vs. Missouri Municipal League, et. al. June 23, 2003. With regards to this issue, the FTTH Council's position is that municipalities should have the right to deploy FTTH networks. In February 2003, the FCC established itself as the national authority on the regulation of FTTH.

With the announcement, the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated that it will resolve the fact that three courts have ruled in favor of municipal broadband while one has ruled against it. The combined actions of the FCC and the U.S. Supreme Court may have set the wheels in motion for the establishment of a national broadband strategy, and the FTTH Council believes municipalities will play a critical part in this implied national strategy. The City of Cheney, a community of 9,500 residents in Washington, is deploying fiber-to-the-home technology to its residents and businesses right now and was also pleased to hear about the Supreme Court's decision.

"In Cheney, we are using our new fiber-to-the-home network as an economic development tool," said Amy Jo Sooy, the mayor of Cheney. "Being able to deliver high-bandwidth services to our citizens helps us attract new businesses, create new jobs, and ensure our residents have access to broadband services enabled by FTTH technology."