Industry News – 2-26-21

At its public meeting yesterday, the PA PUC unanimously approved the Petition for a Declaratory Order of Alleghenies Broadband Inc. (ABI) which sought assurance that it need not comply with the municipal prohibition provisions of Act 183 since it is not a political subdivision, nor created by one. In her statement on the matter, Chairman Gladys Dutrielle noted the “legal complexities in this case” made it difficult to determine whether the legislature contemplated this type of situation where  “an entity created by an entity governed by a  Board of Directors from several counties to deploy broadband” was involved, but ultimately voted in the result of the case due to her “commitment to the importance of building out broadband infrastructure and services in unserved areas…”