Texas PUC Staff Says to Dismiss Crown Castle Complaint Against Dallas
Texas Public Utility Commission staff urged dismissal of Crown Castle’s complaint against Dallas because a Texas law enacted in June addressed issues raised in the case. Or, the PUC could open a separate proceeding about whether the law (see 1706120045)…
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addresses the issues raised in the case, staff said in a Wednesday filing in docket 45470. The PUC shouldn’t grant Crown Castle’s motion for summary decision because the company failed to address the law change, staff said. AT&T agreed in an amicus-curiae response. The new Texas law “renders Crown's Complaint moot, and the Complaint should, therefore, be dismissed,” the carrier said. But just as ExteNet has argued against Houston, Crown Castle says it doesn’t have to pay fees to Dallas because the previous governing statute on franchise fees sets rates based on a company’s number of access lines and the wireless infrastructure company doesn’t have any. Crown Castle said the new law doesn’t supersede the old law or remove PUC authority to enforce it. Dallas responded that Crown Castle should have to pay the city under the old or new law.