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AT&T sues 2 suburbs blocking upgrade
(Chicago Tribune (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 7--Chicago suburbs that blocked AT&T Inc.'s network upgrade faced lawsuits Thursday, as the telecommunications giant went to federal court to overturn actions by Roselle and Carpentersville.
The local tussle is part of a national dispute over whether AT&T's Project Lightspeed, which replaces much of its existing copper phone network with fiber, requires special approval from each municipality affected.
In its lawsuits AT&T said officials of Roselle and Carpentersville last month declined to provide the phone company with permits needed to install outdoor electronics equipment that is part of its network upgrade.
The village officials said that because AT&T's new network will have the ability to carry video programming, AT&T must apply for and receive the same kind of franchise required by cable television companies before continuing its upgrade.
AT&T's lawsuits challenge that interpretation, saying the upgraded network will supply telecom services--voice, data and video--but is not a cable TV operation and is not required to have a separate franchise approval from municipalities.
Citing federal and Illinois law, the telecom company asked the court to declare that AT&T does not need a cable franchise and to enjoin village officials from blocking its network upgrade.
Company officials said they plan to file a similar lawsuit next week citing Wheaton's blockage of Project Lightspeed.
Municipal officials from various suburbs have scheduled meetings to discuss how best to counter AT&T's efforts to bypass the traditional control they have through the cable franchise process.
Project Lightspeed was announced two years ago by SBC Communications Inc. before it acquired AT&T and took that name. The company has maintained that it would offer advanced video service using an Internet protocol, so the service would be just an improved version of the Internet service already delivered by the company's digital subscriber lines.
jvan@tribune.com
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