Quote:
Originally Posted by Weekend Pundit
Unless Breezeline wants to register as a telephone company - something that can't be done overnight - they would have to cease operation once the franchise agreement expires. (They would also be required to either remove all of their infrastructure - aerial fiber optic runs, OEO nodes, and aerial coaxial cable - or sell it to another operator. Since they lease the space on the telephone poles for their runs, they would need to remove them because they are no longer authorized to operate in that community.)
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The franchise agreements with each city or town only cover cable TV services; they do not regulate activities as an internet service provider. The phone services provided, as voice over internet protocol, are only a byproduct of having internet service available, and as you point out the obligations required of old-fashioned telcos do not apply. My understanding is that the lease agreements for hanging cable on the utility poles are with the pole owners, typically the electric or phone company and not the municipality, meaning that a lapsed franchise agreement between the cable TV provider and the municipality that only governs the provision of cable TV services will not ordinarily mean the end of ISP activities.