NOVEMBER 8, 2006 -- The Fiber-to-the-Home Council (search for Fiber-to-the-Home Council), a national organization dedicated to promoting and accelerating FTTH and its resulting quality-of-life enhancements, has joined the City of Lafayette (search for Lafayette) and Lafayette Utilities Systems' case pending in the Louisiana Supreme Court. The FTTH Council filed an amicus curiae brief in support of LUS's FTTH plan. (See also "Lafayette takes fiber-optic fight to Louisiana's High Court").
"The Council has stepped forward to assist the City of Lafayette to reach its goal of creating the best communications infrastructure for its residents," explains Joe Savage, president of the FTTH Council. "Lafayette has become a battleground, and we want to see the city succeed. Lafayette is becoming a statewide, if not a nationwide, bellwether for municipal fiber-to-the-home movements."
The brief, filed with the state's highest court on Nov. 1, 2006, emphasizes the urgency surrounding the need for broadband deployment and the community benefits that result from investing in FTTH networks. The seven justices will hear oral arguments in the case on Nov. 28 at 9:30 a.m.
"The FTTH Council recognizes that our efforts to bring 21st Century technology to Lafayette will deliver citizens a real choice and competition in telephone, cable, and Internet to their homes," reports Joey Durel, Lafayette city-parish president. "But it also makes the city more attractive to companies looking for new places to locate headquarters or major offices. We believe that our bond issuance plan complies with Louisiana law, and it is our hope that the justices will agree," he says.
Also supporting the City of Lafayette in its pending case before the Louisiana Supreme Court is the Louisiana Municipal Association, which also filed a brief as an amicus curiae on Nov. 1. The Louisiana Municipal Association is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, and non-political organization comprising approximately 300 municipalities throughout the state. Established in 1926, it serves the interest of the state's villages, towns, and cities. The Brief of the LMA calls the Court's attention to the potential adverse consequences to municipal financing in general, which might result from the 3rd Circuit's decision.
On July 16, 2005, Lafayette voters gave the City of Lafayette permission to issue up to $125 million in bonds to extend fiber to every home and business in the city, offering Internet, telephone and TV service. The measure was approved by a vote of 62% to 38%. (See also "Lafayette voters approve bonds to finance LUS FTTH proposal").
At issue is a law passed by the Louisiana State Legislature in 2004 called the Local Government Fair Competition Act. The Act was intended to strike a balance between municipal entry and protection of the private sector. In May of this year, a trial court dismissed the suit in which Lafayette resident Elizabeth Naquin claimed that LUS's funding ordinance violated the Act. On appeal, a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal disagreed with the trial court. Now the seven-member Louisiana Supreme Court will resolve the controversy. A ruling in favor of Lafayette's plan would affect every Louisiana municipality.
Fiber optics' supporters recognize the benefits of the LUS FTTH project beyond just 58,000 homes in Lafayette, says the FTTH Council. The fiber to the premise that is the foundation of the LUS project means vastly increased bandwidth to area schools, allowing students to benefit from a world of education now beyond their reach. Direct fiber connectivity also will give local businesses an opportunity to compete on a global scale that would be unobtainable without this technology. This also will create new jobs and create new business relocation to the area.
The LUS FTTH project also is important to spanning the digital divide that will enable residents who before now could not afford high-speed Internet, phone, and television to receive it in their homes. The proposed cost of the three bundled services through the LUS plan would be roughly 20% less than the competition charges right now, say LUS representatives. The city says it also was planning a major initiative to make computers and training available to individuals for whom broadband has not been a meaningful option.
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