August 17, 2001—Regulations giving telecommunications service providers mandatory access to apartment and office buildings are unconstitutional in Massachusetts, according to a state judge’s ruling that is expected to have national ramifications.
Suffolk County Superior Court Justice Mitchell J. Sikora ruled on July 25 that the state’s regulations governing how building owners should manage and provide telecommunications access to their buildings constituted an impermissible taking of property without just compensation.
The issue arose from the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy’s rules governing the terms and conditions under which building owners provide access to privately-owned buildings for telecom service providers.
Plaintiffs in the case were led by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, and were joined and assisted by the Real Access Alliance—a group formed to encourage free market competition among telecommunications companies in commercial and residential buildings.
For more information, contact the Greater Boston Real Estate Board or Real Access Alliance.
