December 9, 2002—The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled in favor of property owners and facilities managers in a case regarding forced telecommunications access of private facilities.
The Building Owners and Managers Association International applauded the ruling, which that determined privately owned and managed buildings were outside the regulatory authority of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy’s (DTE) rules providing telecom service providers mandatory access to buildings.
The forced telecom access issue emerged in Massachusetts as a result of rules promulgated by the Massachusetts DTE requiring owners of privately held commercial and multiple dwelling unit buildings to grant mandatory access to telecom service providers for the installation of their wiring and equipment. The plaintiffs argued that the DTE regulations were an unconstitutional taking of property without just compensation in violation of both the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions.
