US West, Inc. v. United States
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Hall, J.
ORDER
The motion of appellee Washington Independent Telephone Association to correct the opinion in this case is hereby GRANTED.
The opinion filed December 30, 1994, is amended in accordance with the opinion attached hereto.
OPINION
' US West, Inc. and several affiliated companies (hereinafter referred to collectively as “US West”), Pacific Telecom, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“PTI”), and the Washington Independent Telephone Association (“WITA”) challenge the constitutionality of § 613(b) of the Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-549, 98 Stat. 2785 (1984) (the “1984 Cable Act”). This provision, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 533 (b), provides in pertinent part that:
47 U.S.C. § 533 (b)(3) provides an exception to the ban for telephone companies providing service in rural areas. Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission *1095 (“FCC”) has the authority to waive the prohibition under certain conditions. 47 U.S.C. § 533 (b)(4).
“Video programming” is defined in 47 U.S.C. § 522 (16) as “programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station.” The FCC has interpreted § 522(16) to…