Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 10; Title 65; Title 67 and Title 68.

Under present law, after the filing of a complete application for a state-issued certificate of franchise to provide cable or video services, the Tennessee public utility commission (TPUC) must determine whether the applicant has the managerial, financial, and technical qualifications to provide cable or video service. This bill exempts an applicant for a state-issued certificate of franchise from the TPUC determination requirement, if the applicant establishes it has provided fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) to at least 1,000 customers for a period of at least one year prior to the application.<br /> <br /> Additionally, this bill adds the following:<br /> <br /> (1) The department is required to deem an applicant to have satisfied all of the requirements necessary for approval of a state-issued certificate of franchise authority if the applicant has provided FTTP to at least 1,000 customers for a period of at least one year prior to the application;<br /> <br /> (2) An applicant satisfying the requirements of (1) and obtaining a state-issued certificate of franchise authority is authorized to provide service outside the applicant's existing service area;<br /> <br /> (3) The authorization in (1) applies to all providers;<br /> <br /> (4) No provider who receives a state-issued certificate of franchise authority pursuant to (1) may overbuild existing infrastructure designed to deliver FTTP; and<br /> <br /> (5) There are no regulatory restrictions regarding collaboration, cooperation, or partnering between providers of FTTP that receive a state-issued certificate of franchise authority pursuant to (1).<br />