Media Contact:
Matthew Berry, (202) 418-2005
matthew.berry@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
On Sixth Circuit’s Decision to Overturn FCC’s Unlawful Municipal Broadband Ruling
WASHINGTON, August 10, 2016.— Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth 
Circuit concluded that the FCC acted unlawfully when it attempted to preempt, on a party-line vote, 
restrictions on municipal broadband projects passed by the duly-elected representatives of the people of 
Tennessee and North Carolina.  I applaud the Sixth Circuit’s decision.  
In my statement last year dissenting from the Commission’s decision, I warned that the FCC 
lacked the power to preempt these Tennessee and North Carolina laws and that doing so would usurp 
fundamental aspects of state sovereignty.  I am pleased that the Sixth Circuit vindicated these concerns.  
The court’s decision is a big victory for the rule of law and federalism—a constitutional principle that lies 
at the heart of our system of government.
Today’s decision also represents an opportunity for the FCC to turn the page.  Rather than 
wasting its time on illegal efforts to intrude on the prerogatives of state governments, the FCC should
focus on implementing a broadband deployment agenda to eliminate regulatory barriers that discourage 
those in the private sector from deploying and upgrading next-generation networks.   
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Office of Commissioner Ajit Pai: (202) 418-2000
Twitter: @AjitPaiFCC
www.fcc.gov/leadership/ajit-pai
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official
action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).