Having lost a fight with the city of Nashville over hanging fiber on utility poles, AT&T has filed suit seeking to stop the so-called “One Touch” ordinance. A similar battle is being waged in Louisville.

The AT&T suit targets the city, not Google Fiber which has lobbied for the ordinance that it says is needed to speed up deployment for its network in the Tennessee city. Municipalities don’t have the authority to regulate “pole attachments,” AT&T says.

But there’s no love lost between the companies with AT&T having recently blogged about Google Fiber eating its “dust” as GF battles regulatory, construction and other efforts in its attempt to compete with AT&T’s own GigaPower network. GF responded that consumers have made clear they want “choice.” (The companies seem to have waged a respectful competition in the Triangle where the firms also are engaged in a full-scale battle.)

“No other option”

Nashville granted final approved of the ordinance Tuesday night. AT&T had threatened to sue in advance of the decision. The ordinance would enable faster hanging of fiber by contractors. AT&T owns some 20 percent of the poles in the city with Nashville owning the rest. Nashville Electric Service owns the rest, according to The Tennessean newspaper.

“AT&T remains committed to Nashville, and our more than 2,200 area employees will continue to turn our significant investment in the area into the fiber-optic based, wired and wireless connectivity that Nashville residents and businesses demand. In addition, as we have maintained from day 1 of this discussion, Tennessee municipalities do not have jurisdiction to regulate pole attachments. And while we have worked with the Mayor, members of Council, NES, and others toward a better solution for Nashville, in light of the recent vote, we have no other option but to challenge this unlawful ordinance in federal court.”

(Note: Cable provider Comcast also opposed the ordinance.)

Fast lawyers

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry offered the following rebuttal in a statement:

“One Touch Make Ready has been litigated in the court of public opinion, and the public overwhelmingly supports this measure designed to speed up the deployment of high-speed fiber in Nashville. Now, we hope that this federal litigation is quickly resolved so that we can get on with the business of expanding access to gigabit internet throughout Davidson County.”

And the fight goes on.

Nashville Councilman Jeremy Elrod, a big backer of the ordinance, quipped: “I wish their internet service were as fast as their lawyers.”