Verizon and AT&T no longer have high-profile executives dedicated to smart city operations. And both have largely folded their smart city efforts into other business units…

To be clear, both operators – using almost the exact same language – stated that smart cities will “continue to be a key focus area.”

So why are AT&T and Verizon retreating from smart cities? It’s because they’re both already getting access to city infrastructure for small cells thanks to new FCC rules that went into effect last year. The rules require cities to move quickly on small cell installation requests, and prevent them from charging “excessive” fees for small cell installations. Just last month, a group of cities banded together to sue the FCC over the rules.
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