Oral Argument Is Set for Friday on Verizon’s Injunction Motion vs. Milwaukee

U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig for Eastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee scheduled oral argument for Friday at 10 a.m. CST on Verizon’s Dec. 4 motion for a preliminary injunction against the city of Milwaukee (see 2312050022), said a text-only docket notice Friday (docket 2:23-cv-01581). Verizon seeks the injunction to force Milwaukee to issue all permits necessary for the installation of small cells and special poles in the city’s Deer District in time for July’s Republican National Convention in the Fiserv Forum. The preliminary injunction motion is on an expedited briefing schedule because Verizon contends it needs approval of its small-cells applications by Jan. 29 to be sure that the special poles and equipment it needs for the installations will be ready in time for the convention. Verizon contends that the city’s denials violate Section 332 of the Telecommunications Act, and that the small cells are needed to prevent coverage gaps and dropped calls during the convention. The city maintains that it can’t approve the small-cells applications for land within the Deer District that it leased away to private entities and now doesn’t control.