Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority v. Public Utilities Commission

MILLER, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1.] The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) denied the proposed sale of three telephone exchanges from US WEST to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority (CRSTTA). The circuit court affirmed PUC’s decision. We likewise affirm.

FACTS

[¶ 2.] The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is a federally recognized Indian Tribe. CRSTTA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tribe, has provided phone service, among other things, principally on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation since 1958.

[¶ 3.] In early 1994, US WEST, a Colorado corporation which has provided telephone services for a…