§ 23-17-102. Railroads may operate telegraphs and telephones — Authority
Any railroad company incorporated by the laws of or operating lines of railroad within this state, upon filing its assent to this section and §§ 23-17-101, 23-17-103 — 23-17-108, and 23-17-113 in the office of the Secretary of State, shall thereby become clothed with the rights, powers, and duties provided for telegraph and telephone companies.
§ 23-17-103. Condemnation proceedings upon failure to secure right-of-way
In the event that the telegraph or telephone companies upon application to such individuals, railroads, or turnpike companies fail to secure a right-of-way by consent, contract, or agreement, then the telegraph or telephone corporation shall have the right to proceed to procure the condemnation of the property, lands, rights, privileges, and easements in the manner […]
§ 23-17-104. Right of entry for construction — Liability for damages
Wherever any telegraph or telephone company desires to construct its lines on or along the lands of individuals, on the right-of-way and structures of any railroads, or upon and along any turnpike, the telegraph or telephone company by its agents may have the right to peacefully enter upon the lands, structures, or right-of-way and survey, […]
§ 23-17-105. Contract for exclusive privileges prohibited
No telegraph or telephone corporation organized by virtue of the laws of this state or doing business in this state by virtue of the laws of any other state, or of the United States, shall have the power to contract with the owners of lands or the right in lands, or with any person or […]
§ 23-17-106. Priority of dispatch of messages — Confidentiality
(a) (1) In consideration of the right-of-way over the public property conceded in this section and §§ 23-17-101 — 23-17-105, 23-17-107 , 23-17-108, and 23-17-113, every telephone corporation in the case of war, insurrection, or civil commotion of any kind and for the arrest of criminals shall give immediate dispatch at the usual rates of […]
§ 23-17-107. Interception of message — Injuring equipment — Penalty
If any person without authority intercepts a dispatch or message transmitted by telephone or willfully destroys or injures any telephone pole, wire, cable, or fixture, he or she is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.