FCC Passes Proposed Rules to Streamline Infrastructure Deployment
UPDATE In a unanimous 3-0 vote, the FCC proposed new rules yesterday to ensure what officials call consistent, reasonable state and local regulations for the deployment of high-speed wireline infrastructure. The point is to cut red tape and what industry calls excessive fees imposed by some state and local governments in the public rights-of-way for wireline, mainly fiber, deployments.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeks comment on rules that would:
Limit excessive processing times by presuming that state and local governments have effectively prohibited the provision of wireline telecommunications services if they do not process authorization applications within 120 days;
- Limit fees to a reasonable approximation of the government’s “actual, direct costs” of managing the rights-of-way pertaining to an authorization application and establish “safe harbor” fee levels;
- Count in-kind compensation sought by state and local governments toward any safe harbor fee levels; and,
- Prohibit the imposition of additional requirements on wireline telecom infrastructure deployments on the grounds that they may also be used to provide other services.
Obtaining authorization from state and local governments for wireline infrastructure builds can be “onerous,” according to the FCC. It can tie up applications for months, and even years, in some cases. This can lead to providers walking away from investments in certain deployments or scaling them back to minimize losses.
Industry praised the action. “Our member companies build the physical networks that communities depend on, and they regularly encounter permit applications that sit unreviewed for months, adding cost and project delays with no corresponding public benefit,” said Todd Schlekeway, President and CEO of NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association. “A 120-day shot clock, paired with reasonable limits on fees and in-kind demands, gives permitting agencies a clear, workable deadline and creates accountability where there is currently none.”
NATE has emphasized to regulators that permit application backlogs and unpredictable local review requirements increase project timelines and costs without improving safety or other legitimate public interests.
USTelecom – The Broadband Association President and CEO Jonathan Spalter said, “Today, America took a big new step toward more broadband permitting green lights and less red tape. This is smart, common-sense policymaking which recognizes that broadband permitting shouldn’t require more paperwork than a mortgage.”
“Establishing common-sense rules of the road for these critical deployments will ensure equitable and cost-effective access to Rights-of-Ways to facilitate the deployment of next-generation communications systems,” said WIA President and CEO Patrick Halley. “Wireline services serve as a backbone for wireless connectivity. Importantly, this item supports predictable, proportionate, and transparent permitting procedures that would foster our nation’s wireline and wireless connected future.”
Opponents take a different view. Opponents, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties, have said the FCC is trying to cut red tape for broadband permitting at the expense of local governments’ control over their areas. They say the effort would enact new restrictions on a variety of state and local land use and zoning for wireline deployment and impose limits on the ability for counties to negotiate. Opponents especially don’t like the proposed 120-day shot clock text.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
