The FCC plans to look into state and local rules regarding wireline access to municipal rights-of-way, poles and conduit…

This Notice of Inquiry advances the Commission’s Build America Agenda by launching an inquiry into state and local statutes, regulations, and legal requirements that prohibit or have the effect of
prohibiting the provision of wireline telecommunications services in violation of section 253 of the
Communications Act (Act). To build out to consumers, providers must obtain authorizations from state
and local governments to deploy facilities in the public rights-of-way and use them to provide service.
This can be an onerous task, often requiring applications to be filed with numerous jurisdictions, and
resulting in delays and increased costs that impede deployments, disincentivize private investment in
modern networks, and potentially waste taxpayer funded federal support. In 2018, the Commission took
important steps to streamline requirements impacting deployments, which spurred significant
deployments in the ensuing years. Notwithstanding these improvements, the Commission continues to be
advised that wireline deployment projects are getting stuck in red tape created by state and local
requirements. This Notice commences in inquiry into actions the Commission could take to limit
processing times and fees for state and local authorizations in the wireline context, as it has done for
Small Wireless Facilities.
What the Notice of Inquiry Would Do:
• Seek comment on the delays that providers encounter when seeking authorizations to access and
use state and local public rights-of-way to provide wireline telecommunications services.
• Seek comment on the fees charged by state and local governments when providers seek
authorizations to deploy and provide wireline telecommunications services.
• Seek comment on in-kind compensation requirements imposed as a condition of obtaining
authorizations to access and use public rights-of-way.
• Seek comment on whether the fees, delays, and conditions imposed by state and local
governments prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of wireline
telecommunications services in violation of section 253.
• Invite broad comment on other types of state and local requirements that have a prohibitive effect
on wireline telecommunications deployments and services, including the identification of any
specific state or local statutes, regulations, or legal requirements that the Commission could
consider preempting via a sua sponte preemption proceeding under section 253(d).