On July 26, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a Public Notice announcing that new pole attachment rules, which the FCC adopted in a December 2023 Report and Order, are effective as of July 25, 2024....more
On December 15, 2023, after more than three years of consideration, and amid the largest ever federal investment in broadband, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) unanimously adopted a new pole-attachment order that...more
After more than three years of consideration, amidst the largest federal and state investment in broadband deployment, and anticipating disputes between broadband providers and utility pole owners concerning the terms and...more
On June 5, 2023, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law HB1221, subjecting rural electric cooperatives to pole attachment regulation by the Florida Public Service Commission (“FPSC”) if they provide broadband service....more
On February 17, 2023, Georgetown Broadband LLC (GBLLC) became the latest community broadband entity to receive pole attachment authorization from the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to deploy a fiber broadband...more
2021 was a very active year for regulatory developments related to communications infrastructure in California. Several proceedings of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) were intended to: (i) enhance...more
Pennsylvania will become the twenty-first state to certify to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it regulates third-party attachments to electric utility and telephone poles. ...more
After a year of heated debate between pole owners and service providers, the FCC is poised to adopt a one-touch make-ready (“OTMR”) process for the “vast majority” of pole attachments at its meeting on August 2, 2018. Late...more
New “One Touch Make-Ready” Regime Proposed with Shortened Timeframes and Revised Terms for Completing Pole Attachment - Draft Declaratory Ruling Would Prohibit State and Local Moratoria on Wireline and Wireless Deployment...more
Back in 1998, California gave pole access rights to competitive carriers. With the explosion in demand for wireless broadband and the rise of 5G, California has recently expanded those access rights. The wireless companies...more
On October 26, 2017, the FCC released drafts of a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the wireline broadband deployment docket (the “Draft Wireline Order” and “Draft Wireline FNPRM”) and a Report and...more
The FCC has advised a federal district court that the City of Louisville, Kentucky’s “one-touch” make-ready ordinance does not violate the pole attachment provisions of federal law. Companies seeking to build new...more
The Order recognizes that the deployment of communications networks and broadband infrastructure depends heavily on access to utility poles on reasonable rates, terms and conditions. Accordingly, the Order declined to...more
In recent separate actions, the Public Utility Commission of Ohio (“PUCO”) and the Louisiana Public Service Commission (“LPSC”) adopted comprehensive pole attachment regulatory regimes intended to facilitate the deployment of...more