On November 17, RCRC, along with the League of California Cities, and the California State Association of Counties, submitted joint comments on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployment Notice of Information (NOI). The FCC asks for input on whether state and local permitting rules, fees, and conditions for using public rights-of-way (ROW) are slowing wireline broadband deployment, and whether rules like the 2018 Small Cell Order should be applied to wireline deployments. The Commission is considering future actions that would use its authority to potentially preempt state and local requirements that prohibit, or have the effect of prohibiting, wireline services and implement rules such as the imposition of shot clocks; limiting or capping fees for ROW access, pole attachments and related permits; restricting in-kind contributions such as excess fiber conduit; preempting certain local regulations; and potentially adopting uniform standards for permitting cost recovery.
RCRC comments emphasized how the NOI misdiagnoses the real barriers to broadband deployment, and opposed proposals that would preempt local authority, impose rigid shot clocks, or cap cost recovery for public ROW use. Such measures would undermine public safety, environmental protections, and rural infrastructure resilience without compelling providers to actually serve underserved communities and high-cost areas. Instead, RCRC urged the FCC to pursue incentive-based models that reward rural buildout and infrastructure resilience with regulatory relief in unserved communities.
RCRC’s comments can be found here. The FCC docket is available here. For more questions, please contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocates Tracy Rhine or Leigh Kammerich.