NTCA Raises Rural Deployment, Rights-of-Way Concerns at FCC
NTCA representatives met with FCC Wireline Bureau staff to discuss the challenges carriers face as they maintain or build and upgrade broadband networks in rural areas. “These can include low densities, long distances from urban areas, mountainous and rocky terrain, workforce challenges, and weather-shortened construction seasons,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 17-84. “These challenges are exacerbated by time-consuming and expensive permitting processes at the local, state, and federal levels that inhibit their ability to serve their rural communities.”
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The organization also said it has concerns about rights-of-way issues, pointing to the excessive fees that providers sometimes face for accessing state and local ones. “These include not only one-time application fees, but also recurring fees assessed on a per-linear-foot-of-fiber basis for fiber placed in a RoW, as well as surveys and other inspections that can cost several thousand dollars,” NTCA said. "'In-kind' contributions unrelated to the cost a local or state government incurs to manage RoWs are at times assessed as well; one example discussed was a state transportation department seeking access to strands of fiber installed in the RoW as a condition for RoW access.”