Federal Communications Commission
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) proposes and seeks comment on rules that would eliminate state and local requirements that constrain the deployment of modern high-speed wireline infrastructure in violation of section 253 of the Communications Act (Act), particularly through the imposition of excessive delays and fees that impede infrastructure deployments and disincentivize investments in them. Based on the record resulting from a Notice of Inquiry that identified numerous challenges providers face in offering telecommunications services and deploying wireline infrastructure (2025 Notice of Inquiry), this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on codifying rules that would: establish a rebuttable presumption that state and local governments have effectively prohibited the provision of wireline telecommunications services if they fail to process all authorizations for use of public rights-of-way to provide wireline telecommunications services or to deploy wireline telecommunications infrastructure within 120 days; limit the fees that state and local governments may charge for a wireline telecommunications authorization to a reasonable approximation of the government's actual, direct costs of managing the rights-of-way with respect to that authorization and establish safe harbor fee levels that presumptively comport with that standard; require that the value of in-kind compensation demanded by state and local governments count toward any safe harbor fee levels adopted by the Commission; and prohibit state and local governments from imposing additional requirements on wireline telecommunications infrastructure deployments on the grounds that the infrastructure may be used to provide other services. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also seeks comment on the Commission's authority to enact these proposals.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Federal Communications Commission 47 CFR Part 1 [WC Docket No. 25-253; FCC 26-40; FR ID 359677] AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) proposes and seeks comment on rules that would eliminate state and local requirements that constrain the deployment of modern high-speed wireline infrastructure in violation of section 253 of the Communications Act (Act), particularly through the imposition of excessive delays and fees that impede infrastructure deployments and disincentivize investments in them. Based on the record resulting from a Notice of Inquiry that identified numerous challenges providers face in offering telecommunications services and deploying wireline infrastructure ( 2025 Notice of Inquiry ), this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on codifying rules that would: establish a rebuttable presumption that state and local governments have effectively prohibited the provision of wireline telecommunications services if they fail to process all authorizations for use of public rights-of-way to provide wireline telecommunications services or to deploy wireline telecommunications infrastructure within 120 days; limit the fees that state and local governments may charge for a wireline telecommunications authorization to a reasonable approximation of the government's actual, direct costs of managing the rights-of-way with respect to that authorization and establish…
Citation: 91 FR 51121
