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FCC loosens utility pole rules to accelerate 5G rollouts
The FCC really, really wants to grease the wheels for 5G, and its latest changes do more to that end. To start, it just voted in favor of a new rule that could streamline the addition of new wireless and broadband services to utility poles. Instead of asking multiple companies to cooperate on readying a pole for new services, the rule enables a "One Touch Make Ready" approach where the newcomer can prepare the pole all by itself. The move could theoretically speed up deployments while lowering costs.
Google Fiber could get a jolt from FCC utility pole policy
Google Fiber could get serious help from a new rule (PDF) the FCC is set to pass that would give individual companies access to poles across the US. Currently, independent bodies -- like, say, a new internet provider -- who want to add their lines to poles must request telecoms to do the work, but the federal agency is considering implementing a nationwide One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) arrangement that would allow companies to add their cables themselves. In short, this could seriously help Google speed up the rollout of its high-speed internet solution.
Comcast sues Nashville over law that helps Google Fiber
The Google Fiber team isn't having a good week. Comcast has filed a lawsuit against Nashville in a bid to overturn a city law, One Touch Make Ready, that was primarily designed to help speed Google's fiber optic rollout. Much as with an AT&T lawsuit filed in September, Comcast maintains that AT&T-owned poles fall under the jurisdiction of the FCC, not the city -- Nashville can't let internet providers add their own wires without having AT&T move wires first, the cable giant says. The suit also claims that the city's Metro Council isn't allowed to regulate poles owned by Nashville Electric Service, and that the law violates Comcast's contracts with both pole owners.
