FCC Working with States to Facilitate High-Speed Broadband Deployment and Effective Pole Attachment Regulation
Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks to Ensure Reverse-Preemption States 
Regulate Poles Consistent with Statute
   
WASHINGTON, June 11, 2026—Today, the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau issued a Public Notice that aims to ensure effective pole attachment regulation across the nation, particularly in reverse-preemption states.  The pole attachment process is a key factor in ensuring that Americans benefit from accelerated broadband infrastructure builds.  Today’s Public Notice further advances Chairman Carr’s Build America Agenda.  

Chairman Brendan Carr issued the following statement:

“The FCC is hard at work accelerating the buildout of high-speed infrastructure.  In the past year, through the FCC’s Build America Agenda, we’ve implemented several rule changes designed to cut red tape and streamline the process for attaching fiber and 5G equipment to utility poles.  Today’s Public Notice is an important step to continue this critical work, in partnership with states across the country.  Increased regulatory clarity will ensure large deployments are quickly approved and modern high-speed infrastructure gets built.  As a result, more Americans will be able to enjoy access to next-generation broadband and connectivity for years to come.”

Additional Background Information:

The FCC’s pole attachment rules prescribe processes and timelines for attachers and pole owners when providers seek to attach communications infrastructure to those poles.  Increased investment in broadband infrastructure projects has led to extensive new deployments in recent years, resulting in a significant increase in pole attachment applications for large numbers of utility poles.  Through targeted changes to its pole attachment rules, the Commission has taken significant steps in recent years to accelerate the buildout of next-generation infrastructure on which high-speed broadband deployment depends.

In addition to the FCC’s rules, 23 states and the District of Columbia have certified to the Commission that they regulate pole attachments in their jurisdictions.  As a result, these reverse-preemption states are important facilitators of broadband deployment through their pole attachment regulations.  

It is imperative that these states and the District of Columbia follow the requirements laid out in the Act and in the Commission’s rules to issue and make effective rules and regulations implementing their regulatory authority over pole attachments; regulate the rates, terms, and conditions of the pole attachments; and establish procedures for resolving pole access complaints.  Set against the backdrop of the FCC’s focus on the ubiquitous deployment of next-generation broadband, state pole attachment regulation can uniquely advance that goal through clear and effective rules.

Today’s Public Notice serves as an important reminder of these obligations and also seeks comment on options the Commission could pursue to make state reverse-preemption pole attachment regulations more transparent and effective and to better ensure state compliance with the statute.  It also seeks comment on whether the Commission has a duty to review state certifications to ensure that the reverse-preemption states’ pole attachment rules are adequate to meet the needs of attachers and the requirements of the Communications Act.

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