APWA Letter to FCC Warns of ‘Significant’ Impacts to Public Works if New Wireline Deployment Rule Implemented

November 3, 2026

Ms. Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary
Office of the Secretary
FCC Headquarters
445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-A325
Washington, DC  20554

Re: WC Docket No. 25-253; FCC 26-40; FR ID 359677 “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployments” 

On behalf of the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) more than 33,000 members, please find below comments in response to the recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed rule, “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployments”. APWA members work in the public and private sectors, providing expertise at the local, state, and federal government levels. Our members serve in the public interest and are responsible for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining America’s infrastructure network that is vital to our nation’s economy, environment, health and safety, and high quality of life. Additionally, at the local level, public works professionals are entrusted with managing the public rights of way (ROW) and APWA strongly believes the use of the public ROW must be properly balanced.

The FCC’s proposed rule could significantly affect public works operations and the communities they serve. The ROW supports essential services, including transportation for passenger vehicles, freight, public transit, pedestrians, and bicyclists; energy distribution; telecommunications; drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems; emergency response; and other critical infrastructure. If adopted, the rule could have substantial short- and long-term consequences for municipalities nationwide. Below are APWA’s primary concerns.

Federal Preemption of Local Authority

As currently drafted, the proposed rule would establish federal standards governing local permitting timelines, cost recovery, and negotiated conditions while expanding opportunities for providers to challenge local requirements as barriers to deployment under Section 253 of the Communications Act.

Local governments and public works professionals possess the expertise necessary to manage and protect public rights-of-way. These professionals are responsible for balancing competing infrastructure demands, coordinating construction activities, and ensuring the long-term integrity of public assets. Reducing local authority and flexibility could undermine effective infrastructure management and create unintended conflicts among critical services operating within the ROW.

Coordination

The proposal would diminish opportunities for meaningful coordination between broadband providers, municipalities, and public works agencies. Such coordination is essential to ensuring efficient use of public rights-of-way and responsible stewardship of taxpayer-funded infrastructure.

Without adequate coordination, broadband deployment projects may conflict with existing utilities, planned capital improvement projects, roadway maintenance schedules, and other infrastructure investments. These conflicts can result in costly rework, service disruptions, increased project expenses, and inefficient use of public resources.

Effective coordination creates a mutually beneficial relationship between broadband providers and local governments while helping to ensure that infrastructure investments are deployed successfully and sustainably.

Preservation of Public Safety

Public safety must remain the highest priority when managing infrastructure within the ROW. As additional facilities are installed within increasingly constrained rights-of-way, the need for coordinated planning becomes even more critical. Reduced coordination increases the likelihood of utility conflicts, construction accidents, traffic disruptions, and operational challenges that can jeopardize workers and public safety. Public works professionals play a critical role throughout the lifecycle of infrastructure projects, including:

• Excavation oversight
• Traffic control planning
• Road closure management
• Utility coordination
• Engineering review
• Construction inspection
• Surface restoration

A coordinated deployment process helps ensure the safe installation, operation, and maintenance of essential infrastructure while reducing risks to personnel and the public.

Federally Mandated Timelines

The proposed rule could significantly alter how local governments manage public rights-of-way and recover costs associated with permitting and oversight activities. Reviewing and approving wireline infrastructure within the ROW involves far more than a simple administrative review. Applications often require technical analysis, engineering evaluation, utility coordination, environmental review, field inspections, and interagency consultation.

Requiring all authorizations to conform to a single federally mandated timeline, particularly when applications are incomplete or submitted in large batches, could overwhelm local resources and compromise thorough review processes. Smaller and rural communities, which often operate with limited staffing and technical resources, may face especially significant challenges.

Arbitrary or poorly defined deadlines risk undermining the careful coordination necessary to protect public infrastructure, maintain public safety, and ensure responsible project delivery.

Balancing Broadband Deployment with Other Public Uses

The FCC has stated that the NPRM is intended to accelerate broadband deployment by addressing what it characterizes as excessive permitting delays, fees, and local requirements. APWA supports efforts to streamline processes and improve efficiency where appropriate. However, the proposal extends beyond reasonable streamlining and risks disrupting the balance necessary for effective ROW management.

Rights-of-way are finite public assets established to serve the broader public interest. They support transportation systems, power distribution, telecommunications networks, fuel delivery systems, water infrastructure, wastewater collection, emergency services, and other critical functions. All these uses must be carefully balanced. If broadband deployment is prioritized without adequate coordination and planning, valuable ROW space may become unavailable for other essential public services, creating long-term infrastructure constraints for local communities, and degradation of public safety.

Utility Damage Prevention and 811 System Impacts

The proposed rule may unintentionally increase the risk of damage to utilities and place additional strain on systems intended to prevent damage. By encouraging accelerated deployment schedules and reducing opportunities for coordination, the proposal could result in significant increases in excavation activity and corresponding 811 locate requests. Sudden increases in locate ticket volumes may challenge the capacity of utility operators, one-call centers, and local agencies responsible for reviewing and marking underground facilities.

Compressed construction schedules increase the likelihood of:

• Utility conflicts
• Inaccurate or incomplete locates
• Rushed field operations
• Damage to underground facilities

This can lead to disruption of essential services, increase costs, delay projects, endanger workers and the public, and create avoidable operational challenges. Broadband deployment objectives need to be done in a manner that preserves robust utility coordination and established practices to prevent damage.

Multi-Agency Permitting Considerations

When multiple governmental agencies are involved in reviewing a project, any review deadline should apply individually to each agency rather than collectively. Many jurisdictions currently lack a unified permitting process that allows multiple independent agencies to review applications simultaneously within one coordinated system. Furthermore, agencies often have no control over when applicants submit materials to other reviewing entities.

Applying a single review timeline across multiple agencies could create administrative challenges and unfairly penalize agencies for circumstances outside their control.

Preservation of Community Aesthetics

Aesthetics remain an important public interest consideration, and many communities invest significant public resources to ensure that rights-of-way not only function efficiently but also contribute positively to community character, economic development, and quality of life. Attractive and well-maintained public spaces encourage residential investment, business growth, and economic vitality.

If local governments are limited in their ability to review and manage the placement and design of broadband and small cell facilities, communities may lose meaningful control over the appearance of their public spaces and the character of their neighborhoods. Local governments should retain sufficient authority to ensure that new infrastructure deployments are compatible with community planning objectives and aesthetic standards.

Fees

The proposal also raises important questions regarding existing state-level fee structures. The FCC should provide clarity regarding the interaction between any federal fee limitations and existing state statutory frameworks. Consideration must also be given to the fact that fee restrictions do not allow for the full recovery of costs, which becomes an unfunded mandate.

Conclusion

APWA appreciates the opportunity to provide input to this proposed rule and welcomes the opportunity to work with the FCC to draft common-sense rules that, when implemented, will best serve our communities and protect public health, safety, and infrastructure without burdensome and unrealistic requirements. For additional information and follow-up please contact APWA’s Director of Government and Public Affairs Andrea Eales at aeales@apwa.org or 202-218-6730.

Sincerely,

[signed]

Scott D. Grayson, CAE
Chief Executive Officer
American Public Works Association