FCC Issues Order Under Expedited Pole Attachment Complaint Process

The Federal Communications Commission issued a first-of-its-kind order resulting from its new process for expedited review of pole attachment complaints in order to speed the deployment of broadband services to American households and businesses. Using the Commission’s Accelerated Docket process, the FCC’s Rapid Broadband Assessment Team (RBAT)—composed of staff from the Enforcement and Wireline Competition Bureaus—oversaw the development of a record that encompassed both parties’ legal arguments. Based on that record, the Commission adopted an order within 60 days of the complaint’s filing. The FCC’s action helps resolve a dispute that had slowed down and would have added deployment costs for BEAD-funded projects in Virginia.