Official Blog
The latest news from the Fiber team
FCC Supports OTMR - Faster and Fairer Rules for Pole Attachments
Friday, July 13, 2018
When we started Google Fiber eight years ago, we knew that building a new fiber network was going to be hard, slow and expensive. But what we didn’t fully appreciate were the obstacles we would face around a key part of the process: gaining timely access to space on utility and telephone poles to place new communications equipment.
One particular challenge revolves around making poles ready for new attachments. This “make ready” work has to be done to make room for new attachers’ equipment. The current system for make ready is done sequentially, and often involves multiple crews visiting the same pole several times over many months. This results in long delays, inflated costs and a frustrated community.
Fortunately, there is a better way. It is called One Touch Make Ready (OTMR), which is a system where a new attacher does much of the make ready work itself, all at one time. OTMR is a common sense policy that will dramatically improve the ability of new broadband providers to enter the market and offer competitive service, reducing delays and lowering costs by allowing the necessary work on utility poles to be done much more efficiently. This also means fewer crews coming through neighborhoods and disrupting traffic, making it safer for both workers and residents.
That’s why we’re so excited by the news that the
FCC is poised to pass a rule that would institute a national One Touch Make Ready
system, with the goal of significantly increasing the deployment of high-speed broadband across the United States. As the FCC stated, “OTMR speeds and reduces the cost of broadband deployment by allowing the party with the strongest incentive — the new attacher — to prepare the pole quickly to perform all of the work itself, rather than spreading the work across multiple parties.”
We fully support this effort by the FCC and applaud the efforts of Chairman Pai to remove obstacles that reduce choice and competition for broadband consumers. As the FCC says in its order, One Touch Make Ready “will serve the public interest through greater broadband deployment and competitive entry” — we couldn’t agree more.
By John Burchett, Director of Public Policy
~~~
author.name: John Burchett
author.title: Director of Public Policy
category: policy_innovation
The Google Fiber blog is now located here
.
Labels
3d
Android
announcement
app
apple
April Fools
Austin
CBRS
channels
channels tv
choose dubs dread service plan
cinemax
Community Connections
Connected Communities
construction
deadlines
digital divide playbook mbit
Digital Inclusion Fund
Discovery
education
education schools students
en espanol
Español
expansion
Fiber behind the scenes
fiber poles
Fiber Space
fiber tv
fiberhood
fiberhood deadlines
fiberhoods deadlines signup
fiberhoods installation
Gladstone
Grandview
gybo
hbo
installations hanover heights
iPad
kansas
kansas city
Leawood
lee's summit
local government
Merriam
Mission
Missouri
nashville
North America
olathe
On Demand
otmr
Prairie Village
premiere
premium package
Provo
Raleigh
raytown
SAS
shawnee
sign up installation
signup
small business
spectrum
True Blood
tv
website
Archive
2019
Dec
Oct
Aug
May
Feb
Jan
2018
Nov
Oct
Jul
May
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
Apr
Mar
Feb
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
May
Apr
Mar
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Feb
2011
Dec
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Mar
2010
Dec
Oct
Jul
Mar
Feb
Feed
Follow @googlefiber
Follow
Follow