CenturyLink Seeks FCC 'Balanced' Rule to Ease Some Pole Attachment Overlashing
CenturyLink wants an FCC rule to make it easier to overlash pole attachments in some cases. Consistent with precedent, the agency "should codify the principle that attachers are permitted, without a pole owner’s prior approval, to overlash their own or…
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third parties’ pole attachments with telecommunications wires, including fiber-optic cable, fiber splice closures, and similar incidental equipment," said the telco's filing posted Monday in docket 17-84 on an NPRM. "This rule will enable rapid deployment and upgrade of broadband services, while relying on subsequent inspection and make-ready processes to ensure that overlashed facilities comply with safety and engineering standards. This streamlined process should not apply, however, to equipment that is not incidental to overlashed telecommunications lines, such as strand-mounted antennas and other RF-emitting devices, batteries, and power supplies, because such equipment is much more likely to present safety and load concerns that should be addressed upfront through the pole attachment process, as modified in this proceeding." CenturyLink noted docket comments were divided on overlashing precedent, with cable, wireless and fiber providers generally focused on benefits and electric utilities focused on risks (see 1801180032). "There is merit to each of these positions," the telco said. Overlashing "can and does accelerate broadband deployment. ... On the other hand, strand-mounted equipment can create risks that may not have been considered or present when the host facilities were installed." It said the FCC should strike a "balance" by "drawing a line between wire-to-wire overlashing and attachment of strand-mounted equipment that is not incidental to the host attachment."