Electric Utilities Cite Others' Support for OTMR Pole-Attachment Work, Knock NCTA Approach
Three electric utilities said there's much consensus that one-touch, make-ready work (OTMR), managed by pole attachers, should be mandated by the FCC, at least for simple communications line moves, to improve the pole-attachment process. "This common sense approach ... appropriately…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
places the burden of coordinating make-ready work on the communications entity that ultimately will benefit from use of the pole," said CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, Florida Power & Light and Dominion Energy Virginia (investor-owned utilities, or IOUs) in a filing Friday in docket 17-84. NCTA seems "to be the sole voice in opposition to OTMR," they said: The cable group's "so-called Accelerated and Safe Access to Poles ('ASAP')" proposal "prescribes unrealistically short time frames for each phase of the current pole access process, but fails to cure the actual flaws inherent in how make-ready work is performed that are the most notable source of delays. For example, the ASAP Proposal would maintain the current sequence of duplicative visits to the pole, and further, would provide each incumbent communications attacher on the pole unlimited discretion ... to opt out of OTMR." They said "most objectionable ... is that the ASAP Proposal would continue to impose on IOU pole owners the duty to coordinate all communications space make-ready, but at the same time, would prohibit reasonable application requirements needed to evaluate the safety, reliability, engineering, and capacity impacts of new installations." The utilities supported Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee "recommendations for an expedited and improved make-ready process, including OTMR," subject to "clarifications and exceptions" they detailed. NCTA views it as "highly unlikely that power companies would consider a proposal that would allow other companies to move their facilities without their permission to be a 'common sense' approach," it emailed. "We have submitted a proposal that would address the underlying issue -- speeding up timeframes for pole access -- while preserving the legitimate interests of all parties, including existing attachers."