Pai: Rights-of-Way Issues Are Up to Date in Kansas City

Says Google Fiber build demonstrates value of government help

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/5/2012 3:49:40 PM

In Kansas City to visit Google's fiber build test-bed, FCC commissioner Ajit Pai said Wednesday that other cities should take a page from Kansas City's efforts to "expedite and simplify" the permitting process.

Pai said his principal takeaway from the project was how important it is for government at all levels to ease rights-of-way management issues.

"When broadband service providers seek to construct next-generation networks, they need to access government-controlled land, poles, and conduits in order to lay fiber and install other infrastructure," he said in statement. "Currently, too many providers who try to obtain such access are confronted with daunting sets of federal, state, and/or municipal regulations that often delay and sometimes deter infrastructure investment and broadband deployment."

He called on the FCC to do its part by "work[ing] with stakeholders to develop model regulations, guidelines, or best practices for rights-of-way management that facilitate fiber deployment while safeguarding legitimate government interests."