ATLANTA (December 27, 2018) | Sen. Frank Ginn (R – Danielsville) and members of the Senate Advanced Communications Technologies and Use of State and Local Government Right of Way (ROW) Policy Modernization Study Committee adopted five committee recommendations on Dec. 18th.
“I want to extend my gratitude to committee members, all service providers, GDOT, ACCG, GMA and everyone else who participated in this process,” said. Sen. Frank Ginn. “By working together and communicating throughout the process, I believe we have come up with sound recommendations that will be a great catalyst for legislation moving forward.”
The recommendations are as follows:
- Deploy Broadband Statewide: Urge the deployment of broadband statewide, while determining the best way to address the inconsistencies in the fee structure for providers using ROW to deploy technology services. Additionally, local governments should be fairly compensated for their oversight of the use of ROW for broadband and other similar technologies.
- GDOT Fee Structure: The Georgia Department of Transportation fee structure, which is a fee incurred by providers, should be revised to cover only the actual cost of ROW oversight by GDOT, nothing more.
- Pole Owners: Pole owners are encouraged to work with telecommunications companies to allow placement of technology, such as small cells, on their poles.
- GMA and ACCG: County and city associations are encouraged to continue to work with all interested broadband parties to come to an agreement on small cell deployment and other broadband technology deployment.
- Landline “Due Compensation” Revision: Revise the current fees associated with landline “due compensation” statutes to a lower amount. Currently, these statutes require that providers are charged the GDOT rate for using a ROW, even if they do not have a retail purpose and end users in a city.
The Senate Advanced Communications Technologies and Use of State and Local Government Right of Way Policy Modernization Study Committee was created by the passage of Senate Resolution 1019 during the 2018 Legislative Session. The committee was comprised of five members of the Senate along with five members, including a mayor, county commissioner and three experts within the communication deployment and taxation arena. Members of the committee met throughout the interim with stakeholders to determine modernization, fairness and technology neutrality for the deployment of communication networks and new technologies throughout the state using rights of way. Additionally, the committee will review the proper policies for taxing these services.
As notated in the final report, “Subsequent to the work of the Committee, the telecommunications industry and the municipal and the county associations, including Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), came to an agreement regarding ROW use across the state.”
For the Senate Advanced Communications Technologies and Use of State and Local Government Right of Way (ROW) Policy Modernization Study Committee final report, including the full list of the committee’s recommendations, please follow this link:
http://www.senate.ga.gov/sro/Documents/StudyCommRpts/2018_Right_of_Way_Technology.pdf
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For Immediate Release:
Dec. 27, 2018
Ines Owens, Director
ines.owens@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028