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STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI
Re: Implementation of Section 224 of the Act, WC Docket No. 07-245, A National Broadband 
Plan for Our Future, GN Docket No. 09-51
Re: Acceleration of Broadband Deployment:  Expanding the Reach and Reducing the Cost of 
Broadband Deployment by Improving the Policies Regarding Public Rights of Way and 
Wireless Facilities Siting, WC Docket No. 11- 59
Today, we take a major step in reducing barriers to broadband deployment, even as we 
set the stage for further progress on this vital goal. Our actions will enable and accelerate billions 
of dollars of private investment in the 21st century infrastructure America needs to create jobs, 
grow our economy, and compete globally.  
Today’s actions implement key recommendations of the National Broadband Plan and 
are central pillars of our Broadband Acceleration Initiative, announced on February 9. This 
Initiative is one of the Commission’s top priorities: an agency-wide effort to speed the build-out 
of wired and wireless broadband by removing obstacles to deployment, particularly obstacles 
created by unneeded or inefficient regulation. 
Having determined that broadband is not being reasonably and timely deployed to all 
Americans, the Commission is required by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act to “take 
immediate action to accelerate deployment . . . by removing barriers to infrastructure 
investment.” The Broadband Acceleration Initiative, and our actions today, are central to carrying 
out that duty.
The Initiative incorporates work being done by the Commission’s Technological 
Advisory Council. I was pleased to revive the TAC, announce its new members on October 21, 
and give them a concrete charge:  identify ways to use communications technologies and 
spectrum to drive job creation and economic growth. Under the excellent leadership of Tom 
Wheeler, and with participation from a host of private sector experts and Internet pioneers, the 
TAC has already identified several promising policy proposals that I look forward to the 
Commission considering in the coming year.
Another key milestone was the Broadband Acceleration Conference we held earlier this 
year, which yielded a number of strong ideas for policy reforms, many of which are included in 
the Notice of Inquiry the Commission adopts today.
Why is this Initiative so important? In the race for global competitiveness, the speed with 
which we can build America’s broadband networks is as important as the speed that is delivered 
over these networks.  Broadband is indispensable infrastructure for improving America’s 
productivity in the 21st century – which is in turn the key to robust economic growth and job 
creation. The faster we can build out broadband, the faster we can help American workers and 
small businesses create the leading web-based enterprises of tomorrow. That’s what the 
Broadband Acceleration Initiative is all about.
The Pole Attachments Order we adopt today comprehensively reforms the Commission’s 
pole attachment rules for the first time since the 1990s, taking account of major changes in the 
marketplace and incorporating smart policies pioneered by various states. 
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Some might wonder what the connection is between utility poles and broadband service.  
Utility poles are essential to providing broadband service, wired and wireless, because that’s 
where communications companies string cables and, increasingly, place wireless antennas. If 
every company that wanted to provide broadband service had to build its own separate set of 
poles to carry its equipment, we wouldn’t have much broadband in this country—it would simply 
be too expensive, and often impossible, to build an entirely new network of poles. This is why the 
Commission has historically taken steps to ensure that communications providers have reasonable 
access to the poles that already exist throughout the country.
The record in this proceeding demonstrates that today, the process by which broadband 
providers get access to utility poles frequently is so unpredictable, takes so long, and costs so 
much that it discourages providers from entering the marketplace and significantly delays 
broadband build-out. So our Order provides for a fixed timeline for getting access to poles that 
providers can count on, for both wired and wireless broadband build-out.  
It also provides a timeline for accessing the tops of poles, which are key for the 
deployment of wireless broadband technologies like distributed antenna systems – DAS for short. 
DAS deployments use multiple antennas to extend wireless coverage and provide service more 
efficiently than conventional wireless antennas. As a result of this Order, DAS providers estimate 
that their cumulative capital investment could total more than $15 billion over the next six years. 
Importantly, the Order balances the need for efficient access to poles with protections for 
the safety and reliability of our electric grid, and empowers utilities to effectively prevent 
unauthorized attachments on their poles. Lineworkers perform jobs that are both valuable and 
dangerous, and we have been careful in developing this Order to make sure that we do nothing 
that would jeopardize their safety or the safety of others.
The Order also reforms policies for pole attachment rates. The record shows that pole 
rental rates vary widely and are often inefficiently high, which slants the competitive playing 
field, distorts infrastructure investment decisions, and deters broadband build-out.  This is why 
incumbent phone companies argued that the Commission should regulate the prices they pay to 
access a utility’s network of poles.
Reforming pole attachment rates is particularly important for rural America, where this 
Order will reduce pole rental costs for some broadband providers by more than 50%.  This should 
spur broadband deployment where it is needed most, reduce the need for universal service 
funding to serve some hard-to-reach areas, and lower the cost of serving some rural households 
by as much as several dollars per month – which could mean real savings on consumers’ bills.  
We expect these benefits to occur, and would be concerned – and would seriously consider 
modifying our approach to this issue – if we did not see evidence that these benefits were indeed 
occurring. 
Today’s Order is a testament to the strengths of our federal system and the importance of 
states as laboratories for policy development.  Thanks to the thoughtful work of a number of 
states in crafting pole attachment rules over the last two decades, we have several effective 
models for pole attachment governance with proven track records. Our rules incorporate best 
practices from Oregon, Utah, New York, and other states.
While the Pole Attachments Order brings one proceeding to a close, we are 
simultaneously opening a new proceeding on Accelerating Broadband Deployment.  This 
proceeding will examine key challenges and best practices for rights-of-way and wireless 
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facilities siting policies. Rights-of-way policies are the rules that govern access to the public 
spaces where broadband infrastructure – including wireless towers and antennas – are deployed, 
including roadways, sidewalks, public lands, and public buildings, but excluding utility poles.
This proceeding is focused on improving these policies in order to enable broadband 
providers to expand the reach and accelerate deployment of robust, affordable broadband to all 
Americans.  The National Broadband Plan and our Technological Advisory Council have 
identified a number of potential barriers in this area, including:
· Poor coordination across jurisdictions on infrastructure issues, which delays broadband 
build-out and raises consumer costs;
· The expense and complexity of obtaining access to public rights of way;
· The fact that it’s much harder than it should be to put another antenna on an existing cell 
tower;
· Failure to embrace “dig-once” policies that save money when workers dig a trench in the 
ground to lay fiber or cable; and 
· Non-standard, confusing permitting processes for broadband infrastructure siting on 
federal property.
We will examine these issues with input from all interested parties, including states and 
localities, Tribes, other federal agencies, broadband providers, equipment providers, and 
consumer advocates. I look forward to learning what’s working and can be replicated more 
broadly; what’s not working and should be fixed; and, in general, what can be done to improve 
inefficient or burdensome policies.
I thank the staff, particularly the Wireline and Wireless Bureaus, for their hard work on these 
complex and important items. And I thank the TAC, and the FCC staff working with the TAC, for 
their continued efforts to develop proposals for further reform