FCC Moves to Address State and Local Delays and Fees for Wireline Permitting

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) has proposed new rules aimed at speeding up and standardizing how state and local governments handle wireline telecommunications authorization requests. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would establish a rebuttable presumption that a state or local government’s failure to act on a wireline authorization request within 120 days constitutes an effective prohibition of service under Section 253(a) of the Communications Act. Comments on the proposed rules are due September 21, 2026, and reply comments are due November 5, 2026.

Beyond the 120-day shot clock, the proposed rules would limit the fees state and local governments may charge for wireline authorizations to a reasonable approximation of their actual and direct costs, require that the value of any in-kind compensation count toward those fee limits, and prohibit additional requirements based on whether a deployment could also be used to carry other services. The Commission previously applied similar findings and processes to wireless deployments, and is now proposing to extend that framework to wireline infrastructure.

Your Input Matters

If you have experience or data on how permitting delays or fees from state and local governments have affected your deployment timelines or costs, would like to learn more, or if you are interested in filing your own comments please contact Brett Hallagan.