Explaining Right-of-Way Basics Community Broadband Bits Episode 169

Published: Sept. 22, 2015, 7:49 p.m.

b'For this week\'s Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary], we are delving into an area of law and practice that is quite important for Internet network deployment but tends to be dry and confusing. Not for us today though, we have Sean Stokes, a Principal at Baller Herbst Stokes & Lide, joining us to explain Right-of-Way basics.\\n\\nWe talk about what the public Right-of-Way (ROW) is, who is responsible for maintaining it, how entities can get access to it and how poles are distinct from the ROW. We discuss how much power local governments and pole owners have to deny access to these assets and some of the costs associated with make-ready. If you don\'t know what make-ready is, you\'ll know in less than thirty minutes.\\n\\nWe finish our discussion by exploring the "Municipal Gain" policy in Connecticut, where munis are entitled to some space on the poles for any purpose they choose to use it. Historically, this was used only for public safety, but it was recently broadened. Sean also explores how he believes we should simplify access for fiber-optics rather than basing access on the particular end service being offered.\\n\\nRead the transcript from this episode here.\\n\\nWe want your feedback and suggestions for the show - please e-mail us or leave a comment below. \\n\\nThis show is 30 minutes long and can be played below on this page or via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. \\n\\nListen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. You can can download this Mp3 file directly from here.\\n\\nThanks to bkfm-b-side for the music, licensed using Creative Commons. The song is "Raise Your Hands."'