Broadband Advisor

Nineteen years after Congress opened telecommunications markets to competition in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, deployment of facilities-based communications networks continues to be a critical issue. Policymakers, such as the FCC, recognize that facilitating deployment of modern technologies and competitive networks is critical to the national economy and public welfare, and they regularly adopt policies and regulations that promote deployment. Individual companies, from the largest incumbents to the newest entrants, engage in daily efforts to deploy new facilities, but despite favorable laws and policies, they still face myriad hurdles to deployment.

Fiber optic and cable networks need access to public rights of way, utility easements, railroad crossings, utility poles, and underground conduits. Wireless devices need towers, monopoles, rooftops, and utility poles. Indeed, modern communications networks often involve a combination of wireless and wireline technologies that need to be deployed using various combinations of infrastructure. To successfully deploy and maintain such networks, companies need to understand and navigate the federal, state, and local laws and regulations that govern deployment. Companies also must understand their regulatory rights vis-à-vis the owners of the underlying infrastructure, such as utility pole and conduit owners. Ultimately, the cost and timeliness of deploying and maintaining communications networks is directly related to how well a company understands and utilizes the regulatory landscape.

Communications companies seeking timely and affordable access to broadband infrastructure turn to DWT’s broadband deployment team for its extensive knowledge and unsurpassed experience. Whether your company is seeking access to poles, conduit, towers, rights-of-way, railroad crossings or other broadband infrastructure, DWT has a dedicated and uniquely qualified team that assists large and small cable, telecommunications, wireless and other broadband clients with the challenges associated with accessing broadband infrastructure. DWT’s expert team has decades of experience with the myriad federal, state and local laws affecting network deployment, and just as important, DWT’s broadband deployment team understands how the barriers to and legal issues associated with deploying broadband infrastructure affect our clients’ day-to-day business.