WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 22, 2026 – INCOMPAS, the competitive communications and AI infrastructure association, filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the agency’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on eliminating state and local barriers to wireline deployment.
“State and local permitting practices continue to impose excessive delays, above cost fees and burdensome conditions that Section 253 was enacted to prevent,” said Chip Pickering, CEO, INCOMPAS.
In its filing, INCOMPAS primarily urged the FCC to:
- Adopt a 90-day presumptive deadline, rather than the proposed 120 days, for substantial new wireline construction approval, with shorter deadlines for less complex authorizations, and to ensure the federal clock begins at the first mandatory procedural step so it does not become an entitlement to delay authorizations that can reasonably be processed more quickly.
- Limit state and local compensation to objectively reasonable, actual and direct costs caused by a provider’s use of the right of way, backed by transparent documentation and public disclosure sufficient to verify cost causation.
“The FCC’s Build America Agenda depends on getting permitting right, and these reforms are a critical piece of that work,” Pickering continued. “Together, these reforms will give providers and governments predictable ground rules, reduce unnecessary disputes and accelerate the wireline deployment on which America’s broadband and AI future depends.”
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