CTIA said today that a new Virginia law aiming at providing a uniform procedure for the way in which wireless infrastructure is approved by localities and installed in the public rights of way will put the state “at the forefront of the national race to deploy high speed 5G Internet services” and “spur hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and create thousands of new jobs in Virginia.”
“CTIA and the wireless industry commend Governor Terry McAuliffe and the Virginia General Assembly in supporting 5G wireless legislation that will boost business opportunity and enhance consumers’ lives,” said CTIA President and Chief Executive Officer Meredith Attwell Baker, in a statement. “This bill will deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in wireless-related investment and new job creation, and lead to further innovation across Virginia’s economy.”
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) held a ceremonial bill signing of SB 1282 today in Dulles, Va. The bill, which specifically allows approval of multiple small cell facilities on a single application for a flat fee and would limit local authority to collect additional fees for siting in the public rights of way, was signed into law last month by the governor (05/02/17).
“I am proud to sign this new law placing Virginia at the forefront of all the economic benefits that will flow from even faster 5G Internet connections,” the governor said today. “I have made it a top priority to spur investment and job opportunities across the Commonwealth, and this law will help deliver that goal whether through improved education opportunities, better healthcare delivery, or autonomous transportation systems.”
According to CTIA, Accenture estimates that the bill will result in an investment of $179 million in Richmond, and $371 million in Virginia Beach, the state’s largest city, and is expected to create over 6,000 new jobs “while generating wider employment and business benefits for the state.”
The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Ryan T. McDougle (R., District 4), also states that the Department of Transportation is prohibited from imposing any fee for the use of the ROW on a wireless service provider or wireless infrastructure provider to attach or collocate small cell facilities on an existing structure in the ROW. The department could prescribe and charge a reasonable fee not to exceed $150 for processing an application for a single use permit. Additional permits couldn’t be required for routine maintenance of small cell facilities; the replacement of small cell facilities with facilities of similar size, weight, and height; or the installation, placement, or replacement of micro-wireless facilities that are suspended on cables and strung between existing utility poles. – Carrie DeLeon, carrie.deleon@wolterskluwer.com
Courtesy TRDaily