MMA asks FCC to withdraw proposed new federal rules for broadband deployment

Marlene H. Dortch
Office of the Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
45 L St. NE
Washington, DC 20554

Re: Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployments, WC Docket No. 25-253, FCC 26-40

The Massachusetts Municipal Association respectfully submits these comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the above-captioned proceeding.

The MMA supports the Commission’s goal of accelerating the deployment of reliable, affordable high-speed broadband. Broadband is essential to economic development, education, healthcare and public safety.

The MMA strongly believes national broadband policy is best advanced through a federal-local partnership that promotes deployment while preserving the ability of municipal governments to protect public safety, critical infrastructure, and taxpayer-funded property. However, the Commission’s proposed rules would impose inflexible deadlines, restrict lawful compensation, and preempt local authority that Congress expressly preserved, resting on assertions that do not reflect the practices of Massachusetts cities and towns.

A nationwide 120-day deadline would replace careful, locally informed review with an arbitrary standard that fails to account for project complexity, public safety, infrastructure conditions, staffing limitations, and sequential approvals. Additionally, restricting compensation would force local taxpayers to subsidize private commercial use of public property. Together, these mandates would impose a one-size-fits-all framework without a clear statutory foundation, compromising careful engineering and safety review while shifting commercial costs onto local taxpayers.

The MMA shares the Commission’s intent of expanding broadband and remains committed to timely, cooperative deployment. However, that work should not displace the local governments that own, manage, and protect the public infrastructure on which deployment depends. The Commission should instead work in partnership with local governments and focus any intervention on demonstrated barriers within specific jurisdictions, addressing documented violations through targeted, fact-specific review rather than blanket preemption.

For these reasons, the MMA respectfully urges the Commission to withdraw the proposed rules, including the 120-day shot clock and other preemptive mandates, and to preserve the flexibility necessary for the responsible management of public rights-of-way in the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

Adam Chapdelaine
MMA Executive Director and CEO