(a)  A wireless service provider authorized to do business in this state or a contractor acting on its behalf may collocate small wireless facilities within, along, across, upon, and under any public right-of-way in this state, including state highways and freeways, and may construct conduit, cables, and facilities between such small wireless facility and other equipment or services located on or adjacent to the supporting pole or other structure, subject to the provisions of this chapter.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-2

  • Authority: means a city, town, or any other state or municipal government subdivision, agency, or entity that is authorized by law to regulate or control the use of the public rights-of-way or the construction or installation of poles or wireless facilities or that owns or controls property suitable for collocating small wireless facilities. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1
  • Collocate: means to install, mount, maintain, modify, operate, or replace wireless facilities on a pole, including an authority pole, or on a building, water tower, or other structure, including an authority structure. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, limited-liability company, partnership, association, trust, or other entity or organization, including an authority. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1
  • Pole: means a utility pole, light pole, light standard, or similar structure that is used, in whole or in part, for telephone service, wireless service, cable television service, information service, electric service, lighting, traffic control, signage, or similar function. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1
  • Small wireless facility: means a wireless facility with an antenna of no more than six cubic feet (6 cu. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1
  • wireless facilities: includes small wireless facilities but does not include the structure or improvements on, under, or within which the equipment is collocated; wireline backhaul facilities; coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is between wireless support structures or poles; or coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is otherwise not immediately adjacent to, or directly associated with, an antenna. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1
  • Wireless service: means any services using licensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum, whether at a fixed location or mobile, provided using wireless facilities. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1
  • Wireless service provider: means a person who provides wireless service, as well as a person who builds, installs, or maintains wireless communications transmission equipment, wireless facilities, or wireless support structures. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-1

(b)  Except as provided in this chapter, an authority shall not prohibit, regulate, or charge for the collocation of small wireless facilities.

(c)  Small wireless facilities shall be classified as permitted uses in all zoning districts and shall not be subject to zoning review or approval.

(d)  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize a person to collocate a small wireless facility on a privately owned pole, structure, or other private property without the consent of the property owner.

(e)  All agreements between authorities and wireless service providers that are in effect on the effective date of this chapter [September 27, 2017] and that relate to the collocation of small wireless facilities in the public right-of-way or on authority poles or structures shall remain in effect, subject to any termination provisions in such agreements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the election of a wireless service provider, the rates, fees, terms, and conditions established pursuant to this chapter shall apply to small wireless facilities that are the subject of an application submitted after the effective date of this chapter.

History of Section.
P.L. 2017, ch. 309, § 2; P.L. 2017, ch. 331, § 2.