(a)  Within six (6) months of receiving its first request to collocate small wireless facilities on authority poles located within the public rights-of-way, but in no event later than April 1, 2018, an authority shall establish, by ordinance, regulation, or rule, nondiscriminatory, competitively neutral, and commercially reasonable rates, terms, and conditions for such collocation that are consistent with the provisions of this chapter. Aside from the application processing fee allowed under § 39-32-3, an authority shall not charge on an annual recurring basis more for such a collocation than one hundred and fifty dollars ($150) or the rate produced by applying the formula adopted by the Federal Communications Commission for telecommunications attachments under 47 U.S.C. § 224(e). The fee limitation shall not apply to authority structures.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-32-5

  • 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
  • Commission: means the public utilities commission. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
  • 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

(b)  An authority shall authorize the collocation of small wireless facilities on authority poles not located within the public rights-of-way and on authority structures to the same extent the authority permits access to the poles and structures for other commercial projects or uses, and may authorize the collocation if the authority has not previously permitted access. The collocation shall be subject to reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates, terms, and conditions as provided by ordinance or in one or more agreements between the wireless provider and the authority. An authority may not charge on an annual recurring basis more for such a collocation than the amount charged for similar commercial projects or uses to occupy or use the same amount of space on similarly situated property.

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