Blackburn, Lujan File Senate Companion to Broadband and Telecommunications Rail Act
Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., filed an upper chamber companion Thursday to the House Communications Subcommittee-cleared Broadband and Telecommunications Rail Act (HR-6046), Blackburn’s office told us Thursday night.
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The measure would require a broadband provider to apply to a railroad to place equipment in its right-of-way and sets shot clocks for the railroad to decide whether to grant such a request and schedule the work. It would allow a railroad to deny a request only if the application fails to meet safety and damage mitigation requirements or would prohibit the railroad’s operations. The legislation would also require broadband providers to work with state and local governments to determine the scope of the project.
The Broadband and Telecommunications Rail Act “would cut red tape to streamline the installation of telecommunications and broadband equipment in public and railroad rights-of-way, expanding essential connectivity for rural communities,” Blackburn said in a statement to us. Her office touted support from the Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, the Fiber Broadband Association, Incompas, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association.
HR-6046 drew unanimous bipartisan support at the House Communications markup earlier this week, in contrast to a sharp divide on a new version of the American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-2289) that combined language from 22 GOP-led connectivity permitting bills. The House Commerce Committee during the last Congress similarly divided along party lines on a previous version of the broadband deployment package, which never reached the floor amid strong Democratic resistance (see 2305230067).