Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015

Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to require states to evaluate the need for broadband conduit (fiber optic cables that support broadband or wireless facilities for broadband service) as part of any covered highway construction project (a project to construct a new highway or an additional lane or paved shoulder for an existing highway that receives funding under federal-aid highway provisions), in consultation with telecommunications providers. If the evaluation reveals a need in the next 15 years for broadband conduit beneath hard surfaces to be constructed by the project, the conduit shall be installed.

DOT shall establish standards to carry out installation requirements that consider:

• the ability to accommodate broadband installation without impacting the safety, operations, and maintenance of the highway facility, its users, or others;
• population density in the area;
• the type of highway involved; and
• existing broadband access in the area.

DOT shall ensure that:

• an appropriate number of broadband conduits are installed along such highway to accommodate multiple broadband providers,
• the size of conduit is consistent with industry best practices and sufficient to accommodate potential demand,
• hand holes and manholes for fiber access and pulling such conduit are placed at intervals consistent with industry best practices,
• installed conduit includes a pull tape and is capable of supporting fiber optic cable placement techniques consistent with industry best practices,
• installed conduit is placed at a depth consistent with industry best practices and cable separation requirements of electrical codes, and
• any requesting broadband provider has access to each broadband conduit installed on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis for a charge not to exceed a cost-based rate.

DOT may waive the requirements of this Act upon determining that the waiver is appropriate based upon:

• a showing of undue burden,
• a determination that the installation of conduit beneath hard surfaces is not necessary based on the availability of existing broadband infrastructure, or
• a cost-benefit analysis.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov