N.Y. PSC Embraces One-Touch Policy as It Revises Pole Attachment Rules

New York state will adopt one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) and initiate other changes to state pole attachment rules, the New York Public Service Commission said Thursday. Commissioners revised state pole attachment rules through a unanimous vote on a consent agenda at a Thursday meeting. The state commission adopted OTMR for simple attachments in the communications spaces unless it’s precluded by collective bargaining, the PSC said in a news release. Other changes establish time frames for resolving disputes, create a pole-attachments working group and add annual reporting requirements for pole owners and attachers, the PSC said. Also, the PSC will require consideration of post-construction inspections and alternative pole attachment methods. The full decision wasn’t immediately available in docket 22-M-0101. “It will be posted in a day or so,” a PSC spokesperson emailed. New York PSC Chair Rory Christian said the changes streamline telecom and cable system collocation on utility-owned poles while ensuring “safe, adequate, and reliable utility service at just and reasonable rates.” The PSC received comments in March on a Dec. 18 staff white paper recommending OTMR and other rule changes (see 2403050043).