In short
In Arizona the rules that govern attaching fiber cables to a utility pole depend on who owns the pole. For most investor owned utility poles the Federal Communications Commission regulates rates, terms, and conditions under 47 U.S.C. § 224. That includes poles owned by Arizona Public Service (APS), the largest electric utility in the state. For municipal utility poles such as those owned by the Salt River Project (SRP) the FCC does not apply, and the attachment terms come from the utility’s own policies. Electric cooperative poles are also outside FCC jurisdiction but Arizona law requires fee parity if the co-op offers broadband. City and county rights-of-way are governed by uniform state statutes that cap fees and set permit timelines. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) now leases spare conduit and dark fiber along state highways through long term public private partnerships. A fiber provider building to a new AI data center in the Phoenix area can expect FCC timelines of roughly 148 days for a standard pole attachment, while new July 2025 FCC rules speed up larger orders.
Who regulates pole attachments for fiber in Arizona?
The answer changes with the pole owner. Arizona is an FCC jurisdiction state for the attachments that matter most to data center fiber builders, but the history is tangled, and gaps remain.
The default rule is FCC jurisdiction over investor owned utility poles
Under 47 U.S.C. § 224 the FCC sets the rates, terms, and conditions for attaching cables and equipment to investor owned utility poles. 47 U.S.C. § 224 The FCC’s rules apply in states that have not certified their own regulation. Arizona is listed among the 30 FCC jurisdiction states. That means for poles owned by APS and other investor owned electric utilities the FCC governs the whole process, from how fast the utility must respond to how much it can charge.
A utility must provide nondiscriminatory access to its poles, ducts, conduits, and rights-of-way. An electric utility may deny a cable television system or telecommunications carrier access to its poles, ducts, conduits, or rights-of-way on a nondiscriminatory basis where there is insufficient capacity and for reasons of safety, reliability and generally applicable engineering purposes. 47 U.S.C. § 224(f)
Arizona’s failed reverse preemption created lasting confusion
In July 1981 the Arizona Corporation Commission tried to reverse preempt the FCC by certifying that the state would regulate pole attachments. The ACC relied on its general authority over public service corporation charges and plant disposal under A.R.S. §§ 40-285, 40-332, and 40-361. But the ACC did not hold a formal rulemaking, take evidence, or make findings. In 1983 the Arizona Court of Appeals held that the ACC lacked state law authority to regulate pole attachments and declared its certification letters null and void. American Cable Television, Inc. v. Arizona Public Service Co., 693 P.2d 928 (Ariz. App. 1983)
Despite the state court ruling, the FCC had already accepted the ACC’s certification. The federal Pole Attachment Act does not let the FCC question a state agency’s assertion of authority. So from 1981 forward the FCC stopped regulating Arizona pole attachment disputes while the ACC had no valid state law to do so. In practice both the FCC and industry sources continue to treat Arizona as an FCC jurisdiction state. FCC Public Notice, States That Have Certified That They Regulate Pole Attachments, Next Century Cities, Guide to Pole Attachments, American Cable Television, Inc. v. Arizona Public Service Co., 693 P.2d 928 (Ariz. App. 1983), Next Century Cities Pole Attachment Guide
In 2021 the ACC opened a formal docket to review and potentially revise pole attachment rules. A staff analysis highlighted the need for clearer timelines, cost sharing for pole replacements, and adoption of accelerated procedures. The Commission advanced the proceeding in August 2025 and held a final public comment session in November 2025, with possible rulemaking action in 2026. No final order had been issued by May 2026.
What the ambiguity means for a fiber builder
Today a provider that wants to attach fiber to an APS pole follows the FCC’s process and timelines. The ACC’s residual role is unsettled. A builder who encounters a dispute with an investor owned utility has a clear path to the FCC, and that is the practical forum. The ACC has a consumer complaint process for regulated utilities, but whether it can issue binding orders on pole attachment rates or terms specifically is the question the 2021 docket aims to answer.
Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives sit in a different legal box entirely.
How does the FCC pole attachment process work in Arizona?
The FCC’s rules are detailed and set specific deadlines for every step. The timelines below are for a standard order of up to 300 poles. New rules adopted in July 2025 create separate timelines for larger orders and add several pro provider changes.
The standard FCC timeline
In plain words, the process runs like this. A fiber provider submits an application to the pole owner. The owner has 10 business days to decide if the application is complete. Once complete, the owner has 45 days to review the engineering, survey the poles, and approve or deny the application. After approving, the owner must deliver a make ready estimate within 14 days. Make ready is the work needed to prepare a pole for the new attachment, such as moving existing lines or adding strength. Existing attachers then have 30 days to finish their make ready work in the communications space (the lower part of the pole) or 90 days for work above the communications space. The total maximum time for a simple regular order is about 148 days. 47 C.F.R. § 1.1411
These deadlines apply to investor owned utilities in Arizona because the FCC rules govern.
The July 2025 FCC order speeds up large orders and adds new tools
On July 24, 2025 the FCC adopted a sweeping pole attachment order, FCC 25-38. The order applies in all FCC jurisdiction states including Arizona. The key new rules include
- Large Order timeline for 3,000 to 6,000 poles, with a procedural framework that did not exist before.
- 15 day advance notice from the new attacher for Mid Sized (300 to 3,000 poles) and 60 day advance notice for Large Orders.
- Self help for estimates. If a utility misses the deadline to provide a make ready estimate, the attacher may hire a qualified contractor to prepare its own estimate.
- A 30 day deadline for utilities to approve or deny contractor approval requests.
- A ban on anti bulk limits. Utilities cannot combine application size limits with application frequency limits in a way that restricts the number of pole attachments attachers may seek in a given timeframe. FCC 25-38
These changes matter for large scale fiber builds that connect multiple AI data center campuses in the Greater Phoenix market. A provider planning to attach to hundreds or thousands of poles can now use a single batch with a known schedule.
One touch make ready (OTMR)
In 2018 the FCC adopted OTMR rules that allow a new attacher in the communications space to elect to use a single contractor to perform all make ready work on a pole. This avoids waiting for each existing attacher to separately move its wires. The rule applies in Arizona for investor owned poles. Alden Systems analysis Louisville, Kentucky, Nashville, Tennessee, and San Antonio, Texas adopted citywide OTMR ordinances between 2016 and 2017. One Touch Make Ready
Who pays for a pole replacement
A recurring dispute is who bears the cost when a new attachment triggers a pole replacement. The FCC’s December 2023 order clarified that a pole replacement is not the sole responsibility of the new attacher if the pole falls into any of five categories, namely it violates applicable law, it fails National Electric Safety Code standards, it must be replaced under the utility’s own changed construction standards, it must be replaced because of a road expansion or storm hardening, or it is already on the utility’s replacement schedule. FCC 23-109 In these situations the cost is shared according to the FCC’s cost allocation rules.
What rules apply to municipal and county rights of way for fiber?
Arizona state law sets uniform rules for how cities and counties manage wireless providers and small wireless facilities in the public right of way. These rules also cover the fiber that feeds those facilities.
Municipal right of way rules
Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 9-591 through 9-594 govern municipal authority. A city may not enter into an exclusive arrangement with any wireless provider for the right to use the right of way to place utility poles or collocate small wireless facilities. A.R.S. § 9-592(B) Any fee the city charges must be limited to the direct and actual cost of managing the right of way and must be competitively neutral. The annual rate for each small wireless facility may not exceed $50. The maximum application fee for a utility pole permit under subsection K is $750. A.R.S. § 9-592(L)
The city must process a standard permit application within 75 days. For a new pole or a pole modification the shot clock extends to 150 days. Collocation for which a permit is granted must be completed within 180 days after the permit issuance date, unless the authority and the wireless provider agree to extend this period or a delay is caused by a lack of commercial power at the site. A.R.S. § 9-593, A.R.S. § 9-594 A new, replacement, or modified utility pole in the right-of-way that is associated with the collocation of small wireless facilities is not subject to zoning review under section 9-594 if it does not exceed the greater of 10 feet above the tallest existing utility pole, other than a pole supporting only wireless facilities, that was in place on August 9, 2017, within 500 feet in the same right-of-way (up to 50 feet above ground level), or 40 feet above ground level. A.R.S. § 9-592(I)
The City of Flagstaff has a detailed code chapter, Chapter 8-09, that implements the state framework. New overhead utility poles require a permit and, unless an exemption applies, a waiver from the City Engineer. Wireless facilities in the right-of-way also require a master license. Flagstaff City Code In August 2024 the City of Casa Grande entered a Public Right-of-Way Use Agreement with Crown Castle Fiber LLC. The agreement grants nonexclusive, competitively neutral access for a fiber based small wireless network. The initial term is 10 years with up to six 5 year renewals. Casa Grande ROW agreement
County right of way rules
County authority follows a parallel structure under A.R.S. §§ 11-1801 through 11-1805. A county may not enter into exclusive arrangements for the use of its right of way for utility poles or small wireless facility collocation. A.R.S. § 11-1802 The statute defines a rate as a one time charge for the granting of a right to use a portion of a right-of-way as specified in a permit or to collocate a small wireless facility on or adjacent to a utility pole or to install, modify or replace a utility pole as specified in a permit and a fee as a one time charge to process an application and inspect any work performed by an applicant pursuant to a permit issued by the county. A.R.S. § 11-1801 The state rules push counties toward the same competitively neutral, cost based approach.
What are the rules for electric cooperative poles?
Electric cooperatives are exempt from Section 224, so the FCC does not regulate their pole attachments. 47 U.S.C. § 224(a)(1) Arizona has nine electric cooperatives. A 2020 law, SB 1460, authorized them to provide broadband service directly or through an affiliate. SB 1460
In 2021 the Arizona legislature added a pole attachment fee parity requirement through HB 2036, now codified at A.R.S. § 10-2085(J). Any pole attachment agreement between an electric cooperative and an affiliate for broadband service pursuant to A.R.S. § 10-2057(A)(17) that includes attachment to the cooperative’s poles must specifically require pole attachment fees charged to unaffiliated video service providers or telecommunications providers to be equal to the fees charged to the affiliate where the unaffiliated provider and the affiliate are jointly attached to the same pole. A.R.S. § 10-2085(J) The effective date was September 29, 2021. Law firm analysis
If an electric cooperative expands an existing electric easement to deploy broadband, it must pay just compensation if the expanded use reduces the fair and reasonable of the property. A property owner has 18 months to bring a legal action. Written notice is required before excavation. A.R.S. § 10-2085
How does Arizona’s state highway fiber conduit program work?
The Arizona Department of Transportation has become a significant provider of long haul fiber corridor capacity, especially for routes that connect Phoenix to other markets. A 2021 law, HB 2596, gave ADOT clear authority to install and lease telecom facilities in state highway right of way. HB 2596 Fact Sheet
Under the new law ADOT may enter agreements with public or private entities to manage state owned telecom facilities. It can grant longitudinal access to the highway right of way for up to 30 years. ADOT must collect compensation at fair and reasonable, either in cash or in kind (such as spare fiber strands or conduit). In kind compensation must be valued at the provider’s incremental cost and the value must equal or exceed the cash amount. ADOT may offer access to spare conduit on competitively neutral, nondiscriminatory terms. The law exempts ADOT from rulemaking for one year to speed launch. HB 2596 Fact Sheet
In April 2024 ADOT entered a 25 year public private partnership with eX² Technology to operate, maintain, and commercialize fiber conduit along I-17, I-19, and I-40. ADOT plans to add I-10 and I-8 corridors later. The program is funded in part by more than $140 million in state directed federal dollars. ADOT news
The first dark fiber Indefeasible Right of Use, or IRU which is a long term lease of fiber capacity, was executed in July 2025. Wecom Fiber obtained a 20 year term on 141 miles of dark fiber along I-17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff. The route is expected to connect 30,000 households and businesses, with the first customers online by the end of 2025. ADOT news, Arizona Commerce Authority
ADOT also publishes a public map of its fiber conduit routes, making it easy for a builder to see where capacity exists. GAO report
What does fiber deployment look like in Greater Phoenix for AI data centers?
The legal frameworks sit on top of one of the fastest growing fiber markets in the country. As of early 2025 the Greater Phoenix region had more than 156,000 miles of fiber optic capacity. Phoenix is the fifth largest AI data center ecosystem globally with 1.6 GW of operational capacity and an additional 1+ GW planned by 2027. Approximately 45 dark fiber providers operate in the metro area. Lightyear
Three recent projects show the scale and speed of fiber builds.
Lightpath entered the Phoenix market in February 2025 with a 230 route mile underground, multi conduit system. The network has capacity for 20,000 fibers and connects eight AI data center campuses plus over 30 nearby AI data center campuses across Goodyear, Buckeye, Chandler, Glendale, Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix carrier hotels. It is anchored by multiple hyperscaler customers with priority routes targeted for completion in the second quarter of 2025 and full build out in 2026.
Light Source Communications is building a 140 mile three ring underground dark fiber route circling ASU Tempe and the University of Arizona. The network spans nine Valley cities and is anchored by a major global hyperscaler. It also became the first network provider to build into the Edged Phoenix AI data center in Mesa, a 36 MW waterless facility supporting up to 200 kW per rack with liquid cooling. Construction began in the third quarter of 2024 with completion expected by the end of 2025. LSC press release
SRP Telecom operates an extensive dark fiber network spanning 1,800 route miles across 15 Greater Phoenix cities. SRP Telecom
The state is also channeling significant federal broadband funding. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved Arizona’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Final Proposal on December 2, 2025. Total investment is $967 million ($447 million federal, $520 million private matching). The plan covers 70 project areas and will install more than 7,709 miles of fiber optic technology. Arizona Governor’s Office A separate statewide middle mile program adds roughly $152 million in funding. Arizona Commerce Authority
To smooth the local permitting maze, Arizona launched the first in the nation Broadband Permit Finder in November 2025. It is an interactive map that consolidates permitting requirements, agency contacts, and processes across federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Arizona Commerce Authority Mesa also has a long history of proactive conduit installation under its E-Streets program, which installed 150 to 200 miles of conduit and vaults starting in 2001. Multiple ISPs later leased the conduit. Route Fifty, Community Broadband Bits Podcast 139
How are pole attachment disputes resolved in Arizona?
For investor owned utility poles the primary forum is the FCC. A fiber provider can file a formal complaint if a utility denies access, imposes unreasonable rates, or misses deadlines. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau oversees the process. Since December 2023 the FCC’s Rapid Broadband Assessment Team (RBAT) has handled pole attachment disputes on an accelerated docket. In its first major decision in February 2026 the RBAT ruled that Appalachian Power Company violated FCC rules by charging a broadband provider 100 percent of pole replacement costs when the poles had preexisting safety violations. The decision came within 60 days. FCC 26-6, FCC 26-6 This accelerated path is available for Arizona disputes.
The ACC also accepts consumer complaints about regulated utilities. A utility must respond within 5 business days. If the matter is not resolved the parties may mediate before an ACC representative, who provides a non binding recommendation. If mediation fails the complainant can escalate to a formal complaint heard by an administrative law judge and ultimately decided by the Commissioners in a public open meeting. ACC Consumer Services The ACC’s specific authority to adjudicate pole attachment rates and terms, as opposed to general utility service complaints, is the subject of the ongoing 2024 2025 docket.
For municipal utility poles such as SRP, the FCC is not available. A provider would need to negotiate directly with the utility or, if state law provides a cause of action, bring a state court claim. For electric cooperatives, the parity requirement in A.R.S. § 10-2085(J) creates a statutory standard, but enforcement would likely require a civil suit.
Key takeaways
- Know your pole owner. The applicable rules change completely depending on whether the pole belongs to an investor owned utility (FCC), a municipality (local terms plus state statutory caps), or an electric cooperative (state parity law and no FCC oversight).
- FCC timelines are mandatory. For small orders the utility has 45 days to approve or deny plus bound make ready windows. The July 2025 FCC order adds clear Large Order timelines and bans anti bulk limits.
- One touch make ready is available. In the communications space on investor owned poles, a fiber builder can use a single contractor, but no Arizona city has adopted a local OTMR ordinance.
- Municipalities must follow uniform state law. A city cannot charge more than $50 per small wireless facility per year, application fees top out at $750, and permit decisions must come within 75 or 150 days.
- ADOT highway corridors offer long term dark fiber. With 25 to 30 year agreements and competitively neutral pricing, the I-17 corridor is already operational, and I-10 and I-8 are planned.
- The Arizona Broadband Permit Finder is a practical tool. It covers permitting rules across the state, a real advantage for a builder that needs to move fast across multiple jurisdictions.
- Dispute resolution is fastest at the FCC. The RBAT accelerated docket can resolve a pole attachment complaint in a matter of months, while state court claims take far longer.
Frequently asked questions
Q:What law governs pole attachments on APS and other investor owned utility poles in Arizona?
A:The FCC’s rules under 47 U.S.C. § 224 and 47 C.F.R. Part 1, Subpart J. Arizona is an FCC jurisdiction state, despite an earlier state attempt to regulate that was struck down by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Q:How long does it take to get a fiber attachment approved on a utility pole?
A:Under FCC rules a simple order (up to 300 poles) can take about 148 days from application to completed make ready. The utility has 45 days to approve or deny, and then existing attachers have 30 to 90 days for make ready. New July 2025 rules add defined timelines for orders of 3,000 to 6,000 poles.
Q:What permits are needed to install fiber in a city right of way?
A:A municipal permit is required. Under A.R.S. §§ 9-591 through 9-594 the city must process the application within 75 days (150 for a new pole). The application fee cannot exceed $750. Annual right of way rates for small wireless facilities are capped at $50 each.
Q:Does the FCC regulate pole attachments on Salt River Project (SRP) poles?
A:No. SRP is a municipal utility and is exempt from Section 224. Its pole attachment terms are set by SRP’s own tariffs and policies. The extent of ACC jurisdiction over SRP pole attachments is unresolved.
Q:Can I get dark fiber along Arizona highways for an AI data center?
A:Yes. ADOT’s statewide middle mile program, operated through a partnership with eX² Technology, leases dark fiber and conduit on I-17, I-19, and I-40, with I-10 and I-8 planned. The first IRU, a 20 year lease on 141 miles of I-17 to Wecom Fiber, was signed in July 2025.
Q:What is one touch make ready and can I use it in Arizona?
A:One touch make ready lets a new attacher use a single contractor to perform all make ready work on a pole. The FCC permits it for communications space attachments on investor owned poles. Arizona has no local OTMR ordinance, but the FCC rule applies statewide for those poles.
Q:Do electric cooperatives have to allow fiber attachments?
A:Electric cooperatives are not under FCC jurisdiction, but Arizona law requires that if a co-op permits an affiliate to attach for broadband, it must charge unaffiliated video service providers or unaffiliated telecommunications providers the same fee (A.R.S. § 10-2085(J)). They also must pay just compensation if expanding an existing electric easement for broadband reduces a property’s value.
Q:How are pole attachment disputes resolved in Arizona?
A:For investor owned poles, you can file a complaint with the FCC, including accelerated review through the Rapid Broadband Assessment Team. The ACC also accepts consumer complaints about utility charges and service, but its authority over pole attachment rates specifically is under review.
Q:What is the Arizona Broadband Permit Finder?
A:An online interactive map launched in November 2025 by the Arizona State Broadband Office. It consolidates permitting requirements across all state and local jurisdictions so fiber providers can plan routes and applications faster.
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Junde Liu, JD, LL.M. (Taxation) candidate at UF Law. Originally published on Compute Law Blog. This article is general information and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. The reader should not act on the basis of any content here without first consulting a licensed attorney in the relevant state. Last reviewed for accuracy May 23, 2026.