Alabama Lightwave seeks county right-of-way agreement to expand wireless internet service
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Summary
A representative from Alabama Lightwave asked the Chilton County Commission for a county franchise/right-of-way agreement to allow the company to place poles and equipment outside municipal limits to serve customers in unincorporated areas.
A representative for Alabama Lightwave asked the Chilton County Commission for permission to operate in county right of way so the company can extend wireless internet service to customers outside city limits.
The company representative said the firm already holds franchises in the cities of Jemison and Thorsby and has customers in areas beyond those city limits. “We have a franchise for the city, those 2 cities. Now we have customers outside the city limits that wanna be connected to our system. We don't have a franchise that authorizes us to operate in the county,” the Alabama Lightwave representative said.
County officials told the company it will need to submit engineering plans before the commission can consider granting a right-of-way agreement. A county official said, “You need a right away agreement. And before we can do that, we have to have a plan as where you plan to put the poles and any apparatus so we know how to grant the right away.”
The Lightwave representative said the company’s standard agreement ties submission of construction plans to the franchise or agreement: if the franchise is granted, the company will then present specific construction drawings for county review and approval. “Part of that … agreement … is that we will submit to you a plan for where we're gonna do construction,” the representative said.
Commission members and county staff clarified the county will not issue a blanket, unconditional right-of-way without review of site-specific plans. A county official explained the county’s practice is to require utilities to submit plans and specifications so the county engineer can approve work within county right of way. The commission asked the company to leave copies of its existing franchise agreements with county staff for review.
No formal vote or franchise was granted at the meeting; the request was left with county staff and the engineer for follow-up. The Alabama Lightwave representative said he would provide copies of the company’s five existing franchise agreements for the county’s review and would return to follow up with county staff.
