Quincy council backs state ‘one-touch make-ready’ bills to speed municipal fiber deployment

The Quincy City Council on May 19 unanimously approved a resolution urging the Massachusetts Legislature to adopt House Bill 3546 and Senate Bill 2285 to implement a one-touch make-ready (OTMR) process for utility pole work.

Supporters said the bills would streamline the process of attaching new fiber to utility poles by allowing preparatory work to be completed in a single crew visit instead of multiple visits, reducing deployment time and cost for the city’s ongoing municipal fiber effort.

The resolution was presented to the council as a means of supporting the municipal fiber project the city has pursued for several years. Councilors described the project as entering advanced planning stages and noted that the city has already passed enabling legislation to permit a revenue bond that would finance the network based on future subscribers.

The council record shows the matter was brought to the city’s attention by Walter Hubley, identified at the meeting as president of the Wallsend Hill Neighborhood Association. Council materials and discussion said the bills would clarify and simplify the pole-attachment and right-of-way process where poles are owned by multiple private utilities, including Verizon and National Grid.

Motion and vote: the council moved to approve the resolution (mover: Councilor McCarthy; second: Councilor Devine) and adopted it by roll-call vote with nine members recorded in favor.

Why it matters: city officials said OTMR would cut construction time and costs for attaching fiber to poles, which supporters argue would accelerate a citywide municipal broadband rollout that relies on access to existing utility infrastructure.

The council directed that the resolution and a letter of support be sent to the city’s state delegation, the chairs of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, and to the governor’s office.