Google Fiber and other ISPs that want to build new networks might get good news from the Federal Communications Commission, which is considering rules that would speed up the process of attaching wires to utility poles.

Current FCC rules allow for up to a five-month waiting period before new ISPs can install wires on utility poles that already hold the wires of incumbent providers. This is a problem for Internet users, who often don't have any choice of high-speed providers. The new FCC proposal from Chairman Ajit Pai could shave a couple of months off the maximum waiting periods.

The rules wouldn't eliminate all the problems that recently caused Google Fiber to cut its staff and pause fiber operations in 11 cities while it pursues wireless networking technology. But Google Fiber said the initial FCC proposal is a good step.

Google Fiber last year accused AT&T and Comcast of failing to quickly complete utility pole work in Nashville, saying that it caused unnecessary delays in Google's network buildout. These poles are generally owned either by phone companies like AT&T or electric utilities. No matter who owns the poles, it's usually up to each ISP to move its own wires in order to make room for new wires installed by their rivals. The pole owner also has to do work, including the processing of pole attachment applications.

Nashville helped Google Fiber by passing a "one touch make ready" ordinance that lets new ISPs make all of the necessary wire adjustments on utility poles themselves instead of waiting for incumbent providers like AT&T and Comcast to send work crews to move their own wires. AT&T and Comcast both sued Nashville last year in a bid to halt rules.

Google Fiber has fought against AT&T in multiple states over pole access. AT&T and Charter sued the local government in Louisville, Kentucky in order to stop rules similar to those passed in Nashville. Google Fiber also fought AT&T over pole access in Austin, Texas in 2013, but the companies later struck an agreement there.

The FCC also asked the public for comments on One Touch Make Ready. But even if the FCC doesn't support a One Touch Make Ready approach, the commission's new proposal could make the waiting periods a bit shorter when poles are owned by private entities.

"Google Fiber is pleased the Commission is taking up the issue of pole attachment timing," the Alphabet-owned ISP said in FCC filings last week. Google Fiber offered what it called "minor edits" to fix some inaccurate descriptions of the current rules in the FCC's draft proposal, it but didn't suggest any major revamping.

The five-month waiting period

The FCC's current five-month timeline for processing pole attachment requests includes 45 days for application review and engineering surveys, 14 days for cost estimates, 14 days for "attacher acceptance," and another 60 to 75 days for the "make ready" work of moving existing wires.

Pai hasn't decided exactly what the new timeline should be. Instead, the proposal suggests some possibilities that could reduce the timeline by at least a few weeks and perhaps more than two months. The proposal also seeks comments from the public on what the new deadlines should be.

"We are seeking to develop an approach that balances the legitimate needs and interests of new attachers, existing attachers, utilities, and the public," the proposal says. "In particular, we recognize that speeding access to poles could raise meaningful concerns about safety and protection of existing infrastructure. We intend to work toward an approach that facilitates new attachments without creating undue risk of harm."

The FCC's pole attachment rules apply to privately owned poles except when states opt out of the federal regime and come up with their own method of regulating pole attachments. The FCC rules apply in most of the country, but 20 states and Washington, DC have opted out of the federal pole attachment rules. Regardless of whether a state has opted out, the FCC rules do not apply to poles owned by municipalities and cooperatives.

Pai's pole proposal is part of a larger plan titled "Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment." A vote on this notice of proposed rulemaking is scheduled for April 20. There would then be a public comment period before the FCC decides whether to issue final rules. The entire rulemaking process will probably take at least a few months.

"[A]ttaching Internet-related equipment to utility poles is a major cost element for companies of all sizes," Pai wrote. "We’ll seek to both lower costs for and speed deployment of this equipment."

Besides changing pole attachment deadlines, the proposal would also eliminate some state and federal regulations and make it easier for carriers to end service on legacy copper networks in order to switch to fiber or wireless ones.