MO SB6

Telecommunications and broadband service providers have the right to attach equipment to rural electric cooperative distribution poles to provide services, subject to written agreements and compliance with safety codes.

Rural electric cooperative pole owners must respond within 15 business days to attachment requests and may charge reasonable per-pole attachment fees based on costs, calculated similar to Federal Communications Commission rules, with caps on annual increases (10% or 20% depending on circumstances).

Disputes over attachment terms or fees may proceed through nonbinding mediation, followed by rural electric cooperative decision-making authority, with attaching entities able to file circuit court petitions if they believe fees exceed statutory limits.

Landowners may receive one-time payments of $500 per mile (minimum $100 per parcel) if broadband communications facilities attach to transmission lines of 34.5 kilovolts or above acquired before August 28, 2006, and landowners grant written easements for broadband use.

Provisions apply to cable television providers and non-broadband transmission services, except for compensation and broadband-specific provisions, with existing contracts as of August 28, 2013 remaining in full force until expiration or termination.