Rural Interstate Corridor Communications Study
Report to States

Executive Summary

Section 5507 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) directed the Secretary of Transportation, in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, State departments of transportation, and other appropriate State, regional, and local officials, to assess the feasibility of installing fiber optic cabling and wireless communication infrastructure along multistate Interstate System route corridors for improved communications services to rural communities along such corridors. Such a wireless and fiber optic facility would support the delivery of high-speed telecommunications (HST), commonly referred to as "broadband" service, to many currently underserved communities. The corridors identified in Section 5507 are:

• Interstate Route 90 through South Dakota, southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, and central and western Wisconsin;
• Interstate Route 20 through northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; and
• Interstate Route 91 through Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

A Report to Congress was submitted on August 18, 2008, laying out information about the corridors, some characteristics of the market for high-speed telecommunications, and some of the potential impacts of the availability of broadband access. As part of the task to develop the Report to States, a preliminary backbone alignment plan for telecommunications has been developed. The report, a White Paper on the Preliminary Backbone Alignment, is included as an appendix to this Report to States. This preliminary backbone alignment report presents information related to the development of preliminary telecommunication infrastructure, alignments, and other supporting material developed by the study team to be utilized by the corridor States in the future. It addresses issues of constructability, scheduling and maintenance, environmental considerations, and utility accommodation policies.

The purpose of the preliminary backbone alignment is to serve as a high-level design guide for a State agency or private telecommunications partner that will allow them to estimate the level of effort required to install the telecommunications infrastructure and initiate discussions with potential private sector or public partners. The backbone infrastructure included in this study includes wireline, in which conduit is buried and filled with fiber optic cable, and wireless infrastructure in the form of tower locations. This report is intended to be neutral with respect both to technology and to the institutional arrangements selected for deployment; where a particular technology (e.g., wireless versus wireline) is proposed, it is for illustrative purposes only.

In conjunction with the Report to Congress, this Report to States summarizes the information resources available for corridors to move forward with high-speed telecommunication programs if they so choose. The Report to Congress was developed under a legislatively defined timeline. Information on the preliminary backbone alignments was developed after the Report to Congress was completed. Table 1 presents the language of Section 5507, along with a cross-reference to the locations within the Report to Congress and within this report that address or respond to the legislative language.

Table ES-1: Cross-Reference to Section 5507

SEC. 5507. RURAL INTERSTATE CORRIDOR COMMUNICATIONS STUDY

Section	Description	Report Location
(a)	Study- The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, State departments of transportation, and other appropriate State, regional, and local officials, shall conduct a study on the feasibility of installing fiber optic cabling and wireless communication infrastructure along multistate Interstate System route corridors for improved communications services to rural communities along such corridors.	Not Applicable
(b)	Contents of Study – In conducting the study, the Secretary shall identify	Not Applicable
(b) 1	impediments to installation of the infrastructure described in subsection (a) along multistate Interstate System route corridors and to connecting such infrastructure to the rural communities along such corridors;	Report to Congress, Section 4; Report to States, Appendix A
(b) 2	the effective geographic range of such infrastructure;	Report to Congress, Section 2
(b) 3	potential opportunities for the private sector to fund, wholly or partially, the installation of such infrastructure;	Report to Congress, Sections 1 and 4, and Report to States, Section 3
(b) 4	potential benefits fiber optic cabling and wireless communication infrastructure may provide to rural communities along such corridors, including the effects of the installation of such infrastructure on economic development, deployment of intelligent transportation systems technologies and applications, homeland security precaution and response, and education and health systems in those communities;	Report to Congress, Section 3
(b) 5	rural broadband access points for such infrastructure;	Report to Congress, Sections 1 and 4, and Report to States
(b) 6	areas of environmental conflict with such installation;	Report to States, Appendix A
(b) 7	real estate ownership issues relating to such installation;	Report to Congress, Sections 1 and 4
(b) 8	preliminary design for placement of fiber optic cable and wireless towers;	Report to States, Appendix A
(b) 9	monetary value of the rights-of-way necessary for such installation;	Report to Congress, Section 4, and Report to States, Section 3
(b) 10	applicability and transferability of the benefits of such installation to other rural corridors; and	Report to Congress, Sections 3 and 4
(b) 11	safety and other operational issues associated with the installation and maintenance of fiber optic cabling and wire infrastructure within Interstate System rights-of-way and other publicly owned rights-of-way.	Report to Congress, Section 4; Report to States, Appendix A