NOAA rejected industry claims that companies seeking to lay fiber...
NOAA rejected industry claims that companies seeking to lay fiber in National Marine Sanctuaries shouldn’t be charged fair market value (FMV) on top of other deployment-related fees. Although it decided against suggestions by environmental group to assess FMV based…
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on $280,000-per-mile methodology used by Cal. State Land Commission, it said in its final report on issue that it would continue to assess FMV based on recent comparable transactions, which range from $40,000 to $100,000 per mile of fiber. Agency also said methodology used by other agencies to levy right-of-way fees on land-based fiber projects was inappropriate for submarine fiber crossing protected waters: “NOAA does not believe the public views the sanctuary as a limitless supply of cable routes.” NOAA said it would take into consideration industry’s position that “economic state of the telecommunications industry today is less favorable than is reflected in the draft report” published last year. It gave assurances to industry that “periodic updates of the fee are envisioned” and that federal telecom policy and “current market trend data” would be considered when applying FMV methodology to fee.