"Capozzi said his team in the Arizona State Broadband Office has been working on the Permit Finder for about a year and a half. The process began with conversations with providers, counties, and other stakeholders in preparation for broadband deployment. While the Arizona Commerce Authority does not issue permits directly, "We're statutorily required to coordinate across all stakeholders to ensure that we can effectively plan and deploy broadband and infrastructure projects across the state," Capozzi said."
""It's a billion-dollar program, and the biggest concerns we heard from both providers and counties were the communication and the back and forth, where information might be difficult to find for providers, or maybe there's a different permit that they weren't expecting to come up that they would need," Capozzi said. "This tool was set on addressing that issue, to provide as much information as we could up front.""
"The reaction among Arizona stakeholders to the Permit Finder has been nothing but positive. "Even NTIA [the National Telecommunications and Information Administration] has shared their satisfaction with how we're thinking about permitting and leading the charge on this," Capozzi said. He added that "at least a half a dozen" states have contacted him, hoping to learn more."
The Arizona State Broadband Office developed the Permit Finder over approximately eighteen months after consulting providers, counties, and other stakeholders to prepare for broadband deployment. The Arizona Commerce Authority coordinates stakeholders but does not issue permits. The Permit Finder centralizes permit information to reduce communication friction and unexpected permit requirements ahead of large-scale BEAD program projects. The tool aims to provide upfront information to streamline planning and deployment. NTIA has expressed satisfaction with the permitting approach, and multiple states have requested guidance as Arizona shares GIS mapping and interview practices.
Read at Telecompetitor
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