South Carolina § 58-11-800 - Short title; legislative findings.

§ 58-11-800. Short title; legislative findings.

(A) This article must be known and may be cited as the "South Carolina Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act".

(B) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) the deployment of small wireless facilities and other next-generation wireless and broadband network facilities is a matter of statewide concern and interest;

(2) wireless and broadband products and services are a significant and continually growing part of the state's economy; accordingly, encouraging the development of strong and robust wireless and broadband communications networks throughout the State is integral to the state's economic competitiveness;

(3) rapid deployment of small wireless facilities serves numerous important statewide goals and public policy objectives including, but not limited to, meeting growing consumer demand for wireless data, increasing competitive options for communications services available to the state's residents; promoting the ability of the state's citizens to communicate with other citizens and with their state and local governments; and promoting public safety;

(4) small wireless facilities, including facilities commonly referred to as small cells and distributed antenna systems, are deployed most effectively in the right of way (ROW);

(5) to meet the key objectives of this article, wireless providers must have access to the ROW and the ability to attach to infrastructure in the ROW to densify their networks and provide next generation wireless services;

(6) uniform rates and fees for the permitting and deployment of small wireless facilities in the ROW and on authority infrastructure, including poles, throughout the State is reasonable and encourages the development of robust next-generation wireless and broadband networks for the benefit of citizens throughout the State;

(7) the procedures, rates, and fees in this article are fair and reasonable when viewed from the perspective of the state's citizens and the state's interest in having robust, reliable, and technologically advanced wireless and broadband networks; and reflect a balancing of the interests of the wireless providers deploying new facilities and the interests of authorities in recovering their costs of managing access to the ROW and the attachment space provided on authority infrastructure in the ROW; and

(8) this article supersedes and preempts any enactment by an authority that contradicts, expands, contracts, or otherwise modifies the provisions of this article with respect to the regulation of the placement of small wireless facilities and of support structures and poles for small wireless facilities in the ROW provided; however, that nothing in this item limits any power granted to any authority under this article including, but not limited to, the power to enforce city-wide compliant provisions in previous enactments, so long as those provisions do not violate federal law.

HISTORY: 2020 Act No. 179 (H.4262), SECTION 1, eff September 29, 2020.