{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-36-503","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-36-503","heading":"Rights and limitations on authorities and wireless","body":"providers.\n\nA. The provisions of this section shall only apply to the\n\ncollocation of small wireless facilities by a wireless provider in\n\nthe right-of-way and the deployment of utility poles to support\n\nsmall wireless facilities by a wireless provider in the right-of-\n\nway.\n\nB. An authority may not enter into an exclusive arrangement\n\nwith any person for use of the right-of-way for the collocation of\n\nsmall wireless facilities or the installation, operation, marketing,\n\nmodification, maintenance or replacement of utility poles.\n\nC. An authority may only charge a wireless provider a rate or\n\nfee for the use of the right-of-way with respect to the collocation\n\nof small wireless facilities or the installation, maintenance,\n\nmodification, operation or replacement of a utility pole in the\n\nright-of-way, if the authority charges nonpublic entities for use of\n\nthe right-of-way. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an authority is\n\npermitted, on a nondiscriminatory basis, to refrain from charging\n\nany rate to a wireless provider for the use of the right-of-way.\n\nThe rate for use of the right-of-way is provided in Section 6 of\n\nthis act.\n\nD. Subject to the provisions of this section and approval of an\n\napplication pursuant to Section 4 of this act, a wireless provider\n\nshall have the right, as a permitted use not subject to zoning\n\nreview or approval, to collocate small wireless facilities and\n\ninstall, maintain, modify, operate and replace utility poles along,\n\nacross, upon and under the right-of-way. Such structures and\n\nfacilities shall be so installed and maintained as not to obstruct\n\nor hinder the usual travel or public safety on such right-of-way or\n\nobstruct the legal use of such right-of-way by other occupants of\n\nthe right-of-way, including public utilities, or violate right-of-\n\nway regulations of general application that are consistent with this\n\nact.\n\nE. Each new or modified utility pole installed in the right-of-\n\nway shall not exceed the greater of:\n\n1. Ten (10) feet in height above the tallest existing utility\n\npole in place as of the effective date of this act located within\n\nfive hundred (500) feet of the new pole in the same right-of-way; or\n\n2. Fifty (50) feet above ground level.\n\nNew small wireless facilities in the right-of-way may not extend\n\nmore than ten (10) feet above an existing utility pole in place as\n\nof the effective date of this act or, for small wireless facilities\n\non a new utility pole, above the height permitted for a new utility\n\npole under this section.\n\nF. A wireless provider shall have the right to collocate a\n\nsmall wireless facility and install, maintain, modify, operate and\n\nreplace a utility pole that exceeds the height limits in subsection\n\nE of this section along, across, upon and under the right-of-way,\n\nsubject to applicable zoning or other land-use regulations.\n\nG. An authority may adopt written guidelines establishing\n\nreasonable and objective stealth or concealment criteria for small\n\nwireless facilities in designated areas, reasonable and objective\n\ndesign criteria for small wireless facilities to be collocated on\n\ndecorative poles and reasonable and objective design criteria for\n\nutility poles deployed in areas with decorative poles. Such\n\nguidelines may be adopted by any appropriate means, including\n\nwithout limitation by inclusion in the authority's zoning code, but\n\nsuch inclusion shall not subject small wireless facilities and\n\nutility poles classified as permitted uses in subsection D of this\n\nsection to zoning review. Such guidelines may be adopted only if\n\nthey apply on a nondiscriminatory basis to all other occupants of\n\nthe right-of-way, including the authority. A wireless provider that\n\nseeks to collocate small wireless facilities on a decorative pole\n\nshall comply with Section 4 of this act. A wireless provider that\n\nis required to replace a decorative pole at its expense in\nthis\n\nsection to zoning review. Such guidelines may be adopted only if\n\nthey apply on a nondiscriminatory basis to all other occupants of\n\nthe right-of-way, including the authority. A wireless provider that\n\nseeks to collocate small wireless facilities on a decorative pole\n\nshall comply with Section 4 of this act. A wireless provider that\n\nis required to replace a decorative pole at its expense in\n\ncompliance with Section 5 of this act shall conform the new\n\ndecorative pole to the design aesthetics and material of the\n\ndecorative pole(s) being replaced.\n\nH. Wireless providers shall comply with reasonable and\n\nnondiscriminatory requirements that prohibit communications service\n\nproviders from installing utility poles or other structures in the\n\nright-of-way in an area designated solely for underground or buried\n\ncable and utility facilities where:\n\n1. The authority has required all cable and utility facilities\n\nother than authority poles and attachments to be placed underground\n\n(i) by a date certain before the application is submitted or (ii) by\n\na date certain within two (2) years after the application is\n\nsubmitted, if relocation of facilities has commenced;\n\n2. The authority does not prohibit the replacement of authority\n\npoles in the designated area; and\n\n3. The authority permits wireless providers to seek a waiver of\n\nthe undergrounding requirements for the placement of a new utility\n\npole to support small wireless facilities, which waivers shall be\n\naddressed in a nondiscriminatory manner.\n\nI. Subject to Section 4 of this act and subsection D of this\n\nsection, and except for facilities excluded from evaluation for\n\neffects on historic properties under 47 C.F.R., Section 1.1307(a)(4)\n\nof the FCC rules, an authority may require reasonable, technically\n\nfeasible, nondiscriminatory and technologically neutral design or\n\nconcealment measures in a historic district. Any such design or\n\nconcealment measures may not have the effect of prohibiting any\n\nprovider's technology, nor may any such measures be considered a\n\npart of the small wireless facility for purposes of the size\n\nrestrictions in the definition of small wireless facility.\n\nJ. The authority, in the exercise of its administration and\n\nregulation related to the management of the right-of-way, must be\n\ncompetitively neutral with regard to other users of the right-of-\n\nway, including that terms may not be unreasonable or discriminatory\n\nand may not violate any applicable law.\n\nK. The authority may require a wireless provider to repair all\n\ndamage to the right-of-way directly caused by the activities of the\n\nwireless provider in the right-of-way and to return the right-of-way\n\nto its functional equivalence before the damage pursuant to the\n\ncompetitively neutral, reasonable requirements and specifications of\n\nthe authority. If the wireless provider fails to make the repairs\n\nrequired by the authority within a reasonable time after written\n\nnotice, the authority may effect those repairs and charge the\n\napplicable party the reasonable, documented cost of such repairs. A\n\nwireless provider shall be required to comply with right-of-way and\n\nvegetation management practices adopted by the authority that apply\n\nto all occupants of the right-of-way.\n\nL. Nothing in this act precludes an authority from adopting\n\nreasonable and nondiscriminatory requirements with respect to the\n\nremoval of abandoned small wireless facilities. A small wireless\n\nfacility that is not operated for a continuous period of twelve (12)\n\nmonths shall be considered abandoned, and the owner of the facility\n\nmust remove the small wireless facility within ninety (90) days\n\nafter receipt of written notice from the authority notifying the\n\nowner of the abandonment. The notice shall be sent by certified or\n\nregistered mail, return receipt requested, by the authority to the\n\nowner at the last-known address of the owner. If the owner neither\nnths shall be considered abandoned, and the owner of the facility\n\nmust remove the small wireless facility within ninety (90) days\n\nafter receipt of written notice from the authority notifying the\n\nowner of the abandonment. The notice shall be sent by certified or\n\nregistered mail, return receipt requested, by the authority to the\n\nowner at the last-known address of the owner. If the owner neither\n\nprovides the authority written notice that the small wireless\n\nfacility has not been out of operation for a continuous period of\n\ntwelve (12) months nor removes the small wireless facility within\n\nthe ninety-day period, the authority may remove the small wireless\n\nfacility, take ownership of the small wireless facility and assess\n\nthe cost of removal to the owner.","path":["OK Code","Title 11"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os11.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"02953dc46e2a4c038cf36d8d1aa3e95faf191cbc66f55437d8e1f03a696b908b","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-36-502","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-36-504"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}