Plain-language explainers on what actually governs a pole charge, how the 2026 rules changed, and how PoleProof checks an invoice against the rule that really applies. Written to stay useful over time, and updated as the law moves.
The federal statute, the Subpart J rulebook, and the 2026 tiered make-ready timelines and self-help rights you can hold pole owners to.
Read the guideNewThe June 2026 inquiry (DA 26-579) into whether the 23 reverse-preemption states plus DC still effectively regulate pole attachments. What it asks, and what could change.
Read the guideA fixed grant means every inflated make-ready dollar is a location not built. How the FCC's cost-causation rules limit what a pole owner can shift onto your build.
Read the guideCo-op and city poles used to sit outside FCC rules. Since November 2025, owners that take BEAD funding follow FCC rules across their whole footprint.
Read the guideNewSeven signs a make-ready invoice is padded, the rules that decide what you actually owe, and the path between paying blindly and picking a fight.
Read the guidePrimary-source research, state by state, graded for confidence, with unsettled questions flagged rather than guessed.
Read the guideOne free check. No account, no commitment. Send one invoice or estimate and your attachment agreement, and get a dispute-ready finding back within ten business days.
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