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Section 4: Broadband Technical Specifications

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Introduction

The following technical specifications apply to proposed and installed Broadband Installations within the Department Rights-of-Way. Underground facilities within the highway right of way must comply with Title 43, Texas Administrative Code, Rule §21.40, Underground Utilities, Overhead Facilities, and Communication Lines must comply with Title 43, Texas Administrative Code, Rule §21.41, Overhead Electric and Communication Lines.

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Locations and Structures

If a new antenna site installation requires the replacement of an existing pole, the installation owner must coordinate with the pole owner. If a new antenna site installation of a new pole is in an existing pole line, a replacement will not be allowed without an exception approved by TxDOT. Joint use must be considered, as indicated by Rule 222 of Part 2 of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). Broadband Installations may be installed on new or existing third-party Poles within the Department Rights-of-Way. An Installation Owner shall obtain permission for use of existing third-party Poles from the structure owner and provide such documentation with its applications.

A utility facility that crosses railroad right of way shall provide a copy of the fully executed permit to install the utility facility within the railroad right of way from the railroad to the department prior to installation of the utility facility within department right-of-way.

No Broadband Installation's measurements may exceed the dimensions set forth in this document or 43 TAC § 21.31-21.56 without the Department's approval.

Broadband Installations may be installed on the following Department Service Structures at the discretion of the District Engineer:

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  • Illumination Pole that does not have a maintenance mechanism that traverses the height of the Illumination Pole
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  • Sign Structure includes cantilevered overhead sign supports and sign bridges.
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  • Include applicable TxDOT Standard Sheets in the plan set

The Department prefers that a Network Provider shall install its Broadband Installations on allowable structures other than Department Service Structures whenever technically feasible. If a Broadband Installation is proposed to be attached to a Department-owned Illumination Pole, at TxDOT's request, the Network Provider shall replace the Illumination Pole. The new Illumination Pole must comply with all relevant TxDOT standards and the following:

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  • The weight of the proposed attachment and hardware necessary to mount it must be provided.
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  • The mounting height of the proposed attachment must be provided.
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  • The distance from the edge of the pole to where the proposed attachment will be mounted must be provided.
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  • The Effective Projected Area (EPA) of the proposed attachment must be provided.
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  • The resulting increase in forces on the pole and the resulting total combined stress ratio at the pole base must be computed and accounted for.

The Network Provider must demonstrate to the Department's satisfaction in the Department's sole discretion that the replacement Illumination Pole will support both the original function and all Improvements.

The Network Provider shall provide a structural analysis of the Broadband Installation on the proposed Pole or Service Structure signed by a Texas Professional Engineer. Acceptable software for structural analysis calculations shall be a commercially available product with general industry acceptance. Should the Installation Owner or its contractor use a commercially available software application that the Department does not possess, the Installation Owner shall, if requested, make available to the Department at least one software license.

No placement shall be made which obstructs the line of sight and the beam or wave detection zone of any fixed TxDOT, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, or public safety equipment the operation of which is the line of sight, video, or radar detection dependent.

Additionally, any Node Support Pole shall comply with the following:

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  • Any proposed Node Support Pole shall be located as near as possible to the Department Right-of-Way line furthest from traffic, but no more than 3' from the Department Right-of-Way line furthest from traffic.
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  • The Pole location shall not be within a horizontal clear zone, any poles located in the clear zone shall comply with breakaway specifications.
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  • Unless otherwise approved by the Department, a proposed Broadband Installation shall be at least 300' from any current Broadband Installation. Additional spacing may be required for any of the following reasons:

Strand-mounted, mid-span broadband equipment may be attached to or supported by existing or new Poles with approval from Pole owners on either side of the proposed equipment. Each piece of equipment shall not exceed 24" in length, 12" in height, and 15" in depth. The Installation Owner shall provide engineering design and pole loading analysis (PLA) calculations to justify the use of both adjacent poles. The Network Provider shall deactivate the strand-mounted installation within 15 minutes of a request from the Department.

Broadband Installations shall comply with applicable municipal ordinances, which may include specific requirements related to Historic Districts, Design Districts, proximity to parks, noise, and others.

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Aesthetics

The Department desires to promote safe, cleanly organized, and aesthetically acceptable facilities using the smallest and least intrusive means available to provide broadband services to the community. As such, broadband facilities in the Department Right-of-Way shall comply with the reasonable provisions in this document. These standards are no more burdensome than those applied to other types of infrastructure deployments in the Department's ROW.

The Department desires and encourages collocations among limited numbers of Broadband Service Providers on the same support structure whenever technically feasible. If the Utility Installation Owner chooses not to collocate when options for collocation appear to be technically feasible, Installation Owner shall demonstrate to the Department's satisfaction in its sole discretion why collocation is not feasible.

The Department desires and encourages Utility Installation Owner to incorporate Concealment Elements into their proposed designs. Concealment Elements include techniques such as camouflage or shrouding.

All Broadband Installations shall comply with the following:

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  • Minimal exposed wiring is permitted, provided the Department approves the wiring and the wires are entirely contained within a flex shrouding.
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  • Advertising, flashing lights, decals, and stickers are prohibited unless installed to comply with federal or state law.
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  • Graffiti shall be removed as soon as possible, but in no event longer than 21 days after notification.
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  • New or replacement Poles shall be consistent in size, color, and material with other adjacent Poles of similar classification and use.
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  • All Network Node and ancillary equipment shall match the color of any Decorative Pole on which it is attached to the extent reasonably possible.
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  • Flex shrouding shall match the color of the Pole.
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Cabinets and Enclosures

Cabinets and enclosures, including exposed remote radio heads and radio Broadband Installations, may be flush-mounted on a support structure or installed at ground level within a 10-foot radius of the support structure. All cabinets and associated equipment shall be mounted or placed in a manner that does not interfere with any of the following:

Riser cables used to connect antennas and antenna accessory equipment, backhaul services, or power lines shall be installed in conduit on the side of a Pole or Department Service Structure furthest from lanes of traffic with topside weather heads. Power cables transporting AC power shall be installed in separate conduit from DC power or telecommunications cable.

All conduits affixed to Poles consist of Schedule 40 PVC or equivalent material. Any conduit passing through the power space shall consist of non-metallic and non-conductive material and be painted to match the Pole. These conduits shall not exceed a diameter of 4". A utility shall install no more conduit than is necessary for the proposed Broadband Installation. No exposed riser cable slack shall be stored externally. All slack shall be stored in junction boxes or equipment cabinets or on snowshoes on the aerial cable. No cables shall be visible on the exterior of a Department Service Structure.

Conduit transitions to above ground shall be contained in schedule 40 RGS conduit with galvanized finish. All coupling points shall consist of threaded mechanical or solvent-welded materials and be watertight.

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Antennas and Other Equipment

Consistent with Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 284, and the FCC regulations (see Generally in the Matter of Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment, Declaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order, WT Docket No. 17-79, WC Docket No. 17-84, FCC 18-133 (released September 27, 2018).):

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  1. Each Antenna that does not have exposed elements and is attached to an existing Pole or Department Service Structure:
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    1. must be located inside an enclosure of no more than six cubic feet in volume;
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    2. unless otherwise approved by the Department, may not exceed a height of 3' above the existing structure or pole and may not be more than 10 percent taller than other adjacent structures and may not be extended to a height of more than 10 percent above its preexisting height as a result of the collocation of new antenna facilities; and
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    3. may not protrude from the outer circumference of the existing structure or pole by more than 2'.
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  2. If an Antenna has exposed elements and is attached to an existing Pole or Department Service Structure, then, unless otherwise approved by the Department, the Antenna and all of the Antenna's exposed elements:
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    1. must fit within an imaginary enclosure of not more than 6 cubic feet;
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    2. may not exceed a height of 3' above the existing structure or pole and may not be more than 10 percent taller than other adjacent structures; and
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    3. may not protrude from the outer circumference of the existing structure or pole by more than 2'.
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  3. The cumulative size of other broadband equipment associated with the Network Node attached to an existing Pole or Department Service Structure may not:
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    1. be more than 28 cubic feet in volume; or
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    2. protrude from the outer circumference of the existing structure or pole by more than 2';
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    3. Ground-based enclosures, separate from the Pole or Department Service Structure, may not be higher than 3' 6" from grade, wider than 3' 6", or deeper than 3' 6"; and
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    4. Pole-mounted enclosures may not be taller than 5'.
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  4. The following types of associated ancillary equipment are not included in the calculation of equipment volume under Subsection (3)(A):
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    1. electric meters;
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    2. Concealment Elements;
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    3. telecommunications demarcation boxes;
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    4. grounding equipment;
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    5. power transfer switches;
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    6. cut-off switches; and
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    7. vertical cable runs for the connection of power and other services.
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  5. Equipment attached to a Utility Pole must be installed per the National Electrical Safety Code, subject to Applicable Codes, and the Utility Pole owner's construction standards.
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  6. The facility is not located on tribal lands, as defined under 36 C.F.R. § 800.16(x).

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Node Transport Facilities

Wireline Node Transport Facilities included in a Utility Permit must be shown to connect to one or more Network Nodes, whether located within the Department Rights-of-Way or not. Wireline Node Transport Facilities consist of the physical facilities extending from one or more Network Nodes to a splice enclosure or tap where the Node Transport Facilities connect to the higher-count cable of the transport network, which serves multiple facilities or provides services to multiple customers in addition to the owner, utility, or licensee of the Network Node or the Node Transport Facility made the basis of the Utility Permit.

The volume and height of any antenna used for broadband Node Transport Facilities are included within the maximum total antenna size permitted in these Design Standards.

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Power

New sources of electric power or new Node Transport Facilities shall be installed underground for any standalone Network Node. Broadband Installations on existing Poles or Service Structures may be served with power and/or communications facilities from above-ground sources. All conduits for electrical power or Node Transport Facilities shall be color-coded per Applicable Engineering Standards. The utility's cables shall not share the Department's conduits, junction boxes, or raceways. The Department's electrical service shall not serve as a Network Node's supply.

Network Nodes containing battery backup shall be installed with a transfer switch to prevent back-feeding into the electrical system. No other types of backup power shall be permitted. (e.g., generator).

All Network Node equipment shall have a visible and accessible safety switch within 10' of the Pole or Service Structure such that power to the Network Node equipment can be turned off in the event of an emergency or when unscheduled work on the structure or within the RF exposure area is required. The safety switch shall have visible identification.

Each Network Node installation shall have a marked disconnect switch adjacent to the electronics cabinet and located outside areas that exceed RF exposure limits. The shut-off switch shall be configured such that when it is placed in the open position, the electronics equipment related to the installation is neither energized nor emitting RF radiation.

For strand-mounted, mid-span installations, the power disconnect shall be located within 3' of one of the poles or on one of the poles at a height no greater than 5'.

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Interference and RF Radiation Exposure

A utility owner shall operate Network Nodes under all applicable Laws, including regulations adopted by the FCC.

Antennas shall only transmit or receive frequencies that are licensed by the FCC to the Installation Owner or to the carrier the Installation Owner represents CBRS GAA frequencies or unlicensed frequencies. In the event the Installation Owner wishes to add another carrier or change the carrier network using the Network Node, the Installation Owner shall notify the Department in writing of the change in carrier.

A broadband service provider shall ensure that the operation of a Network Node does not cause any harmful radio frequency interference to an FCC-authorized telecommunications device or any Department or other Texas State agency traffic, public safety, or other communications signal equipment within the proximity of the proposed Network Node that was installed and operating at the time the Network Node was initially installed or constructed. On receiving written notice, a broadband service provider shall take all steps reasonably necessary to remedy any harmful interference.

A broadband service provider shall comply with all provisions and guidelines of the FCC OET Bulletin 65, as may be amended from time to time, as well as any successor FCC RF regulations, and shall submit a report if requested, certifying FCC OET 65 compliance for each Network Node installation. Broadband Service Providers are responsible for addressing all potential questions/complaints about RF emissions that may be brought forth. The following elements, at a minimum, must be contained within the report:

Upon request by the Department, which request shall not occur more frequently than once a year, the broadband service provider shall perform RF emissions field tests while the Network Node is in operation, supervised by the Department, to demonstrate compliance with FCC OET 65.

The Network Node shall accept, and the Department shall have no liability for or obligation to abate, low power interference received from Department devices and other Texas State agencies' devices and/or roadside communications operational now and in the future. This will include roadside electronic equipment, roadside to vehicle communications, vehicle to vehicle communications, and vehicle to roadside communications.

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Signage

Identifying signage shall be affixed to and permanently maintained on the Broadband Installation. If the Network Node equipment is separate from the support structure, separate signs shall be affixed to both the support structure and the equipment cabinet. Typical signage shall include, at a minimum:

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