2019 Tennessee Code
Title 13 - Public Planning and Housing
Chapter 24 - Zoning Classifications
Part 4 - Competitive Wireless Broadband Investment, Deployment, and Safety Act of 2018
§ 13-24-402. Part definitions.

(1) “Aesthetic plan” means any publicly available written resolution, regulation, policy, site plan, or approved plat establishing generally applicable aesthetic requirements within the authority or designated area within the authority. An aesthetic plan may include a provision that limits the plan's application to construction or deployment that occurs after adoption of the aesthetic plan. For purposes of this part, such a limitation is not discriminatory as long as all construction or deployment occurring after adoption, regardless of the entity constructing or deploying, is subject to the aesthetic plan;

(2) “Applicant” means any person who submits an application pursuant to this part;

(3) “Application” means a request submitted by an applicant to an authority:

• (A) For a permit to deploy or colocate small wireless facilities in the ROW; or

• (B) To approve the installation or modification of a PSS associated with deployment or colocation of small wireless facilities in the ROW;

(4)

• (A) “Authority” means:

  • (i) Within a municipal boundary, the municipality, regardless of whether such municipality is a metropolitan government;

  • (ii) Within a county and outside a municipal boundary, the county; or

  • (iii) Upon state-owned property, the state;

• (B) “Authority” does not include a government-owned electric, gas, water, or wastewater utility that is a division of, or affiliated with, a municipality, metropolitan government, or county for any purpose of this part, and the decision of the utility regarding a request to attach to or modify the plant, facilities, or equipment owned by the utility shall not be governed by this part;

(5) “Authority-owned PSS” means a PSS owned by an authority but does not include a PSS owned by a distributor of electric power, regardless of whether an electric distributor is investor-owned, cooperatively-owned, or government-owned;

(6) “Colocate,” “colocating”, and “colocation” mean, in their respective noun and verb forms, to install, mount, maintain, modify, operate, or replace small wireless facilities on, adjacent to, or related to a PSS. “Colocation” does not include the installation of a new PSS or replacement of authority-owned PSS;

(7) “Communications facility” means the set of equipment and network components, including wires and cables and associated facilities, used by a communications service provider to provide communications service;

(8) “Communications service” means cable service as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 522(6), telecommunications service as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(53), information service as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(24) or wireless service;

(9) “Communications service provider” means a cable operator as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 522(5), a telecommunications carrier as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(51), a provider of information service as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(24), a video service provider as defined in § 7-59-303, or a wireless provider;

(10) “Fee” means a one-time, nonrecurring charge;

(11) “Historic district” means a property or area zoned as a historic district or zone pursuant to § 13-7-404;

(12) “Local authority” means an authority that is either a municipality, regardless of whether the municipality is a metropolitan government, or a county, and does not include an authority that is the state;

(13) “Micro wireless facility” means a small wireless facility that:

• (A) Does not exceed twenty-four inches (24″) in length, fifteen inches (15″) in width, and twelve inches (12″) in height; and

• (B) The exterior antenna, if any, does not exceed eleven inches (11″) in length;

(14) “Person” means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, trust, or other entity or organization, including an authority;

(15) “Potential support structure for a small wireless facility” or “PSS” means a pole or other structure used for wireline communications, electric distribution, lighting, traffic control, signage, or a similar function, including poles installed solely for the colocation of a small wireless facility. When “PSS” is modified by the term “new,” then “new PSS” means a PSS that does not exist at the time the application is submitted, including, but not limited to, a PSS that will replace an existing pole. The fact that a structure is a PSS does not alone authorize an applicant to colocate on, modify, or replace the PSS until an application is approved and all requirements are satisfied pursuant to this part;

(16) “Rate” means a recurring charge;

(17) “Residential neighborhood” means an area within a local authority's geographic boundary that is zoned or otherwise designated by the local authority for general purposes as an area primarily used for single-family residences and does not include multiple commercial properties and is subject to speed limits and traffic controls consistent with residential areas;

(18) “Right-of-way” or “ROW” means the space, in, upon, above, along, across, and over all public streets, highways, avenues, roads, alleys, sidewalks, tunnels, viaducts, bridges, skywalks under the control of the authority, and any unrestricted public utility easement established, dedicated, platted, improved, or devoted for utility purposes and accepted as such public utility easement by the authority, but excluding lands other than streets that are owned by the authority;

(19)

• (A) “Small wireless facility” means a wireless facility with:

  • (i) An antenna that could fit within an enclosure of no more than six (6) cubic feet in volume; and

  • (ii) Other wireless equipment in addition to the antenna that is cumulatively no more than twenty-eight (28) cubic feet in volume, regardless of whether the facility is ground-mounted or pole-mounted. For purposes of this subdivision (19)(A)(ii), “other wireless equipment” does not include an electric meter, concealment element, telecommunications demarcation box, grounding equipment, power transfer switch, cut-off switch, or a vertical cable run for the connection of power and other services; and

• (B) “Small wireless facility” includes a micro wireless facility;

(20) “Wireline backhaul facility” means a communications facility used to transport communications services by wire from a wireless facility to a network;

(21)

• (A) “Wireless facility” means equipment at a fixed location that enables wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network, including:

  • (i) Equipment associated with wireless communications; and

  • (ii) Radio transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration;

• (B) “Wireless facility” does not include:

  • (i) The structure or improvements on, under, or within which the equipment is colocated;

  • (ii) Wireline backhaul facilities; or

  • (iii) Coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is between wireless structures or utility poles or that is otherwise not immediately adjacent to or directly associated with a particular antenna; and

• (C) “Wireless facility” includes small wireless facilities;

(22) “Wireless provider” means a person who provides wireless service; and

(23) “Wireless services” means any service using licensed or unlicensed spectrum, including the use of WiFi, whether at a fixed location or mobile, provided to the public.