(a) Upon application for a permit, the applying telecommunications carrier shall notify, by email, the council and all other telecommunications carriers on record with the council of the application. Other telecommunications carriers have 15 calendar days to notify the applicant of their interest to share the applicant"s trench. This requirement extends to all underground construction technologies.

(b) If no competing telecommunications carrier provides notice of interest to share the applicant"s trench within 15 calendar days of notice of the project, the carrier applying for the permit shall affirm that fact to the division prior to being issued a permit.

(c) If a competing telecommunications carrier provides notice of interest to share the applicant"s trench, an agreement between the two (or more) telecommunications carriers shall be executed by those entities within 30 days of the notice of interest, outlining the responsibilities and financial obligations of each, with respect to the installation within the right-of-way. The financial obligations of each carrier shall be based on the proportionate sharing of costs between each carrier for joint trenching or trench sharing based on the amount of conduit innerduct space or excess conduit that is authorized in the agreements entered into pursuant to this article. If the division uses a trench, it shall also pay its proportional share unless it is utilizing the trench as in-kind payment for use of the right-of-way. A copy of the executed agreement shall be provided to the division.

(d) Should a dispute arise between the initial applying telecommunications carrier and a competing telecommunications carrier, including a failure to execute an agreement required by subsection (c) of this section, the dispute shall be adjudicated by the Public Service Commission. All disputes brought to the Public Service Commission under this article shall be adjudicated within 45 days.

(e) If two or more telecommunications carriers are required or authorized to share a single trench, each carrier in the trench must share the cost and benefits of the trench in a fair, reasonable, competitively neutral, and nondiscriminatory manner. This requirement extends to all underground construction technologies.

(f) The commissioner of the division shall promulgate rules governing the relationship between the telecommunications carriers, as hereinafter provided in this article.

(g) The provisions of this section do not apply to the following projects:

(1) Projects where the trench is less than 1,000 feet in length;

(2) Projects that use the direct bury of cable or wire facilities;

(3) Projects that are solely for the service of entities involved in national security matters or where the disclosure or sharing of a trench location would be against federal policy; or

(4) Projects where the telecommunications carrier installs an amount of spare conduit or innerduct equal to what is being installed for its own use and which is made available for lease to competing telecommunications carriers on a nondiscriminatory basis at rates established by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. All carriers installing spare conduit or innerduct shall notify the council of the location and capacity of such spare conduit and innerduct upon completion of the project, and the council shall make such information publicly available for competing telecommunications carriers.