One Touch Make Ready Engineering
Draftech qualifies poles for OTMR, prepares notices, tracks the rule's notice and timeline requirements, and coordinates existing attachers. Our in-house engineers carry the qualification record through to a construction-ready handoff.
Build your OTMR notice on engineering evidence
Draftech delivers one touch make ready engineering (OTMR engineering) for fiber ISPs, carriers placing fiber, and BEAD subgrantees attaching to existing utility poles. You receive pole-by-pole qualification, OTMR notices and timeline tracking, existing-attacher coordination records, and a construction-ready handoff package for cleared poles. One accountable engineering team connects each proposed make-ready action to the evidence supporting its classification.
A complex pole designated simple, a missed notice or timeline requirement of the rule, or no documented proof of which poles qualify puts the OTMR schedule at risk. The pole owner's review determines whether a pole designated simple is actually complex; questions from existing attachers receiving notice can expose a misclassification. When these failures occur, the notice is contested, the affected poles revert to the traditional multi-attacher sequence, and the construction start slips well past the date the route was planned around.
We review the engineering basis before the notice goes out. Survey information, loading analysis, proposed work, and attacher records must describe the same pole and scope. Where the evidence is incomplete or conflicting, we identify what needs resolution before treating that pole as qualified.
This service sits within Draftech's pole loading and make-ready services, with a specific focus on the new attacher's OTMR qualification and coordination responsibilities; the broader make-ready engineering workflow is covered separately.
A qualification record for every pole
FCC one-touch make-ready engineering starts with the pole record, not the notice. Our engineers take in field survey and pole loading data and assess the proposed work against the FCC's simple-versus-complex OTMR criteria. NESC clearance review checks whether communications attachments can be transferred or rearranged within required clearances without a reasonable expectation of service outage or facility damage. Splicing an existing communications attachment or relocating a wireless attachment makes the work complex. The FCC option concerns simple make-ready of wireline attachments in the communications space on poles subject to its pole attachment rules. Complex make-ready and poles outside FCC jurisdiction follow other processes.
The review documents the classification basis against each pole's survey, loading findings, and proposed work.
Each pole record addresses the questions that determine the next action:
- Does the survey and loading information correspond to the pole and proposed attachment under review?
- Does the proposed work support a simple or complex classification under the applicable FCC criteria?
- Which existing attachers are affected by the proposed scope?
- Is information missing or inconsistent, and what must be resolved before the notice package proceeds?
- Does the pole belong in the OTMR scope or require another make-ready process?
For the new attacher, this makes the route's limitations visible before construction planning relies on them.
One touch make ready engineering deliverables
Our one touch make ready services connect the qualification decision to the notice record and construction handoff. The package gives your project manager a basis for discussing readiness with our engineers, existing attachers, and the qualified contractor you use.
- Pole-by-pole qualification: Simple-versus-complex determinations tied to survey and loading analysis data, with unresolved information identified for follow-up.
- OTMR notices and timeline tracking: Notices based on the qualified scope, with records tracking the rule's notice and timeline requirements and the actions associated with them.
- Existing-attacher coordination records: The attachers named in the notice, correspondence concerning the affected poles, open questions, and documented resolutions.
- Construction-ready handoff: The cleared pole scope and its supporting engineering and coordination records, assembled for the qualified contractor performing the make-ready.
These deliverables remain connected as the scope changes. If a proposed attachment movement changes during coordination, the team can trace that change to the affected pole and review its effect on classification, notices, and readiness. Your construction team receives the current cleared scope.
Notices tied to the qualified scope
An OTMR notice must rest on a defined set of poles and proposed work. Draftech prepares notices from the qualification record, keeping pole references and the existing attachers named in the notice consistent with the engineering information. This reduces the risk that correspondence describes a different scope from the one your project team expects to build.
We track the rule's notice and timeline requirements alongside the corresponding notice records. The project team needs to know which action occurred, which poles it concerns, what remains open, and what must happen next.
When the pole owner's review or attacher feedback raises a classification question, our engineers return to the supporting data. We document the issue, review the affected work, and update the package to reflect the outcome. That gives the new attacher a consistent record for responding to questions without reconstructing the engineering basis from scattered emails.
Attachment applications are a related scope. Draftech's pole attachment engineering and applications service prepares and submits that application, including NJUNS and portal submissions. The pole-by-pole qualification supplies the OTMR election and simple-or-complex designations that the attachment application carries.
Existing-attacher coordination with a traceable record
The coordination record lets notice recipients and your project manager see which attachments and proposed work are affected and whether a response changes the route's readiness. Draftech keeps the coordination record tied to the affected poles so those conversations lead back to an engineering decision.
We organize questions and responses around the proposed scope, record unresolved issues, and carry the resulting decisions into the package.
For carriers building fiber backhaul and ISPs extending an aerial network, this supports practical construction planning. The team can distinguish a qualification issue from an outstanding coordination item and assign the next action accordingly. For BEAD subgrantees, unresolved complex poles are flagged against the segments planned for release first so the deployment schedule reflects them.
A clear handoff to the qualified contractor
Once poles are cleared, Draftech assembles the engineering and coordination records into a construction-ready package for the qualified contractor the attacher uses, under the pole owner's requirements and the rule. The handoff contains the cleared pole list, the proposed movement per pole, the classification basis, and the notice and attacher correspondence status. Poles requiring another process remain distinguishable from the released OTMR work.
Draftech also offers full turnkey make-ready construction by Draftech-managed crews where the pole owner's requirements allow. Whether the make-ready goes to that service or to the qualified contractor the attacher selects, our OTMR engineering engagement provides a single point of accountability for the package reaching construction.
One Touch Make Ready Engineering FAQ
What should we provide to start an OTMR engineering engagement?
Send the route and pole identifiers, available field survey and loading data, proposed attachment information, and any existing notice or attacher correspondence. Draftech reviews those materials for the qualification work and identifies information that needs clarification. Include your intended construction sequence so we can relate unresolved poles to the portions of the route you plan to release.
Can Draftech work from survey and loading data we already have?
Yes. Our engineers review the available data against the proposed scope and identify gaps or inconsistencies that affect qualification. Where additional information is needed, Draftech can scope supporting field survey work, where the pole owner's requirements allow, or pole loading analysis work.
Does hiring an OTMR engineering firm establish who can perform the work?
No. The pole owner's requirements and the rule govern who may perform OTMR surveys and make-ready on those poles. Draftech prepares the handoff for the qualified contractor the attacher uses; selecting the engineering firm does not establish contractor eligibility.
Is Draftech's OTMR engineering performed in-house?
Yes. Draftech performs its engineering and design in-house, including the qualification review that supports this service.
Put your route in front of our engineers
Bring Draftech your proposed route, available pole data, and current coordination status. We will scope the qualification work, identify missing inputs, and define the notice and handoff deliverables your team needs. Engage us before notices go out so your construction plan rests on documented pole decisions.
Contact our engineering team to discuss your OTMR scope.