Installing a pole, a monopole or a traffic signal system on a Quito sidewalk is not only an engineering matter. The Municipality regulates where and how that infrastructure is placed through a technical rule and a permit regime. Knowing them early avoids redesign and delays.
What the 2025 Technical Rule covers
The Technical Rule for the installation of physical infrastructure (in Spanish), published by the city’s Habitat and Land Planning Secretariat, covers the deployment of electrical, telecommunications, traffic signal and video surveillance networks in the Metropolitan District. Its definition of support infrastructure includes poles, towers, masts and monopoles, and it has specific sections for traffic signals and video surveillance.
Where each element can go
The rule distinguishes two strips of public space:
- Circulation strip: reserved for underground networks, with their ducts and manholes.
- Service strip: where visible elements are installed, such as support structures, pedestals, cabinets, street lighting poles and traffic signal systems.
In practice this sets the position of the pole on the sidewalk and conditions the design of the foundation and service connections.
What documents are submitted
For telecommunications infrastructure, the rule asks for a file with a technical report and drawings in .dwg, .kmz and signed PDF formats. It helps when the manufacturer delivers drawings and specifications compatible with that file from the start.
The permits: LMU 40-A and LMU 40-B
- LMU 40-A: authorizes construction of physical infrastructure for telecommunications, electricity, traffic signal and video surveillance networks.
- LMU 40-B: authorizes the use and occupation of public property for the deployment of those networks.
When works are finished there is also a technical project completion certificate, through which the Municipality verifies that what was built follows the technical rules.
Note: this article is an informational summary. Regulations change; before starting a procedure, review the official documents linked above or consult the Habitat and Land Planning Secretariat.
How it affects the structure manufacturer
- Pole type and location should be defined with the technical rule in hand, not afterwards.
- Shop drawings should also serve the municipal file.
- The installation must be demonstrably consistent with the approved project.
SEBLAN manufactures and installs traffic signals, CCTV camera poles and monopoles in Quito, and delivers the technical documentation your project needs.
About the author. Industrias SEBLAN has manufactured and installed poles, traffic signals and steel structures in Ecuador since 1993, under an ISO 9001 quality management system.