Pole Riders Urge Maine to Take FCC Rate Formula to Kickstart Broadband
The Maine Public Utilities Commission should execute its plan to adopt the FCC cable rate formula for pole attachments, but not stop pole owners and attachers from negotiating their own rate agreements (see 1903220061), commented cable, wireless and other pole riders Friday in docket 2019-00028. Local governments raised concern with a proposal to retain a municipal exemption for fees for make-ready work but remove the exemption from costs of replacing poles for a municipal attachment.
Comcast, Charter Communications and other cable operators supported changing to the FCC formula in Maine, one of about 20 states that reverse pre-empted the federal agency for pole-attachment jurisdiction. “The current Chapter 880 rate formula dates from 1993 and does not address the allocation of costs to all types of entities that attach to utility poles today,” they commented. It's “complex and difficult to administer, and is opaque because it relies on information solely in the possession of the pole owner. Due to these problems, the Chapter 880 formula has never really been used, and parties have negotiated widely varying rates instead.” The FCC formula “relies mostly on publicly available information” and “creates a stable, transparent, and reasonable regulatory framework,” they said.
The PUC should implement and enforce rules like its federal counterpart, said the cablers, suggesting technical edits. “The critical feature of the FCC approach, and that of many certified states that follow it, is that rates are set by negotiation, with the rate formula being both the backstop and the centerpiece of the negotiation.” Using the FCC formula in combination with public data “has made disputes over the years very rare,” they said.
"This rule change is sorely needed,” jointly commented CenturyLink and ExteNet, which attach to poles. “As long as Maine’s pole attachment rates are allowed to remain among the highest in the country, the deployment of affordable broadband in Maine will not keep pace with broadband deployment in the states that use the FCC’s rate formula because high pole attachment rates deter investment and increase service rates for consumers.” The companies supported cable’s ideas.
The plan “will help to remove barriers to wireless deployment,” with the FCC formula “a dramatic improvement" over the state’s current way, CTIA said. The PUC may want to accelerate its schedule, which goes through mid-July, the wireless association said. The FCC formula is easier to understand and used by many other states, commented Maine Fiber Co.
If the PUC believes moving to FCC formula is a must for spurring broadband, it should "at a minimum … mitigate the impact of the cost shift on pole owners and electric delivery customers,” said pole owner Emera. Switching to the FCC formula will decrease attachment rates, meaning Emera and its electric delivery customers will “shoulder higher electric rates,” it warned. Chapter 880 ensured adequate compensation for pole owners, while parties negotiated rates to get reasonable compensation, it said. Emera supported restricting the municipal exemption to "non-commercial, non-competitive purposes.”
The PUC’s proposed rule for a municipal exemption conflicts with staff's Jan. 25 interpretation (see 1901280043), said the Maine Municipal Association. “It seems somewhat capricious for Commission policy to switch from confirming the longstanding support for the municipal exemption for most governmental purposes, to removing pole replacements from that exemption in a few short months.” Proposed language on access terms is at odds with pending LD-1192, “which has received a majority recommendation in favor of passage from the legislative committee of jurisdiction,” it said.
Localities don’t want “to pay for the replacement of a pole that, through no fault of the municipality, lacks the modicum of space needed, and traditionally reserved, for police power use,” said the municipal association. It said the PUC should say pole replacements for reasons other than overload aren't the municipality's responsibility.