Officials Concerned About Pole Attachments' Impact on Broadband Deployment

Federal and industry officials raised concerns about the impact of pole attachments and replacements as states prepare for NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. In addition, make-ready processes and economic incentives can complicate efforts to expand high-speed internet -- and rules aren’t always enough, a panel of state officials said during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition symposium Thursday.

FCC Wireline Bureau Competition Policy Division Assistant Division Chief Michele Berlove said the commission's new rules on pole attachment disputes remain under the Paperwork Reduction Act process (see 2312130044). "OMB could issue a notice of action as early as July 8," Berlove said, "at which point we will then issue a notice of effective date for these rules." While the July 8 estimate is "no guarantee," Berlove said, "you'll know as soon as we know, and we ask every day."

Pole attachment processes should have "easily applicable rules" to ensure they are implemented "efficiently [and] effectively," NTIA BEAD Director Evan Feinman said. Berlove noted that while the comment period for a related Further NPRM on pole attachment applications and make-ready work ended, "the record remains open" for ex parte meetings. "We're always happy to talk to people and [we] get this is a big brain trust," Berlove said.

The "biggest thing for us that we hear is that local leaders really want to be a part of the solution," said Next Century Cities Senior Policy Counsel Corian Zacher. There's a need for flexibility at the local level, Zacher said, noting that "every community is different" and has "different goals." Developing state-specific resources is "really helpful to sort of deal with some of those local issues we've seen, especially with the rise of state broadband offices" and "a ton of resources coming out." NCTA Lead Legislative Counsel Alex Minard raised similar concerns.

If pole attachment delays go unaddressed, then broadband deployment will take longer, cost more, and "we're not going to be able to use funding" from BEAD "in the way that we expect it to be used," Minard warned. "Something either has to be done to make sure that specifically BEAD is implemented well and the pole attachment owner issue is resolved in a way that makes BEAD a success," he said.

"You need to regulate, and you need to negotiate” when it comes to quickly and cost effectively getting broadband up on poles, Vermont Community Broadband Board Executive Director Christine Hallquist said during the states panel. Rules define “the guardrails,” but you’re not going to solve the whole problem that way, she said. Hallquist recommended that 47 states follow Vermont and two other states’ example of regulating electric cooperatives. But rules alone can’t solve the “physical capacity limits of your workforce,” Hallquist said. The Vermont broadband office, which expects to reach 100% broadband statewide by 2028, met with utilities and “adjusted our fiber build schedules … based on their ability to do make ready,” she said. “We’ve been very successful and have not had a problem getting make ready completed because of that negotiation.”

Regulation has its limits, agreed Ovidia Viorica, manager for New Mexico’s broadband office. Most utility pole owners are focused on electricity, possess incomplete information about poles’ age and condition and have limited resources to formulate make-ready costs in a short time frame, he said. "It is not helpful to say there is no problem, because truly there will be problems. That is a given."

“This isn’t rocket science,” West Virginia House Technology and Infrastructure Chair Daniel Linville (R) said, though “it’s actually cheaper and easier to build your own rocket ships and shoot them into outer space than it is to hang wires on utility poles.” Linville said a major pole-attachment hurdle is that it “takes longer to get to yes … than it actually does to build.” The state lawmaker sees a political and economic problem where unregulated monopolies that don’t want competition are less willing to cooperate with companies that won grants to reach unserved areas but must go through the incumbent’s area to get there, he said. The concern is that the new entrant then can use its own money to “extend internet service and essentially break up a monopoly.”

Communications Workers of America Director of Research Nell Geiser noted that transparency is also a "powerful tool for developing fair cost sharing for pole replacements." Geiser cited pole maintenance such as addressing service quality complaints at the state level. "We see localities as important partners and are working with local governments to increase transparency of right away and permitting to ensure accountability around contractors, compliance with laws, and workers rights," Geiser said.