Op-Ed by James Estep: Utility pole access will speed up broadband deployment

For over two decades, the High Technology Foundation has worked to strengthen the Mountain State’s economy.

We have worked hard to promote diversification and bring focus to our state’s potential to become a part of the nation’s knowledge economy. At no time in the past 25 years have we been closer to realizing that goal. It is therefore imperative that we remain determined to put in place the necessary foundational pieces.

For the first time ever, millions of dollars in federal funding is available to West Virginia for expanding broadband services.

We should give special thanks to Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Shelley Moore Capito for their hard work in making this funding opportunity a reality. Broadband deployment has been a core focus for Senator Capito throughout her career and she has worked tirelessly on it.

I have long believed that reliable, high-speed internet was one of the most important foundational components of a stronger more diversified West Virginia economy. The inadequacy of internet access has held back the entrepreneurial and innovation capacity of West Virginians. This capacity will not only allow us to participate in the knowledge economy – it will make us a leader.

The last few years have fundamentally changed how people participate in the workforce.

Remote work has become culturally accepted by employers and society. The virtual colocation made possible through collaborative software in many cases has made workers more productive. This allows workers to be physically located in places that would not have been considered a few years ago. Places that perhaps are more rural and that provide a much better quality of life than an urban setting.

In this regard, West Virginia provides a competitive advantage. Initiatives like the West Virginia Ascend program provide hope for this potential. However, this exciting economic opportunity is dependent upon broadband deployment. Thus, to realize the full potential will require the continued aggressive push to eliminate obstacles standing in the way of widespread broadband deployment.

Ironically, West Virginia’s amazing geography, which provides beautiful vistas of its hills, valleys, and rivers that enhance quality of life and attract workforce also poses some of the biggest challenges to infrastructure deployment. West Virginia’s geography adds significant costs to the deployment of any infrastructure and broadband is no exception.

Mitigating and eliminating this obstacle is very difficult, but it must be done. There is simply too much at stake. The good news is this doesn’t have to be an insurmountable challenge. There is a relatively easy solution – existing utility poles.

For generations, utility poles have reliably carried electric and phone lines into the most remote areas of the country. They can be similarly used for broadband infrastructure. Using utility poles will allow broadband providers to expand service quickly and keep costs down so that the highest number of unserved or underserved people can have access to this vital service.

Unfortunately, this solution to broadband deployment is hindered by the many variations in rules from region to region for utilizing utility pole access. This is slowing down expansion projects and causing costs to increase.

Senator Manchin and Senator Capito have worked way too hard to allow this obstacle to stand in the way of the economic potential they have created for West Virginia. Fortunately, this obstacle can be significantly mitigated through new uniform rules concerning utility pole access that are currently being drafted. If Senator Manchin and Senator Capito can help these new rules be implemented quickly it will serve to decrease costs and speed up infrastructure projects that will unleash the innovative and entrepreneurial potential of West Virginians.

The new rules don’t have to be complicated. For example, they should include language that establishes a transparent permitting process for broadband providers to access utility poles. A dispute resolution system where issues are heard and resolved quickly. Also, the cost of fixing or replacing damaged poles should be split fairly between all connected parties.

This is an exciting time to be a West Virginian. There is new hope coming from the plethora of economic development announcements.

The opportunities around data analytics coming from the commercial climate and weather entrepreneurism at the I-79 Technology Park continue to blossom. It truly does feel like diversification of the state economy is reaching a historic phase.

Enabling the continued development of the foundational components of this historic growth – especially, broadband expansion, to continue is essential. We should quickly take care of the simple things, such as utility pole access, so that we can focus our energies on innovation and entrepreneurism.