A West Virginia senator wants the Federal Communications Commission to act in a "prompt" manner to revamp rules governing utility pole upgrades to attach broadband equipment, saying providers still face steep obstacles amid pole access and cost-sharing disputes.
In a recent letter, distributed Monday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she is still hearing rampant reports from the Mountain State of broadband companies being unable to use poles in a timely fashion, risking delays in the use of federal funds for deployment. The issue has been a top priority for Capito because West Virginia's rugged topography precludes large-scale use of underground cable to run internet service.
"Unfortunately, I continue to hear about problems and delays associated with broadband providers getting reasonable and timely access to utility poles as part of their broadband deployment efforts in West Virginia. I understand that this issue is widespread," Capito told FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.
"The commission can and must do everything possible to stop this harmful behavior and end practices and tactics that are slowing or halting broadband network deployment," she said.
Capito is primarily concerned with broadband providers being able to access poles quickly and making sure they don't pay excessive fees to use them. On the other side of the complex issue, however, utilities generally say the current cost-sharing system works and that they frequently bear the bulk of costs of replacing poles when necessary.
In March 2022, the commission voted unanimously to open a probe into the existing regime for regulating utility pole upgrades for broadband service, in hopes of making disputes between utilities and broadband providers easier to resolve.
Rosenworcel said at the time that "we can't afford to have access to utility poles become an impediment to broadband deployment," especially with the federal government investing billions of dollars in grants for high-speed service. The money was allocated under the 2021 infrastructure spending law.
Capito reiterated her frustration that the FCC purportedly isn't acting fast enough to advance new rules that would expedite pole access and improve connectivity in rural areas. The senator similarly wrote to the FCC in April 2022 pushing for action.
"The proceeding was started over three years ago, the record is complete and the time is right for the commission to act in a unanimous fashion," Capito wrote last week. "The commission's actions related to reasonable and timely pole access sets an important precedent, even for pole owners not subject to the commission's jurisdiction and in states that have adopted their own pole attachment rules."
Capito said West Virginia is one of many places where a disproportionate amount of unserved households are in mountainous areas.
"In these hard to serve regions of the country, broadband networks are dependent on access to an existing and long-established network of utility poles," she said. "Yet, as has been documented to the commission in the record of its open pole proceeding, the process for obtaining timely and reasonable access to poles is too often obstructed due to a number of factors such as workforce shortages and pole owners that are seeking to offer broadband services and receive funding from federal broadband programs."
The FCC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.