Utility Poles Will Be Key To Rural Broadband Expansion

Federal investment to fix our nation’s physical infrastructure is long overdue. Having grown up in Florence and after decades of serving our community, we know we have a lot to fix in the Pee Dee. Ensuring that everyone in the Pee Dee has access to high speed internet should be a priority. Thanks to President Biden’s effort to ensure the infrastructure bill becomes law, there is now $65 billion allocated to broadband expansion, which could finally give over 400,000 South Carolinians access to high speed internet, a disproportionate number of whom are from communities of color. Because of this historic investment, we truly believe that we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to build back better thanks to the new infrastructure law but the next critical step will be broadband deployment.The reality is broadband access, hastened by the pandemic and movement of more and more of our lives online, is as essential as electricity and should be viewed as an essential resource. While this monumental law could not have come soon enough, there are still steps our elected leaders need to take to ensure that South Carolinians feel the benefits of this law as soon as possible. When it comes to broadband deployment, outdated regulations for utility pole access are still a significant barrier standing in the way of connecting over 14 million rural Americans.

Simply put, getting access to poles is a needlessly slow process. Those paying the highest price for this dragged-out process are the unserved, rural communities who desperately need internet access. The longer it takes for broadband to be deployed, the longer these communities are at a severe disadvantage, and deprived of a resource that in today’s age is a necessity. The infrastructure bill acknowledged how crucial broadband access is, but what good is the investment if it takes far too long to deliver? Without action it’s clear– no poles, no broadband.

Broadband expansion is not possible without access to utility poles. Internet service providers can quickly deploy broadband by attaching their technology to poles, but providers usually don’t own these poles, so they must be granted access to use the poles by the pole owners – typically local municipalities, electric companies or small utilities and co-ops.

Congress can remove barriers and speed up broadband deployment through common sense solutions like ensuring the costs of replacing poles are split fairly, and building more transparency into the pole access process. But without Congressional action to modernize poles processes and get unserved Americans connected as quickly as possible, billions will be wasted and millions will be left behind, again. Fixing this broken system is common sense.