GoNetspeed: Pole Regs in Massachusetts Threaten BEAD Success
Company says it can take years to access poles in the Bay State.
Jericho Casper
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2024 – GoNetspeed, an Internet Service Provider serving New England locations, says pole attachment regulations in Massachusetts are broken.
Connecticut-based GoNetspeed, a fiber-optic provider in the region, maintained that without regulatory changes, current pole owners’ practices in Massachusetts may block the effective use of $147 million in broadband expansion funding designated for the state to deploy fiber and other broadband technologies.
GoNetspeed CEO Richard Clark and Chief Legal Counsel Jamie Hoare met with officials from the Federal Communications Commission Monday to address the difficulties they face with pole attachment regulation in Massachusetts.
"In Massachusetts, it takes close to a year to obtain pre-construction survey results and approximately four years for make-ready work to be completed,” the letter, signed by Maria Browne, an attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, stated.
The pace is quicker in neighboring states, Clark said. In Connecticut, pole attachments typically are completed within 90 days; and in Maine and New York, the process usually takes between two to six months.
Clark also described unusually high make-ready cost estimates received from Massachusetts pole owners, which he argued are inflated by an unprecedented number of pole replacements sought by the pole owners.
According to Clark, Massachusetts pole owners are not providing detailed cost breakdowns, making it difficult to evaluate whether make-ready estimates are fair. Instead, initial estimates often end up being significantly lower than the final charges incurred.
The GoNetspeed letter stated that "Massachusetts is not fulfilling its obligation under the statute to effectively regulate pole attachments.”
“Massachusetts pole owners are taking their cue from this lack of regulatory oversight and have given themselves carte blanche to take as long as they like to complete surveys and make-ready work, to withhold itemized cost information necessary to assess the reasonableness of make-ready estimates, and to exceed their make-ready estimates by many multiples without the consent of attachers,” the letter argued.
GoNetspeed told the FCC that complaint procedures alone are insufficient, urging the need for clear rules that define reasonable terms and conditions for pole attachments.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities declined to comment on GoNetspeed’s concerns over pole attachment regulations in the state. The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable did not respond in time for publication, and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute clarified that it “is not involved” in this matter.
Maine, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have asserted their legal authority over pole attachments and do not follow the federal scheme enforced by the FCC. The 1978 Pole Attachment Act allows states to certify that they regulate pole attachments, including rates, terms, and conditions.
