No Set Timeline for Large Pole Orders: Utilities

WASHINGTON, August 21, 2024 – Utility companies are urging the Federal Communications Commission not to set a blanket timeline for large pole attachment orders. Some broadband providers have supported such a change.

An ex parte filing from some of the nation’s biggest electric utility companies – including Duke Energy and Southern Company – said “adding even more regulatory deadlines to the Commission’s rules will do nothing to address the primary impediment to timely roll-out of large broadband deployments: the scarcity of approved contractor resources.” The companies met with officials from the Wireline Competition Bureau and commissioner Nathan Simington’s office on August 15.

They added a proposed deadline for large orders “ignores the fact that attaching entities cannot build their networks at the same pace they are demanding pole owners to process their applications. In many instances, attachers submit a high volume of applications, but then fail to construct their attachments in a timely fashion following notice from the utility to proceed.” The companies asked the agency to institute a deadline for attachers to get equipment onto poles following the make-ready process, after which the pole owner could nix the application.

The FCC can set the terms of pole attachment deals between investor-owned utility companies and telecommunications providers, which include some but not all ISPs. That authority is preempted by state laws in 23 states and D.C., but it’s significant enough for pole owners and attachers to consistently bring disputes about replacement cost allocation and other issues to the agency.

The agency adopted new rules, which went into effect in July, that set up its new Rapid Broadband Assessment Team to resolve disagreements between utilities and telecom providers that could hinder broadband deployment. Among other tweaks, the FCC sought additional comment on instituting a mandatory 120-day make-ready timeline for pole orders exceeding 3,000 poles or 5 percent of a utility’s poles in a given state. That’s the time a pole owner has to prepare and sometimes replace poles so a communications provider can attach new equipment.

Current FCC rules require parties only to “negotiate in good faith” for those large orders. Since the rulemaking was adopted, utilities have maintained that provider complaints about long wait times stem from a shortage of qualified contractors rather than any slow-walking on their part, and continuing to let parties negotiate a workable timeline is the best way forward. Utility trade groups continue to meet with FCC staff to reiterate their concerns.

Lobbying groups for small providers and the cable industry have supported the agency setting a firm deadline for large orders. USTelecom, which represents some of the country’s largest broadband providers, also counts some pole owners among its members. USTelecom has advocated for sticking with a “flexible approach.”

The agency’s efforts to speed up the pole attachment process was partly in preparation for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment grant program. States appear to be getting closer to dispensing funds under BEAD, with Montana and Louisiana soliciting grant applications in the last week, but analysts expect the majority of projects to get underway in 2026.