On Pole Attachments, Industry Groups Battle Over Cost Caps and Utility Control

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2025 — Pole deployments are the type of sleeper issue that could determine the time frame for deployment of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

And on that front, broadband providers and electric utilities filed competing positions with the Federal Communications Commission on the costs, contractor access and timeline.

Providers told the FCC that unpredictable invoices, responsibility for preexisting safety violations and lengthy contractor approval processes are slowing deployment, while utilities said the proposed reforms would create safety risks, disrupt grid operations and shift unrecoverable expenses onto power companies.

Comcast challenges Appalachian Power policy

Comcast, the country’s largest internet service provider by subscribers, asked the agency to halt Appalachian Power Co.’s pole-access rules in Virginia, saying the policy requires attachers to cover the full cost of replacing poles with preexisting third-party safety violations and limits reimbursement to 50 percent only if the original violator relocates to the new pole. Third-party safety violations are hazards - issues such as loose or low-hanging lines and damaged equipment - created by previous attachers, not the company seeking access to the pole.

Comcast said the requirements would jeopardize construction to 13,000 unserved and underserved locations funded by $126 million in BEAD grants and noted that it has roughly 2,300 pending applications with American Electric Power, an Ohio-based electric utility company. The cable provider expects to need access to thousands more poles to meet its deployment obligations in administering the program.

“AEP is imposing unlawful requirements on Comcast that are delaying and derailing Comcast’s deployment,” the filing said. Comcast asked the FCC to declare the policy unlawful under Section 224 of the Communications Act, which authorizes the commission to regulate terms for pole attachments to telecom providers. 

Additionally, Comcast said AEP should process its applications without shifting costs caused by third-party violations.

Providers and industry groups push for faster timelines 

Comcast’s complaint lands as broadband providers, tower companies, and electric utilities filed divided positions in similar FCC rulemakings on pole attachment timelines, cost controls, and contractor access. They divided on who should pay when cost estimates change, how expeditiously deployment must be completed, and whether the FCC should mandate national standards.

NCTA - the Internet & Wireless Association, said utilities frequently exceed cost estimates by 200 to 300 percent and that some overruns reach 800 percent. 

Utilities often do not itemize costs and that attachers receive invoices long after work is completed. “Statistics provided by the electric utilities indicate that actual costs exceed estimated costs 50 to 90 percent of the time,” NCTA said. Large overruns “create a major obstacle to the predictable planning necessary to ensure the Administration’s broadband deployment objectives are met.”

Telecom providers INCOMPAS and Crown Castle urged the FCC to establish a hard cap limiting utilities from billing more than 10 percent above their original estimate unless an attacher approves the additional cost in advance. Crown Castle also asked the FCC to require utilities to issue final invoices within 90 days of completing work.

Attachers should receive refunds within 60 days when they are required to perform make-ready payments themselves after utilities miss deadlines, the group said. 

Make-ready also a sticking point

Make-ready work is the preparation that must happen on a pole before a new attachment can be added. It can include moving existing lines, upgrading hardware to meet safety clearances, or replacing the pole when space or safety rules require.

ACA Connects, which represents small and midsize ISPs, said some preapplication engineering studies cost up to $6,000 per deployment mile. The group said these charges duplicate work utilities already recover through annual rental fees and asked the FCC to clarify that utilities cannot assess multiple charges for the same preparatory work.

CTIA, the wireless industry trade association, asked the FCC to confirm that Section 224 covers utility-owned light poles, citing what it called high fees and restrictive terms that impede wireless equipment deployment in areas where traditional utility poles are underground or spaced too far apart for small-cell siting. 

Small-cell siting entails the installing small wireless antennas on poles or streetlights to improve mobile service.

On contractor access, NCTA said some utilities take up to 20 months to approve contractors that attachers seek to use for standard tasks. The group said a 30-day limit is “a reasonable time” and would prevent utilities from using prolonged onboarding to maintain exclusive control over work timelines. 

Utilities cite safety and cost recovery concerns

In opposition, electric utilities rejected cost caps and accelerated contractor approvals. 

Edison Electric Institute, an association representing utility companies, opposed any "arbitrary cost caps," arguing that make-ready cost variability is driven by “field conditions beyond control” and unforeseen engineering challenges, not utility mismanagement.“A rigid cost cap may incentivize utilities to inflate initial estimates to avoid the potential of unrecoverable costs,” EEI said.

A coalition of multistate power companies including AEP, Duke Energy, Entergy, Ameren, Southern Co., and Oncor said mandated contractor onboarding timelines could allow unqualified contractors into the power-supply space. The coalition said utilities need direct control over contractor selection to enforce safety standards and prevent outages and accidents.

“There is no such thing as simple make-ready in the power supply space,” the group said. It opposed extending the Commission’s One-Touch Make-Ready rules to equipment located in the electric supply zone, a process that allows a single contractor to perform all make-ready work.

Power companies Dominion Energy and Xcel Energy supported a 120-day deadline for attachers to complete construction after make-ready is finished. They said attachers often fail to notify utilities when work is complete, requiring utilities to dispatch field personnel to confirm the status of new builds.

The Coalition of Concerned Utilities, a trade association representing Arizona Public Service, Evergy, Eversource, FirstEnergy, and others, opposed cost caps as “counterproductive, ill-considered, overly burdensome, time consuming, anticompetitive and inconsistent with utility operations.” The group agreed that attachers should not be allowed to shift cost responsibility for make-ready work involving safety violations.

Incumbent carriers advise against deployment deadlines

USTelecom, a trade association representing several incumbent telephone carriers, said the FCC should avoid new regulations while earlier pole attachment rules are still being implemented.