Utilities Want Tweaks to Pole Attachment Draft Order
Electric companies also supported some parts of the draft.
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2025 – Utility companies and their trade groups are urging the Federal Communications Commission to tweak the language of a pole attachment order the agency is set to vote on next week.
The draft order would institute a 30-day deadline by which pole owners would have to respond to ISP requests to approve new contractors to prepare poles for new attachments. Major electric companies want the agency to take more input on the idea before instituting it.
The move would “give stakeholders an opportunity for further dialog with the Commission regarding the extremely serious risks (including unnecessary injuries and even deaths – not to mention power outages) inherent in work performed by power supply space construction contractors and the resultant need for sufficient vetting and training of such contractors,” lawyers for several power companies explained to FCC staff in meetings last week.
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 utilities contend that 30 days, a deadline sought by the cable industry to expedite builds, is not enough time to get a contractor onboarded to do dangerous work next to live electrical equipment. The FCC countered in its draft order that the deadline only applied to utilities confirming whether the proposed contractor meets minimum FCC requirements, and lengthier onboarding could come after.
The electric companies told the agency this week that some extra vetting was inherent in the onboarding process, and there were generally more requirements to work near power equipment than the FCC minimums.
The power companies, plus utility trade groups Edison Electric Institute and the Utilities Technology Council, all said the deadline would be fine if it applied to contractors working in the communications space – a safer area of the pole further from live wires. Utilities have maintained ISPs rarely propose new contractors, and the cable industry has pointed to instances where requests went unanswered.
For attachment orders between 3,000 and 6,000 poles, the draft order would provide a 120-day window for prep work in poles’ communications space. Current rules require good-faith negotiations for orders of that size.
It would require attachers to notify utilities 60 days before submitting an application for more than 300 poles, else they would forfeit rights to the FCC-defined timelines. Attachers would also have to talk in person, online, or via phone with utilities about their coming application within 30 days of giving the advance notice.
Utilities have previously opposed the idea of a set timeline for large orders, something cable and other ISPs have fought for, saying they were too complex and resource-intensive for blanket timelines. The requirement that attachers provide advance notice and meet with pole owners apparently addressed their concerns.
“The Electric Utilities have collectively experienced many situations where a new attacher has submitted applications for thousands of poles to the utility in a short timeframe and without any pre-planning or coordination. These projects are then mired in a logjam,” the electric companies wrote. “Advance planning and coordination will prevent many of these issues and vastly improve the efficiency of deployments.”
ACA Connects, which represents mid-size cable operators, met directly with newly confirmed FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty on Thursday. The group said its members considered the pole attachment item a “step in the right direction, and we look forward to further engagement with the Commission on additional improvements.”
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