Vanderbilt Report Argues for 'Dig Once' Policies to Reduce Fiber Instillation Costs

Jan, 26, 2026 –Because 75 percent to 90 percent of fiber installation costs are associated with digging up and then repairing roadways, strong “dig once” laws could reduce costs significantly, according to a Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator report.

The report, by a policy research center at the university, says that most fiber lines are installed underground in plastic conduits along roadsides. Strong dig once laws, it argues, would shift responsibility for installing these conduits away from providers to states, reducing costs for providers and time for fiber deployment. 

“Whenever a government digs up a road for any reason (e.g., construction, maintenance), without existing fiber nearby, it should also install infrastructure capable of housing fiber-optic cables (conduit) for broadband,” reads the report, released in December.