Why the RAIL Act Matters for America’s Digital Future

When families in rural towns can't get online, when students have to sit in parking lots to access Wi-Fi, or when small businesses lose opportunities because broadband stops at the edge of a railroad crossing, we know something is broken.

We've both seen this problem firsthand. One of us, as an FCC Commissioner, visiting communities across America where high-speed internet ended abruptly at railroad tracks. The other represents competitive fiber companies who face these barriers daily and as a Congressman representing a rural district.

On one side of a crossing, homes and businesses enjoy reliable connections. On the other, families struggle with little or no service at all. The distance between them? Sometimes less than 100 feet. The barrier? A modern day railroad robbery. 

For years, broadband providers have struggled with costly and unpredictable delays when they have to cross railroad tracks to build out their networks. The problem isn't technical. Fiber can easily be deployed without interfering with any train operations.

The real issue is a regulatory no man's land. Neither the Federal Communications Commission nor the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) has the authority to set standards for these deployments. Railroad companies, sit on permits for months, sometimes years and can charge whatever they want without recourse. Some demand payments exceeding $100,000 for one crossing. 

This means communities are stuck waiting, sometimes for months or years, for the connections they desperately need. Schools postpone online learning initiatives. Hospitals can't implement telemedicine programs. Local businesses watch their competitors in neighboring towns thrive while they fall behind.

The Broadband and Telecommunications RAIL Act changes that. It creates clear rules, fair standards, and accountability so that broadband can be deployed faster and more affordably. It sets guidelines for fair compensation that reflect actual costs rather than arbitrary demands, and it creates an appeals process when railroads act unreasonably, giving broadband providers recourse they've never had before. 

Let us be clear, nothing in this legislation compromises safety or forces rail companies to accept inadequate terms. They will continue to review every application, maintain control over their property, and receive appropriate compensation. What changes is the ability to hold communities hostage with endless delays and excessive fees. The public finally gets what it deserves, reliable high-speed internet without unnecessary red tape.

We’re not inventing new regulations. We're filling a gap that has existed for decades, ever since Congress failed to anticipate that 19th-century railroad corridors would become 21st-century bottlenecks for digital infrastructure. Republicans and Democrats alike recognize that broadband is as vital as electricity or water in modern America. Rural communities that consistently vote red need these connections just as urgently as urban areas that lean blue. 

Every day of delay is another day families, schools, and businesses are left behind. The RAIL Act is a smart, bipartisan fix that will help close the digital divide and bring opportunity to every corner of America. It doesn't pick winners and losers. It doesn't impose heavy-handed mandates. It simply establishes the clear framework that should have existed all along, allowing market forces to work while protecting legitimate interests on all sides.

Congress should pass it without hesitation. Our future depends on it. More importantly, the futures of millions of Americans who've been waiting far too long for a connection to the digital age depend on it. We owe them better than bureaucratic paralysis. We owe them the tools to succeed in a rapidly transforming digital era. This bill delivers on that promise.

Chip Pickering is CEO of INCOMPAS, the internet and competitive networks association. For nearly three decades, he has been at the forefront of every major telecommunications milestone, from his time as a Senate staffer on the Commerce Committee shaping the Telecommunications Act of 1996, to his role as a Member of Congress leading on tech issues and overseeing the transition to the commercial internet.

Mignon Clyburn spent nearly nine years at the Federal Communications Commission affirming her commitment to closing persistent digital and opportunity divides that challenge rural, Native and low wealth communities. Her government service began with an election to the South Carolina Public Service Commission (SCPSC) in 1998. Prior to serving 11 years on the SCPSC, Clyburn's interest in the fields of media and (tele)communications gained traction during a 14 year journey as the publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a family-founded, Charleston-based weekly newspaper focusing on issues affecting the African American community.

This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.

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