CTF SUPPORTER SHLB COALITION SUBMITS CO-SIGNED POLES LETTER TO FCC
Connect the Future (CTF) supporter Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition submitted a new letter into the record of WC Docket No. 17-84: Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment. The letter was co-signed by AllVanza, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Education Superhighway, Public Knowledge, and School Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).
“The Commission’s action late last year to improve the regulation of pole attachments was a significant step to resolving some of the open issues regarding pole attachment and replacement policies. We were also encouraged that the Commission released a Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Third FNPRM”) in this proceeding to make additional improvements to the pole attachment process. Since the initial and reply comments were filed in February and March respectively, we encourage the Commission to bring the Third FNPRM to a close and issue an order that further improves the pole attachment process.
About one month ago, federal and state policymakers, community leaders, and industry representatives gathered for a SHLB Coalition-led Poles Symposium. While the program intentionally included a diversity of views, it was clear that there is still a substantial amount of uncertainty about how to address pole attachment and replacement issues. We all believe that stakeholders at all levels have a role to play in facilitating the resolution of these open issues and that the FCC can and should exercise a leadership role in fostering solutions. We have a deep interest in helping the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program and other federal and state broadband programs succeed, and we encourage further action now by the FCC to provide guidance that will help resolve remaining pole disputes and delays.
In particular, we support the Commission’s proposal that would establish clearly defined timelines for “large order” pole application approvals for requests over 3,000 poles. The lack of clarity around timelines for these larger pole attachment approvals often results in delays and disputes that can slow or even stop projects altogether in unserved areas. Such large projects are only expected to grow exponentially as the bulk of the $42.5 billion in taxpayer-funded BEAD grants begin flowing into all U.S. states and territories next year. Clarity around timelines for processing these large bulk applications is more critical now than ever.”
Download and read the full letter here.