The rates, terms and conditions by which cooperatives allow communications providers (broadband, cable, telephone) to attach to the utility poles have long been a controversial topic, not only between co-op pole owners and attachers, but also with federal and state regulatory authorities. Billions of dollars in new funding to bring broadband to rural communities, including most notably the $42.5 billion federal Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment grant program, are raising the profile of attachment activities and bringing these issues to a head. Cable companies and other broadband providers are pushing hard already to speed up the attachment process and to reduce their make-ready and other costs by claiming pole owners are a barrier to broadband deployment.
This webinar will provide an update on the new pole attachment rules, regulations and deadlines that the Federal Communications Commission has implemented on investor-owned utilities (IOUs), and that attachers are advocating for state policymakers to impose on electric cooperatives. Equally important, it will provide guidance to help cooperatives address the expected massive influx of new pole attachment requests as a result of this new broadband funding.
