COMMONSENSE SOLUTIONS

The benefits of high-speed internet are undeniable. Yet, numerous barriers still exist today that slow or prevent deployment, especially in rural areas. In fact, the state’s Broadband Plan recognized that government leaders have the ability to remove some of the key barriers to broadband deployment by easing access to rights-of-way and poles to facilitate investments in next generation infrastructure.

We’re calling for common-sense solutions to address obstacles that inhibit broadband deployment to all North Carolinians.

For example, we should prioritize tackling the existing unnecessary delays and burdensome expenses associated with the process of attaching broadband infrastructure to utility poles owned by electric cooperatives and municipal electric utilities in North Carolina. To provide broadband service in rural areas, providers must attach their network infrastructure to poles owned by electric cooperative and municipal electric utilities. Yet North Carolina has virtually no rules governing the timeframes associated with these utilities’ review of pole attachment requests from broadband providers and no process to fairly allocate costs between broadband providers and these utilities when poles need replacing. These impediments impede efficient and timely deployment of high-speed internet to unserved, rural areas of North Carolina.

Addressing these types of roadblocks will bring high-speed broadband access to more people and empower North Carolinians to thrive in the 21st Century.