Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative (CCEC) and the other 25 North Carolina electric cooperatives have supported efforts to close the digital divide by facilitating expansion of access to broadband providers to utility poles quickly and at a fair rate.
However, it is also our duty to ensure that our utility poles have the strength and spacing available to safely accommodate the broadband facilities and sometimes this requires utility poles be replaced. The process of preparing utility poles for broadband deployment is commonly called “make-ready.” Make-ready costs vary from several hundred to several thousand dollars per utility pole, depending on the labor and materials needed.
Safety First
National Electric Safety Code (NESC) dictates the minimum safety requirements that must be met when utility poles are used for broadband deployment. This code protects the communication workforce who are not trained to be near energized electrical lines and ensures there is enough height for a vehicle to safely utilize a driveway.
For example, broadband equipment cannot be lower than 15.5 feet over a driveway but also cannot be attached to the utility pole within 40 inches of most power equipment. In some cases, this may require the current pole to be replaced with a taller pole to meet minimum safety code. Many utility poles are being replaced before their “life expectancy” to meet these code requirements, adding to the make-ready expense.
Legislation
The current* language contained in the proposed N.C. House budget would require co-ops and members to bear the burden of pole replacement make-ready costs. This would reduce cable companies’ costs and increase their profits at our members’ expense, which is especially troubling considering there is more government funding available than ever before to support broadband infrastructure.
Currently, the cable company is responsible for paying the full cost to make a utility pole ready for their broadband equipment, including the cost of replacing the utility pole if replacement is required. The problematic language in the proposed N.C. House budget would change the current practice and force electric co-op members to subsidize part of these costs.
Shifting costs to co-op members in this way is unacceptable, especially when the cost shift benefits a company that has already won millions in federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund grants to cover the all-in costs of deploying rural broadband.
History
CCEC has a long history of negotiating with large communication providers who, in the past, have been hesitant to extend internet service into sparsely populated areas where there was questionable economic return.
In 2017, CCEC was forced by the NC Utilities Commission to charge cable companies artificially low pole attachment fees. The cable companies lobbied the Utilities Commission and sued our co-op to get this result. One of the reasons the cable companies wanted this discount was, they said, to make it more economical to get broadband to rural areas.
Since then, these unserved areas have remained the same, unserved. For example, residents of Adams Creek in Craven County—where over 500 cooperative members reside and where adequate fiber sits at the cusp of the area—have solicited time and time again for a provider to extend internet service into that area. CCEC has been a vocal advocate for these members. We have surveyed our pole line, provided all information, and cost estimates, but still there has been no movement from communication providers.
Broadband Access For All
Rural North Carolina needs better access to broadband internet; all of us who live here understand that deeply, but we do not support our members paying for what is a business expense of for-profit companies. Not only does this place undue cost on cooperatives members, it also circumvents years of work and legal expense to draft, negotiate and execute CCEC’s current pole attachment agreements that govern make-ready costs. Those agreements should be applied equitability to those making the request, the for-profit communication providers.
Cable companies have ignored rural North Carolina for years while we have been here for generations, always advocating for what is right and fair for our members. The issue of bringing broadband to rural communities in a way that is efficient and affordable is no exception.