America’s Students Need Broadband Access Now

Broadband access is a critical component of high-quality education. Connecting “last-mile” rural communities will require smart policies to make certain investments in broadband infrastructure are maximized for actual and timely deployment so that our truly unserved students and communities receive broadband access without delay. This includes pole access reform; the complex and costly process for broadband providers to attach to utility poles is one of the single greatest barriers to rural broadband deployment. Pole owners – such as utility companies, cooperatives and municipalities – often impose unnecessarily complex requirements and potentially unfair fees for broadband providers to attach cables to these poles that allow for connectivity. However, the Progressive Policy Institute recently found that the cost of managing pole attachment regulations and fees cuts overall broadband deployment by up to 55 percent. Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) have recognized the critical need for pole access reform to ensure that broadband funds are used most efficiently and effectively, but we need more members of Congress to join them to help eliminate this significant barrier to deploying broadband to all our nation’s rural students.  We must close this homework gap for our rural students and pole access reform must be part of any solution to ensure these students have reliable access to broadband – and all the opportunities that it provides.

[Dr. Allen Pratt, Ed.D, is the executive director of the National Rural Education Association.]