Can Dig-Once Policies Hasten the Close of the Digital Divide?

As local areas and states keep slugging away at the digital divide, time and money may separate the winners from the losers in the broadband infrastructure game. One potential way to save time and money is through a “dig-once” approach, which refers to the idea of minimizing the number and scale of excavations when installing telecommunications infrastructure in highway rights-of-way. If a dig-once policy can make so much sense, why isn’t everyone doing it? 

Jeff Sural, director of broadband infrastructure for the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (DIT), noted how the upfront cost of installing a conduit can be a legitimate fear for government.  “You’re not sure if it [the conduit] will ever be used,” Sural said. “That money could be kind of wasted. If you’re DOT [Department of Transportation], your budgets will probably be pretty strict.” Another fear is related to engineering standards, Sural said. There’s no guarantee a given Internet service provider (ISP) will want to use a conduit if it wasn’t built according to the ISP’s standards. With such disastrous possibilities in mind, North Carolina’s dig-once policy, which hasn’t been implemented yet, amounts to more of a “cost-sharing opportunity” for ISPs. Under the policy, if an ISP submits an easement request to DOT with the intent to install broadband infrastructure, DOT will be notified and will post a notice about the request on a portal for ISPs.