Connecting Anchor Institutions to Broadband Requires Access to Poles

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition released a set of Pole Attachment Principles to Expedite Broadband Deployment to Anchor Institutions and Their Communities. We must reform the outdated, lengthy and costly process of attaching broadband cables to utility poles. Utility poles are the backbone of the nation’s critical broadband infrastructure and play a particularly important role in connecting rural residents and anchors to reliable, high-speed internet. Broadband providers trying to deploy rural broadband networks often have trouble obtaining permits from pole owners, renting space for equipment, replacing old poles and more. The process of preparing poles to carry broadband infrastructure is lengthy—as worn-down poles often must be replaced altogether before broadband infrastructure can be attached—and attaching the necessary equipment to utility poles can cost as much as one-third of total buildout expenses in rural communities. But it does not have to be this way; ee encourage Congress and other broadband policymakers to take these policies to heart and ensure that schools, libraries, health providers and other anchor institutions have the broadband tools they need to serve their communities.