Georgia Public Service Commission Approves Measures to Promote Broadband Investment

Efforts to provide broadband in unserved areas of Georgia took another step forward following a Public Service Commission (PSC) decision which determines the fee paid by cable companies to attach wires and cables to electric membership cooperative utility poles. The Georgia PSC unanimously approved a motion requiring EMCs to lower the pole attachment rate for new attachments in areas of the state that are unserved by broadband, to $1, per pole, per year, for six years. This financial incentive, called the One Buck Deal, will be given to any qualified broadband provider that will agree to deliver new high-speed internet service in an area that is determined to be “unserved” by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Broadband Initiative Maps. The PSC also established a cost-based pole attachment rate in areas of the state that already have broadband service, and for existing attachments in unserved areas.