A state task force to fix pole attachment issues — a crucial issue endangering West Virginia’s $1.2 billion broadband expansion — watered down its final report, in part due to objections from utility companies.
Since August, a task force of state regulators, utilities, internet companies and government officials has met behind closed doors at the order of the Public Service Commission to solve pole attachment disputes over how to split the bill.
The group’s final report sheds light on the discussions — and disagreements — in the meetings.
“In many instances, task force participants expressed strongly held positions,” PSC staff wrote.
The task force did not adopt proposals from broadband officials to require more detailed information from utilities about the condition of the poles across West Virginia or to be involved in resolving disputes.
Utilities outright objected to state broadband officials having a role in mediation and raised concerns over the cost of another reporting requirement.
The task force recommended that the PSC enact a rapid response team for pole disputes, adopt federal regulations for sharing pole inspections and require utilities to report how they deal with pole attachment requests.
These proposals are similar to what was outlined within draft documents in December, as reported by Mountain State Spotlight.
Mark Polen, executive director of the West Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association, wrote in a letter that the group fully supported the recommendations and hoped the PSC would endorse the report at “its earliest opportunity”.
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One major recommendation was to create a rapid response team, modeled after the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) own team. The team, made up of PSC officials, would mediate disputes between utilities and internet providers faster than the current process.
The state Broadband Enhancement Council, which works to expand broadband, requested to be included in this mediation process. Utilities, who own the state’s poles, objected to this, and it was not included in the task force’s final recommendations.
The task force also recommended that utilities report data about pole attachments and processing procedures.
Pole owners pushed back, saying they didn’t have the capacity or a readily available database and would need to pay for it. They asked whether customers would end up paying for it.
However, PSC staff wrote in the task force’s final report that the utility companies should already have the data, and it would aid broadband deployment across the state.
They wrote that the new process would have a “significant benefit for all stakeholders truly interested in promoting broadband expansion in West Virginia.”
Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of First Energy, serve the northern half of the state and were one of the utilities on the task force. Company spokesperson, Will Boye, said the task force’s recommendations were reasonable and considered the company’s concerns over costs.
Appalachian Power, which serves the southern half of the state, did not respond to a request for comment.
During the task force’s deliberations, the state Broadband Office and the Broadband Enhancement Council proposed that utilities be required to share pole inspection reports with the PSC and their offices. They asked for the reports to include more data on a pole’s capacity, height, and condition.
They wrote that a database from the reports would be for “the benefit of the public” because inspections in the state are currently “being financed in large part through federal grants.”
However, PSC staff wrote that the proposal went beyond requirements at the federal level. The task force recommended the state adopt the current FCC pole inspection regulations and reconsider a database later.
A spokesperson for Charter Communications, Spectrum’s parent company, said they appreciated the task force’s efforts and that it can shave months, or years, off the time it takes to deploy broadband.
“Similar programs in Maine and Ohio to bring parties together and quickly address disputes have been enormously helpful in speeding pole attachments in those states,” they said. “We’re glad to see the Task Force recommendations to adopt similar processes in West Virginia.”
Following a two-week comment period, the PSC will consider the task force’s recommendations and whether to implement or reject them.