Steve Shurtleff, a Concord native, has been a member of the NH House of Representatives since 2004 and served as Speaker of the House from 2018 to 2020.
In New Hampshire, high-speed internet for every home and business has been elusive despite efforts by both Democrats and Republicans at the federal level — until now.
Thanks to the work of leaders like Sens. Shaheen and Hassan, who worked on the bipartisan infrastructure proposal, we have a chance to achieve universal connectivity. With the passage of this law, Congress has given broadband infrastructure the funding it needs.
New Hampshire will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state, including providing access to the at least 42,800 people in New Hampshire who currently lack it.
Unfortunately, there’s one thing standing in the way: old, outdated rules regarding access to utility poles. While the federal government is making moves to speed the deployment of broadband resources, the NTIA is currently considering states’ broadband plans and the White House announced it was taking steps to speed infrastructure build-outs, that means speeding access to poles is more urgent than ever.
Utility poles are what allow us to stay connected. They’re essential to our communications infrastructure, so it goes without saying that they will play a pivotal role in expanding broadband access. To bring broadband to the areas that lack it, internet providers will need access to poles to attach the necessary equipment, but far too often the overly-complex permitting process stands in the way.
Sounds simple, right? The complication is that most broadband providers do not own utility poles — electric companies, co-ops, local utilities, and others do. Internet service providers must get permission to access poles and pay a fee to affix their technology.
While providers have been generally willing to pay for pole access, unfortunately, the permitting process can be complicated and opaque. Not all pole owners share the same sense of urgency as unserved Granite Staters do for broadband access.
We need a clearer system for resolving disagreements over cost-sharing when it comes to poles so that broadband can be expanded as quickly as possible. Our federal leaders can make sure we speed access to poles and that there’s a transparent timeline for resolving disagreements so that providers can bring broadband to unserved communities
Until we fix this process, it will be unserved Granite Staters who haven’t had a chance to catch up to their connected communities that are hurt. It’s children who have to do their homework in library parking lots because they don’t have internet at home or older Granite Staters who have to drive to a city to visit a specialist because they can’t get online to access telehealth services.
Since I have last written on the subject, the FCC announced it was seeking comments on rules to resolve disputes over the cost of poles, but action has stalled. The bipartisan infrastructure law holds great promise to finally get every house and business access to high-speed internet. We need like-minded leaders in Washington to make sure their great work on broadband connectivity can do what it was meant to do.