David Hall: Make broadband installation as efficient as possible

By David Hall

Seemingly everyone can agree that internet access plays a more pivotal role in our economy than it ever has. From small retailers that do most of their business online to patients who were still able to see their doctors due to the increase in telehealth, more and more of our economy has moved online. For members of Transplant Recipients International Organization, telehealth was a game changer during the pandemic and beyond. But there are still over 8% of households in Washington state that lack broadband access, meaning that as we continue to transition toward a more internet-dependent world, those without it will be left out of opportunities afforded to the vast majority of our state.

TRIO is an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life of transplant candidates, recipients, their families and the families of organ and tissue donors. We recently started our Spokane Chapter and launched a support group, and while we want to make sure our members have access to telehealth, we also want to make sure we can reach out to anyone who needs our support. These can be difficult in areas without adequate broadband infrastructure.

It is refreshing to see that federal lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, including in Washington state, have come together to find solutions to help make sure everyone can reap the benefits of the online economy. Over the past two administrations, billions have been allocated to help connect folks to high-speed internet. Most recently, the 2021 infrastructure law allocates $65 billion to closing the digital divide, the bulk of which is aimed at broadband expansion projects, predominantly in rural areas that typically aren’t financially appealing to deploy broadband in, requiring public and private entities to coordinate with one another to connect the remaining unserved homes. This law has the potential to get rural folks connected. But this much-needed progress won’t happen unless policymakers update an obsolete and inefficient process: rules governing access to utility poles.

Utility poles, which connect homes with telephone service, electricity and broadband, are the foundation of our country’s communications infrastructure. Internet service providers typically don’t own these poles, utilities and co-ops do, so in order for providers to expand access they must be granted permission by pole owners to attach the necessary technology. For access to poles, providers are required to pay pole owners a fee which they have consistently been willing to, but rules regarding this negotiation process are unclear and overly complex. If disagreements come up between broadband providers and pole owners, they take an unnecessarily long time to resolve, causing delays that hold back would-be consumers, and increase project costs wasting our tax dollars.

Those hurt most by this antiquated process are the unserved communities and their economies – remote workers who can’t move or visit rural areas, would-be entrepreneurs, students who can’t complete homework assignments at home, homebound patients who can’t visit a doctor’s office in person, and so many more.

The longer we wait to fix this, the further our inequities grow – especially for our rural communities. Policymakers in Washington, D.C., have found the commonsense solution to these broadband issues before, but in order for the bipartisan infrastructure law to reach its full potential, we must modernize pole rules so that the unserved can get connected efficiently. To do this, lawmakers must first update the process for replacing out-of-date poles. Next, they can make the process more transparent by establishing and enforcing consistent time frames for permits. Lastly, when disagreements between providers and pole owners do come up, there needs to be a system in place to resolve those disagreements as quickly as possible.

These solutions are not only commonsense, but cost the taxpayer nothing. Those who would benefit from telehealth, like our TRIO members, in unserved communities in Washington state are depending on our elected officials. Let’s update the rules so we can close the digital divide in rural Washington State once and for all.

David Hall is executive director of the Pacific Northwest chapter of Transplant Recipients International Organization, an independent, not-for-profit, international organization committed to improving the quality of life of transplant candidates, recipients, their families and the families of organ and tissue donors.