- The FCC has passed rules and regulations to expedite pole attachment issues for fiber broadband companies
- But there are at least two disputes, currently, between operators and utility pole owners
- The utility pole owners may be refusing to comply with FCC orders
Broadband operators are appealing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) saying, please give us some relief for pole attachment issues!
The agency has supposedly already provided relief. In July 2025 it passed an order to streamline pole attachment rules. And that order went into effect in May 2026 when the Office of Management and Budget approved it.
In addition, the FCC used its new Accelerated Docket process and its Rapid Broadband Assessment Team (RBAT) in February to deal with a complaint in which Comcast accused Appalachian Power Company (APCo) of charging pole attachment fees in an illegal manner.
The FCC boasted that its order in the matter between Comcast and APCo resolved the dispute within 60 days of the complaint’s filing and helped Comcast move forward with some of its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) projects in Virginia.
However, APCo may be blowing off the FCC.
Jeff Mazzella, president of the advocacy group Center for Individual Freedom, penned an article this week, saying that APCo is ignoring the FCC’s order.
“The question the FCC answered in February was simply whether a monopoly [utility] landlord may bill its newest tenant [Comcast] for damage the tenant did not cause,” wrote Mazzella. “The Commission's answer was an emphatic and unanimous no. Unfortunately, APCo has apparently treated that final federal order as an opening position in a negotiation.”
APCo has continued to impose charges inconsistent with the ruling. Hence, Comcast has recently filed a second complaint with the FCC asking the Commission to enforce the order it issued five months ago.
“This particular dispute has already held up BEAD-funded deployments in Virginia that are slated to cover some 13,000 unserved homes and businesses,” wrote Mazzella. “In neighboring West Virginia, roughly $1 billion in broadband funding has been put at risk by pole disputes, according to state officials.”
He added, “In a nation governed by the rule of law, a final order from a federal agency is not a suggestion or a basis for further haggling. If defiance persists, the FCC could consider forfeiture proceedings and impose monetary penalties for willful and repeated noncompliance.”
AT&T vs Duke
In another case between a telecom operator and a utility, on June 24, AT&T filed a complaint with the FCC against Duke Energy Carolinas about the rates being charged for pole attachments.
According to AT&T, Duke “has long charged AT&T unjust and unreasonable pole attachment rental rates” in North and South Carolina. And AT&T claims that Duke refuses to lower these rates “despite repeated Commission orders enforcing the right of ILECs to just and reasonable rates.”
Unfortunately, the exact rates that Duke is charging are redacted in the public FCC document, except for the fact that it’s “millions of dollars.”
AT&T is asking that Duke be required to refund overcharges and be ordered to charge reasonable rates moving forward.
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