Jul 20, 2018 3 min read

In all the vastness and variety of life, utility poles are not something that many of us ever give a single thought to, unless one is in our front yard or falls over and knocks out our power.

They are, both literally and figuratively, part of the landscape, something that we take for granted.

A story that appeared in Sunday’s Observer-Reporter stressed just how important those poles are, particularly when it comes to providing broadband internet access to areas that need it to stay alive in today’s economy.

Reporter Trista Thurston outlined how Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission is exploring taking over the regulatory role that has been held by the Federal Communications Commission when it comes to the three precious feet of space on utility poles that have been set aside for communications. Electricity takes the top of the pole, and three feet below are usually divvied up by phone, telecommunications and cable companies.

Whether the state or federal government administers a portion of a utility pole might seem like so much irrelevant ephemera as long as the television set comes on when you hit the remote and there’s a dial tone when you pick up the phone. But Pennsylvania is angling to take over the regulations of what is attached to utility poles as part of an effort to expand broadband access to underserved areas of the commonwealth.

Why would Harrisburg taking on the regulatory role expand broadband access? Sometimes attachments to poles are unauthorized, and the process of adjudicating disputes can be long and cumbersome. Advocates for having the PUC take over the role currently held by the FCC argue that the state agency would be more nimble and speedy in resolving these disagreements. It would also be less expensive and eliminate the hurdles that can hinder the expansion of broadband in rural areas.

And it can’t be emphasized enough how important broadband is to the health of economies outside cities and suburbs. According to figures released last year by the U.S. Commerce Department, 35 percent of America’s rural residents – a little more than 20 million – do not have broadband access. This is a ball and chain rural communities are dragging. Over the last 10 years, cities have outpaced rural regions in job growth, and a significant portion of the jobs that rural communities lost in the Great Recession have never come back. Poverty is also higher in rural than in urban areas.

Having broadband access might not be the miracle elixir that can bring rural areas back to robust health, but it would help boost their prospects. Let’s say you’re the owner of a small manufacturing company that would have an interest in setting up shop and hiring workers in a rural community. Would you want to put your business there if it didn’t have reliable and speedy broadband service?

Improving broadband access is vital if rural areas want to keep pace in a modern economy. Twenty other states have already taken on regulating their utility poles to increase broadband access, and Pennsylvania should become the 21st.