The American Cable Association warned that untethered pole attachment
rates could drive the cost of broadband beyond the reach of rural
customers.
In comments filed Aug. 16 with the Federal Communications
Commission, the ACA, which represents about 900 mostly rural cable
operators with a combined 7.6 million subscribers, applauded the FCCs'
efforts to promote broadband deployment through revised pole attachment
regulations. But the organization said that new proposed pole attachment
formulas could increase fees five-fold for some operators, which in
turn would cause consumer broadband rates to rise.
"To maintain
leadership in deploying broadband in rural America, ACA members need to
access poles at low and stable prices in order for the price of
high-speed Internet access to remain affordable for all consumers," ACA
CEO Matt Polka said in a statement. "An increase in pole fees will have a
financially punishing and disproportionate impact on rural broadband
providers, which rely on poles far more than urban providers and have
fewer subscribers to absorb the impact of rising fees."
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