Pole Attachments and Joint Use for
Investor-Owned Utilities
July 31, 2024 | Online
If you are unable to attend at the scheduled date and time, we make recordings available to all registrants for seven days after the event
EUCI’s Utility Pole Attachments and Joint Use course is designed to empower investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in navigating the complexities of pole attachments and joint use. The course addresses common misconceptions of pole attachments and joint use and provides comprehensive insights to facilitate safe and efficient access to poles for broadband infrastructure.
Participants will gain valuable knowledge on topics such as:
- Make-ready processes
- Pole attachment rates
- Enforcement
- Key contractual considerations
- Unique challenges posed by wireless attachments
By the end of the course, IOU attendees will be equipped with the necessary expertise to actively participate in broadband deployment and ensure the smooth operation of their systems while supporting the growing demand for universal broadband access.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and dispel common misconceptions in the pole attachment domain, such as the perceived barriers posed by electric utilities and the costs associated with pole attachment fees
- Review make-ready processes, including timelines, fees, and the implementation of self-help and One Touch Make-Ready approaches
- Evaluate and negotiate rates effectively in joint use agreements, considering the unique challenges and considerations for IOUs
- Enforce pole attachment agreements, including addressing unauthorized attachments, safety violations, and managing pole transfers
- Review key legal aspects of pole attachment agreements, including indemnification, bonds, insurance, and assignment, while also understanding the need for a separate addendum to address wireless attachments
Agenda
WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. : CENTRAL TIME
Utility Broadband Deployment
- The need for broadband
- Grants and funding
- Potential challenges
Misperceptions in Investor-Owned Utility Pole Attachments
- All Communication Companies are Not Equal
- ILECs
- CLECs
- CATV
- Broadband Providers
- Antenna Companies
- Electric Utilities are not a Barrier to Broadband Deployment
- Pole attachment fees
- Make-ready
- Upgrades to infrastructure
- Make-Ready Is Not Easy
- Working with Communication Companies
- Make-ready engineering
- The NESC standards
- Permitting
- One Touch Make-Ready
- Communication companies use of electric company’s easement
- Notice and overlashing
- Safety Considerations and Violations
- Should we do a safety inspection?
- Joint Use
- Tree trimming
- Ground line treatment
- ILEC payments
- Rate changes
- Terms and conditions
- Wireless Attachments
- In-line antennas
- FCC compliance for RF
- Wireless rates
History of Investor-Owned Utility Pole Attachments
- 1996 Telecom Act
- Challenges with ILECs
- Section 224 exclusion of ILECs
- Cable rates for mom-and-pop cable companies
- Telecom rate for all attachments
- Addition of timelines: Kentucky co-op slow to make-ready
- Cable neutralizes telecom rate
- ILECs no longer excluded from Section 224
- FCC regulation: wireless attachments
- Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC)
- One Touch Make-Ready
- Notice for overlashing
- What happens to attachments when code violations haven’t been corrected
- Lack of ILEC rate clarification
- Make-Ready
- Reverse Preemption
Utility Pole Attachment Contracts
- Key Definitions
- A pole
- A service
- “Deemed approved”
- Contract Must-Haves
- The pole owner can deny access for safety, engineering and reliability
- Rates
- Term
- Make-ready process
- Timelines
- Fees
- Self-help
- One Touch Make-Ready
- Enforcement
- Unauthorized attachments
- Safety violations
- Pole transfers
- Attorney Role
- Indemnification
- Bonds and Insurance
- Assignment
- Wireless Addendum to Pole Attachment Agreement
Case Study: Utility Pole Attachment Permitting Technology with Georgia Power