Assemblywoman Woerner Advances Legislation Expanding Access to Broadband in Rural Areas

ALBANY — Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner and Sen. Michelle Hinchey this week announced legislation addressing efficiency and cost barriers facing broadband service providers seeking to build out infrastructure in rural and underserved areas of New
York State. 

One provision would streamline the contract process for these build-outs and a second would more fairly distribute installation costs between broadband service providers and utility companies. 

When broadband service providers seek to install internet service on a utility pole, they must obtain contracts to use space on each pole they intend to use. The bill amends the Public Service Law to include all utility poles in a given city, town, or village under one contract, creating a more efficient system for broadband service providers to complete the installation process. This change would increase the likelihood that broadband providers will service more areas of the state and ensure that all homes within a municipality receive the same level of service. 

The Hinchey/Woerner bill also updates cost distribution dynamics between utility pole owners and broadband service providers. Pole owners regularly delay the replacement of aging utility poles and will condition access to the pole on the broadband service provider agreeing to pay all costs associated with replacing it. This practice can greatly increase the cost of deploying the necessary broadband infrastructure to underserved parts of the state, disincentivizing such investment overall in these areas. 

This legislation prohibits this practice by pole owners and makes it so that whoever is requesting space on a utility pole will only be liable for a small portion of the cost if a new pole needs to be installed. 

“If we have learned anything in the past year, it is the extent to which we require a reliable internet connection to function in the world. This is one step to assure that residents of rural communities have access to the technology that most of the rest of the state takes for granted,” said Woerner, in a prepared statement.