ISP Attachments to Cost $1 on Electric Co-op Poles in Unserved Ga.
ISPs will pay $1 per pole annually for attaching to electric cooperative infrastructure in Georgia’s unserved areas over the next six years and nearly $30 in served areas, Georgia Public Service Commissioners agreed at a virtual meeting Tuesday. They voted 5-0 for a modified version of a dual-rate regime suggested by electric membership cooperatives setting how much EMCs may charge telecoms.
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Members split 3-2 on a $27.71 rental rate for areas considered served on Georgia’s broadband map. That's $7 less than a rate proposed by EMCs that the telecom industry opposed as discouraging broadband.
The broadband incentive “is of utmost importance for those of us in rural Georgia,” said Commissioner Jason Shaw (R). The order in docket 42453 implements a 2020 state law (HB-244) requiring new rates. The FCC sets pole attachment fees for regulated utilities including Georgia Power, but EMC rates were previously unregulated, based instead on joint-use agreements. The $1 will apply to broadband providers not already attached to EMC poles.
Staff last week proposed a formula that would yield different rates for each EMC, with a weighted average of $7.54 per pole for unserved places and $18.57 for those considered served, Georgia Assistant Attorney General Dan Walsh said at the meeting. But Commissioner Tim Echols (R) moved to adopt EMCs’ proposed $1 for unserved and $34.72 for served. Commissioner Tricia Pridemore (R) asked to amend Echols’ proposal to reduce the served rate to $27.71. Shaw and Chairman Chuck Eaton (R) supported Pridemore’s amendment. While Echols and Commissioner Bubba McDonald (R) voted no on the lower price, they supported the final order.
McDonald raised concerns about too much regulation when Eaton proposed requiring the commission biennially review the status of broadband deployment and the impact of its order. Eaton’s amendment, adopted 4-1, requires EMCs to report pole attachment revenue and attachments, and ISPs to report network expansion spending and total customers. It allows the commission to modify its order if necessary, the chairman said. McDonald, who faces a runoff election Jan. 5 (see 2011090017), argued the commission could do that without setting up a specific regime now: “I just want to be slow about overregulating.”
Eaton said requiring reporting now will show legislators the PSC is on the job. “This was debated for 10 years in the General Assembly, and I need to be able to look them in the eye and tell them that what we’ve done here will help expand rural broadband.” It sets expectations for stakeholders, he added. Pridemore agreed it’s important to set a time frame. All commissioners supported McDonald's amendment to shorten notice requirements in emergencies.
Electric co-ops called the new terms reasonable. The PSC "is giving broadband providers access to utility infrastructure at a cost of next-to-nothing, in the locations where Georgia needs broadband the most,” said Georgia EMC President Dennis Chastain. This helps co-ops pursue partnerships with broadband providers, he said. Amicalola EMC and Ellijay Telephone announced one such agreement Dec. 2. The $27.71 for served areas is fair, said Chastain in another statement.
The telecom industry warns the proposal would raise their costs. AT&T urged the PSC last week to instead adopt the FCC telecom formula, while state cable and telecom associations supported adopting the FCC cable rate. The FCC approach is more proven than the untested EMC plan for spurring broadband, the associations said. AT&T and the others didn't comment now.