The following is the transcript of an interview with Ross Lieberman, SVP of Government Affairs for the American Cable Association, at NCTC’s WEC18 conference in San Antonio. Lieberman talks about barriers to rural broadband and opportunities for various public-private partnerships to speed broadband deployment in hard-to-serve areas.
Viodi:
Tell us about ACA’s broadband infrastructure plan for rural America
Lieberman
There is definitely a need for broadband in rural areas. It is recognized by policy-makers and by customers and those ACA members who are serving close to these unserved areas and the desire to get there. ACA is talking to policy-makers for steps to get there.
- Eliminate barriers to deployment, so that private investment can be used to reach these areas
- To take account of our successes with tax relief, as well as the programs like the FCC with the Connect America Fund. There is a lot of money already going into these areas.
- To make sure that whatever areas that can’t be reached through private investments through existing programs, that we find money to reach those areas. And, make sure that when we distribute it, we do so in an efficient manner and maximize its impact.
Viodi:
Some of the barriers can be quite subtle to the average person. Please elaborate on some of those barriers.
Lieberman:
The number one problem for many ACA members are pole attachments. To ensure fiber to areas, – some cases, miles and miles to get to a home – you have to be able to attach to a pole. These are controlled by electric utilities, or rural electrics or local governments. Making sure that the process of attaching is efficient, quick, timely, as well as not being overcharged is really important. It can really make the difference whether or not you can afford to serve an area.
Another barrier of concern is making sure we have conduit available. Congress has bills, called ‘dig once’, where, when the federal government builds new roads, it would create conduit where fiber could be blown in, lowering costs.
Viodi:
Some states, such as Arizona (as seen here), have introduced those policies as well.
Lieberman
The solution is not going to one that is going to be solely solved by private investment, or the federal government. Many states and local governments are trying to find ways to solve it. New York State just had a program where they coordinated with the FCC’s USF Fund to be able to deploy fiber, in some cases, with speeds up to 100 Mb/s to rural areas. Many ACA members have participated in that program.
Viodi:
With the recent nomination of Ken Johnson [GM of electric co-op, Co-Mo] to head the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), it seems like that lends itself to the idea of public-private partnerships [see this Viodi interview with Ken Johnson, as background].
Lieberman:
Absolutely. There are many federal programs that facilitate broadband deployment; the FCC’s USF program is one, the rural loan guarantee program of RUS is another. Having someone in charge who understands what it takes for a company to build-out into rural America is important. Co-Mo has that experience and over the last 10 years they have been quite progressive in building out broadband services to their customers.
Viodi:
What was neat is that Co-Mo’s was truly a grassroots effort where they crowdsourced the first pilot they did (see this interview with a local banker who helped kick-start Co-Mo’s broadband build).
Lieberman:
It [Co-Mo] is a model of success for many rural co-ops. Certainly, to the extent that those lessons learned can be applied to others it creates new opportunities for broadband.
Viodi:
Ross, I appreciate your time and look forward to catching up at the ACA Summit.
Lieberman:
Sounds good. Thanks Ken.
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