As federal money pours in for rural broadband, Pennsylvania remains stuck in a decades-old regulatory climate covering rural internet providers. At stake are the competitive benefits that accrue to customers who have service available from a variety of providers who are all regulated similarly.
Legislation in Harrisburg that would modernize regulations covering rural internet providers is imperative as nearly $800 million in federal dollars through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program has been earmarked for the Commonwealth to ensure that everyone has access to high-speed broadband.
The decades-old regulations cover a time when copper wire prevailed and each rural telco, or RLEC, had a virtual monopoly on voice service.
To be clear, copper wire was, for more than a century, a reliable and effective means with which to deploy voice communications to all corners of the Commonwealth. Its importance in the annals of telecommunications history cannot be overstated.
But those days are gone. Most rural telcos began deploying fiber well before the BEAD program was even imagined and all will continue those efforts with or without federal help. They will do so in a highly competitive environment in which all of their competitors are either unregulated or enjoy streamlined regulatory oversight at the state level.
The FCC has recognized this fact and has already moved to ease its regulatory burdens on telcos who are transitioning away from copper and towards fiber.
The competition among BEAD applicants rightly focused public policy discussion on what type of technology is the best for delivering fast, efficient, scalable, affordable and durable broadband to rural Pennsylvanians.
The natural outgrowth of this discussion was significant media coverage comparing fiber, satellite, fixed wireless and other technologies and, in our state, the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority has filed a provisional plan earmarking almost $800 million to carriers promising to deploy broadband utilizing a variety of these technologies.
While the common theme at issue here revolves around the future availability of technologically advanced broadband services in unserved and underserved areas, Pennsylvania remains mired in a monopoly-era regulatory environment which was statutorily created when copper wire was the cutting-edge technology.
This begs the question, why require Pennsylvania’s RLECs to endure monopoly-era, copper-era regulation and deny our rural consumers the benefits of true competition?
To address this question, the Pennsylvania Telephone Association urges the General Assembly to pass Senate Bill 491, legislation introduced by Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), which currently resides in the Senate Communications and Technology Committee.
This legislation will bring our state into the modern regulatory era and allow our rural telcos to compete fairly with all other providers, bringing the customer benefits of true robust competition to all Pennsylvania residents.
Steven J. Samara is President of the Pennsylvania Telephone Association
