One of the major issues the Public Service Commission has grappled with in recent years involves our effort to support the expansion in this state of high-speed internet service, commonly called broadband.

Because of the mountainous terrain of the state, broadband is often accessed through provider service lines strung on utility poles. Our Commission regulates those poles and what can be attached to them.

It is estimated that the state has more than 2.5 million poles, mostly owned by the two major power companies, but also by telephone carriers like Frontier.

We have been tasked with determining who, other than the pole owners, can attach their services to the poles owned by the power or telephone companies. And we are to properly interpret the Federal Communications Commission and state rules to determine who will pay the costs and what attachments can be made with those third-party attachment applications

So, if you pay attention to what we do here, you will be hearing lots in the future about such terms as “broadband expansion,” “pole attachments,” and a panel we created to look into all this: “the pole attachment working group.”

The Commission has a leading role in the pole attachment process. Our rules and our orders have declared who is going to pay for the various services.

Another major issue in all of this is the need to replace aging and weakened utility poles that are subject to inclement weather and environmental damage. These utility poles are critical to the delivery of essential services throughout West Virginia.

The Commission expects two reports detailing pole replacement and maintenance activities to ensure the money allocated for pole infrastructure is spent as intended.

Access to utility poles is imperative to the expansion of broadband in West Virginia. New broadband projects are ongoing throughout the state. More than 78 percent of locations in West Virginia now have access to broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission, increasing from 65 percent in 2023. However, to reach 100 percent, West Virginia’s pole attachment policies must be streamlined, and the pole distribution system must be sound.

Together, these two issues – pole attachments and the quality of the pole distribution system itself – are essential elements of the utility delivery system. The Commission is addressing these issues on behalf of all West Virginians.

(Lane is chair of the West Virginia Public Service Commission)