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Is that really true in practice? I've been reading lots of stories like these: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160314/09374733901/isps-are-blocking-google-f

by awongh 10y ago

Is that really true in practice? I've been reading lots of stories like these: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160314/09374733901/isps-are-blocking-google-fibers-access-to-utility-poles-california.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160314/09374733901/isps-... that talk about how hard it is for any new player to get access to these last mile infrastructure bits. Even if the rules of renting pole space are "fair" maybe we should be encouraging competition in this space by changing them.

rayiner 10y ago
The existing pole attachment process is pretty comprehensive and effective, if a bit slow. It requires the pole owner to review the proposed attachment and do the "make ready" work of making space on the pole for the new wires. But there are legally enforceable deadlines for how quickly it has to do that: http://www.kelleydrye.com/getattachment/ea12262c-0564-45b2-93dd-7fca07ec9cb2/attachment.aspx http://www.kelleydrye.com/getattachment/ea12262c-0564-45b2-9.... The fight described in the Tech Dirt article isn't about Google being denied access to existing poles. It's over a "one touch make ready" ordinance that speeds up the process (which currently can take months) by allowing the new ISP to move existing wires while hanging up their own. The ordinances were passed specifically to facilitate Google's fiber deployment. One touch should probably be part of the federal regulation. But without such an ordinance you can still get access to the poles, it just takes longer. (There is a political dimension to the one touch fight that's probably not well known here. Currently, unionized telco and power company workers are guanranteed to get some work out of the process of a new ISP coming in. Under one touch, a new ISP could come in and hire a non-union contractor to do all the work: http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/09/09/t-workers-face-uncertainty-one-touch-make-ready-vote-looms/89958322 http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/09/09/t-workers-f.... It's not a good reason for holding up fiber deployment, but it's why the opposition to one touch laws has more traction than you'd expect.)

by awongh 10y ago

rayiner 10y ago

The existing pole attachment process is pretty comprehensive and effective, if a bit slow. It requires the pole owner to review the proposed attachment and do the "make ready" work of making space on the pole for the new wires. But there are legally enforceable deadlines for how quickly it has to do that: http://www.kelleydrye.com/getattachment/ea12262c-0564-45b2-93dd-7fca07ec9cb2/attachment.aspx http://www.kelleydrye.com/getattachment/ea12262c-0564-45b2-9.... The fight described in the Tech Dirt article isn't about Google being denied access to existing poles. It's over a "one touch make ready" ordinance that speeds up the process (which currently can take months) by allowing the new ISP to move existing wires while hanging up their own. The ordinances were passed specifically to facilitate Google's fiber deployment. One touch should probably be part of the federal regulation. But without such an ordinance you can still get access to the poles, it just takes longer. (There is a political dimension to the one touch fight that's probably not well known here. Currently, unionized telco and power company workers are guanranteed to get some work out of the process of a new ISP coming in. Under one touch, a new ISP could come in and hire a non-union contractor to do all the work: http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/09/09/t-workers-face-uncertainty-one-touch-make-ready-vote-looms/89958322 http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/09/09/t-workers-f.... It's not a good reason for holding up fiber deployment, but it's why the opposition to one touch laws has more traction than you'd expect.)