To ensure the successful rollout of universal broadband, streamlining the complex web of permitting is critical.
Bridging the digital divide is within our reach. As the federal government gears up to deliver $42.5 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funds, unserved Americans in the hardest-to-reach and most expensive-to-build areas will soon gain affordable access to high-speed broadband.
But outdated, overlapping, and redundant permitting processes across the jurisdictions of multiple institutions threaten deployment with delays and prohibitive fees. BEAD funding is on a four-year timeline, and according to Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry, the “average time frame for a fiber deployment in rural areas is from five to 10 years.”
These permitting problems have always existed, but with the influx of BEAD funding comes skyrocketing demand that will pile on to existing backlogs and threaten to destroy deployment projects before they can even begin. The time to act is now: Let’s treat this historic investment with the respect it deserves to be successful and invest in breaking down the barriers that could stand in its way.
The complicated web of permitting
The permitting problem affects every region undergoing broadband deployment, and permitting delays cost time and money. While $42.5 billion may seem like a lot, experts have argued it might not be enough. This is especially true if new networks are not built in a timely and cost-efficient manner because of permitting delays.
As providers attempt to deploy broadband in areas that need it, they also need to seek permission to set up those networks. Permit processing varies across the country, and providers often need to coordinate deployment across several agencies—local utilities and local and state governments; crossing federal lands can bring in the Department of Interior and Department of Transportation. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars in permitting fees and delays just to cross a railroad.
To cross a small stream requires a licensing decision from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. It might need water analysis from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and, if any trout are in the stream, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Too close to the ocean and crossing that stream requires involving the National Marine Fisheries Service. All will have their own biologists, contractors, and timelines for evaluating the same project with no coordination.
At a recent Congressional hearing on streamlining broadband permits, executive vice president of the NTCA The Rural Broadband Association, Michael Romano, gave more examples of the obstacles providers face under current permitting processes: After waiting nine months to receive approval for a network fiber upgrade in an already disturbed right-of-way, it was already winter and too late to start construction; One provider attempting a project in previously disturbed rights-of-way faced almost two years of delays going through historical and consultation processes under the National Historic Preservation Act.
While larger ISPs may have the manpower and funds to handle them, these complex permitting procedures, weighty fees, and lengthy delays can dissuade small network operators from applying for projects. For a successful rollout across the country, we need partnerships between service providers of all sizes—large to cover the biggest swaths of land and small to fill in the pockets. Unless everyone plays their part, some areas will get left behind.
South Carolina: taking the lead
The State Broadband Office of South Carolina has successfully created a model for other states to follow to streamline the permitting process. They formed a Broadband Advisory Council made up of representatives from across institutions: government, education, health, economic development, nonprofits, and service providers. They coordinate between stakeholders and state and local governments and provide community and technical support.
To receive BEAD funding, SC’s State Broadband Office also requires recipients to attend a training session to identify the necessary permits and agencies to obtain them. They also created two special broadband forms, one for within a county and another for multiple counties. Each form lays out the process and the people they need to involve. By leading everyone through the process, South Carolina better ensures its success in statewide broadband deployment.
We need to save time and spend wisely
While everyone agrees we need to do something to streamline and improve permitting processes for BEAD funds to be effective, we need more agreement around what needs to be done to fix it: collaboration, tools, and workers.
- Collaboration: State broadband offices should seek to emulate South Carolina’s approach and enhance coordination across federal and state decision-makers. We need increased transparency and communication from federal agencies and between local, state, tribal, and municipal bodies, and the involvement of all stakeholders—project developers, trade associations, and non-governmental organizations. We need mechanisms to speed up state and local permitting application reviews, standardize fees, ease restrictions on public land, remove historical preservation reviews, and loosen environmental regulations, especially around processes with minimal environmental impacts.
- Tools: Innovators and entrepreneurs can work to develop better tools and technology to collect and analyze information, facilitate stakeholder coordination, and provide greater transparency and ease of use for applicants. Former FCC official Blair Levin suggests the federal government “hire someone to build the tools and then license them for free to every state and local government.” With the right tools, more communication, and fewer surprises, all stakeholders can handle permitting faster and more efficiently.
- Workers: NTCA’s President and CEO, Michael Powell, called permitting and pole access barriers “the principal and primary obstacle to utilizing [BEAD] money effectively,” much of which could be resolved with better-staffed permitting agencies. Applicants often face delays because there are too few workers to review all the permits in time, pushing them off to the following year because of understaffing. Once BEAD funding is ready to distribute, the number of permits will jump through the roof. If we want states to handle the largest public works project in decades effectively, we need to start recruiting more workers to speed up permitting reviews.
Permits serve a purpose, but unchecked, they will become a barrier to closing the digital divide. Many of these permitting processes have gone unchecked for decades, but it has never been more urgent to unravel these complex permitting webs we have woven. We’ve gotten a record-setting federal investment to ensure everyone can access high-speed broadband. We should do everything in our power not to waste it.
