Key Points

1. 1) Broadband has become a critical component to the lives of almost all Americans, and policymakers should continue exploring methods of improving adoption and access.
2. 2) While most efforts to increase access to broadband focus on direct monetary subsidies, reducing barriers to deployment can help maximize subsidy dollars and incentivize private deployment of critical infrastructure.
3. 3) Pole replacement costs present an outweighed barrier to deployment, and action at the federal level has yet to provide the necessary relief.
4. 4) States should act quickly to better apportion the costs of replacing the pole between the owner of the pole and broadband providers, as well as extending a cost-sharing regime to all poles.