There is a cable television series called “Hell on Wheels” that dramatizes the story of the construction of the transcontinental railroad and the men who built it. When the project was completed in 1869, it was more than a rail and telegraph connection to the west coast. The United States had created a world class infrastructure to generate commerce and improve communications.

Today, governmental agencies and consumer advocates are encouraging the deployment of a 21st century “broadband railroad.” They believe that providing advanced Internet speeds to every home will facilitate economic development, education and innovation.

Connecticut has been an active participant in promoting broadband communication. In 2010, the state obtained a $92 million federal grant to complete state educational and emergency services networks. The Nutmeg Network connects 1,000 public buildings with high-speed broadband through an open access fiber system that is available to other prospective users.

Now the state is considering a greater role. A consortium of towns working with the Office of Consumer Counsel issued a RFP seeking industry ideas for funding and deploying a gigabyte of broadband capacity to 46 participating communities at affordable prices. Concurrently, the General Assembly is considering establishing an office of broadband access and allowing broadband taxing districts.

These are noble efforts but to a certain extent the state is encouraging towns to build train stations while overlooking large cracks in the tracks. Entities seeking to build additional broadband facilities may not face mountain passes, wild animals and outlaws like the transcontinental railroad, but there are serious barriers to entry and expansion.

First, the key competitors in the $1.3 trillion telecommunications industry are financial giants. The largest players such as Verizon, AT&T, Google and Comcast have market capitalizations ranging from $150 billion to $350 billion. In Connecticut, AT&T sold only a portion of SNET’s wireline business to Frontier for $2 billion.

Second, market forces will inevitably direct broadband investment to those customers, communities and technologies most likely to return a profit and repay the investment. Just as it took wireline telephone, broadcast television, cable TV and internet companies decades to penetrate 90 pecent of the population with their services, the industry will need some time to reach every community with high speed broadband. 

Third, utility poles in the public right-of-way are critical to expanding broadband just like the track was for the railroad. In fact, 94 percent of the 800,000 utility poles in Connecticut are jointly owned by a private electric company (CL&P or United Illuminating) and an incumbent telephone company (Frontier or Verizon). These joint owners often disagree as to how to manage pole work and allocate costs for maintaining the poles.

Fourth, competitors seeking to install additional telecommunications facilities on poles are subject to numerous restrictions and preconditions. These traditionally included getting a license from both pole owners for each installation, getting each installation approved by the Public Utility Regulatory Authority, and paying for and completing any “make-ready” work deemed necessary by the pole owners to add an attachment. Thames Valley Communications told PURA in 2008 that they were delayed more than a year in seeking licenses from SNET to install competing cable TV and broadband lines.

As criticism increased about this uneven playing field, Connecticut regulators decided this was no way to run a railroad. PURA took several actions to provide telecommunications competitors with “equal access to utility poles” as required by federal and state laws. These included requiring pole owners to process licenses and complete pole work within 90 days; ordering them to reduce the pole rental charge; and empowering the electric companies to administer pole issues and use a centralized computer program. The state is now considered an attractive location for fiber facilities as recognized by the FCC in its National Broadband Plan.

Nevertheless, a broadband railroad is unlikely to be built throughout Connecticut anytime soon. The Central Pacific Railroad laid 10 miles of track in a single record day in 1869. By comparison, it can still take up to 90 days for a 21st century company to install broadband fiber on 8 to 10 existing poles to serve a single customer. Connecticut laws adopted before telecommunications competition existed and when television could only be viewed at the World’s Fair can also delay deployments. The law requires utilities to obtain the consent of the municipality and adjoining property owners before adding certain new equipment to existing poles.

Government leaders should encourage the telecommunications industry to broaden their broadband investments across Connecticut. The best place to start is for regulators and broadband advocates to redouble efforts to eliminate the “Hell on Wires” that blocks the broadband railroad from matching the achievements of its 19th century predecessor.

Attorney Glenn Carberry of Norwich frequently represents telecommunications providers on regulatory issues and occasionally contributes commentary to the Day.