One telecom executive dey push hard for the reduction of right-of-way fees, especially as companies dey struggle to deploy broadband infrastructure across the country. According to recent discussions, the high cost of building middle-mile networks, which serve as the backbone for last-mile deployments, dey pose significant challenges. Nate Walowitz, regional broadband program director at the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, talk say the business case for building rural fiber, especially middle mile, no be fantastic because of the high costs involved.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) don allocate $42 billion to connect last-mile communities and almost $1 billion for middle mile networks, but this money no enough to cover the full cost of building middle-mile infrastructure. Walowitz suggest say regional governments fit help make middle-mile more affordable by encouraging collaboration between companies. For example, if two companies want build middle-mile network in the same region, dem fit work together to share the costs and ensure each company get fair access to the markets on the network’s path.
AT&T, one of the major telecom companies, also dey advocate for changes in how spectrum is managed to support better broadband deployment. AT&T propose incentive auction to move existing CBRS spectrum users to a different portion of the 3GHz band, which would free up the 3.55GHz-3.7GHz band for high-power, licensed operations. This move fit help in reducing the costs and complexities associated with deploying broadband services in rural areas.
The issue of affordability and cost-effectiveness dey central to the discussions. State broadband officials for Utah and Arizona talk say the high-cost threshold for fiber deployment likely go be between $10,000 and $15,000 per passing. If the cost exceed this threshold, dem fit switch to alternative technologies. This approach fit ensure that more communities get access to high-speed internet without breaking the bank.
