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September 07. 2012 12:57AM
UNH partner: Telecoms stall cable project
The company that has partnered with UNH to install fiber optic cable throughout the state as part of a $66 million federal stimulus project says private telecommunication firms are blocking efforts to use their telephone poles. In an order issued Wednesday, the Public Utilities Commission asked the UNH subcontractor to provide more evidence to support its claims.
Known as the Middle Mile, the project has been controversial since its inception in 2010. At that time, in-state telecoms told the Union Leader that they have spent tens of millions of dollars installing broadband networks and don't like the idea of having to compete against a taxpayer-funded project managed by a state-backed university.
In April, New Hampshire Optical Systems, the UNH partner in the project, filed a petition with the PUC claiming that private telecoms were impeding its efforts use their poles, and called for an investigation into the practices related to the pole attachment work required for the Middle Mile.
Industry trade groups representing the private telecoms on Aug. 13 filed motions with the PUC to dismiss the NHOS petition, and on Aug. 20 the University System of New Hampshire filed a petition to intervene. In its order Wednesday, the PUC declined to dismiss the petition, but ordered NHOS to come up with more details.
The order also accepts USNH as an intervenor and allows several private telecoms to jump in on behalf of the trade organizations fighting the project.
NHOS alleges that utilities have “refused to perform the make-ready work that must occur before NHOS can attach its fiber optic cable,” and that the utilities have demanded that NHOS agree to pay for make-ready work that is unrelated to the new attachments, unreasonable in scope and charged at excessive rates.
According to the PUC order, NHOS alleges that these and other practices have “led to serious delays that may jeopardize the Middle Mile network project's viability, given the federally-imposed completion deadline of June 2013.”
The optical system company is hoping the PUC will order the pole owners to perform the work “in a timely fashion and under terms that are fair and reasonable.”
In its analysis, the PUC staff says NHOS simply hasn't provided enough information for the regulatory agency to process its complaint. “Despite allegations of impropriety, the petition provided no specific conduct to investigate and no pole locations, pole owners or third-party attachers on which to focus an investigation.”
The order goes on to state, “The Middle Mile project involves approximately 23,000 poles, and numerous pole owners and third-party attachers. Without specifics, we could not conduct a meaningful investigation.”
Rather than dismiss the NHOS petition, the PUC order requires the company to provide direct answers, under oath, to a list of 12 questions, as well as extensive documentation to support its claims, including a list of companies with which NHOS currently has outstanding disputes related to pole attachments.
The order also includes a list of questions to be answered separately by FairPoint, PSNH and Unitil, which own the majority of poles at issue.
Spokespersons for NHOS, FairPoint and other utilities involved in the dispute were unavailable for comment on the PUC order.
The NHOS website says the Middle Mile project, with 750-plus miles of high-bandwidth optical fiber, “will form a statewide broadband technology corridor that will serve the state for decades to come.”
Similar networks are under development in Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts.
Dave Solomon may be reached at dsolomon@unionleader.com.
Known as the Middle Mile, the project has been controversial since its inception in 2010. At that time, in-state telecoms told the Union Leader that they have spent tens of millions of dollars installing broadband networks and don't like the idea of having to compete against a taxpayer-funded project managed by a state-backed university.
In April, New Hampshire Optical Systems, the UNH partner in the project, filed a petition with the PUC claiming that private telecoms were impeding its efforts use their poles, and called for an investigation into the practices related to the pole attachment work required for the Middle Mile.
Industry trade groups representing the private telecoms on Aug. 13 filed motions with the PUC to dismiss the NHOS petition, and on Aug. 20 the University System of New Hampshire filed a petition to intervene. In its order Wednesday, the PUC declined to dismiss the petition, but ordered NHOS to come up with more details.
The order also accepts USNH as an intervenor and allows several private telecoms to jump in on behalf of the trade organizations fighting the project.
NHOS alleges that utilities have “refused to perform the make-ready work that must occur before NHOS can attach its fiber optic cable,” and that the utilities have demanded that NHOS agree to pay for make-ready work that is unrelated to the new attachments, unreasonable in scope and charged at excessive rates.
According to the PUC order, NHOS alleges that these and other practices have “led to serious delays that may jeopardize the Middle Mile network project's viability, given the federally-imposed completion deadline of June 2013.”
The optical system company is hoping the PUC will order the pole owners to perform the work “in a timely fashion and under terms that are fair and reasonable.”
In its analysis, the PUC staff says NHOS simply hasn't provided enough information for the regulatory agency to process its complaint. “Despite allegations of impropriety, the petition provided no specific conduct to investigate and no pole locations, pole owners or third-party attachers on which to focus an investigation.”
The order goes on to state, “The Middle Mile project involves approximately 23,000 poles, and numerous pole owners and third-party attachers. Without specifics, we could not conduct a meaningful investigation.”
Rather than dismiss the NHOS petition, the PUC order requires the company to provide direct answers, under oath, to a list of 12 questions, as well as extensive documentation to support its claims, including a list of companies with which NHOS currently has outstanding disputes related to pole attachments.
The order also includes a list of questions to be answered separately by FairPoint, PSNH and Unitil, which own the majority of poles at issue.
Spokespersons for NHOS, FairPoint and other utilities involved in the dispute were unavailable for comment on the PUC order.
The NHOS website says the Middle Mile project, with 750-plus miles of high-bandwidth optical fiber, “will form a statewide broadband technology corridor that will serve the state for decades to come.”
Similar networks are under development in Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts.
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Dave Solomon may be reached at dsolomon@unionleader.com.