Comcast and AT&T duke it out with utilities over pole attachments

Broadband operators are appealing to the Federal Communications Commission, saying, "Please give us some relief for pole attachment issues!" The FCC has supposedly already provided relief. In July 2025, it passed an order to streamline pole attachment rules. And that order went into effect in May 2026 when the Office of Management and Budget approved it. In addition, the FCC used its new Accelerated Docket process and its Rapid Broadband Assessment Team (RBAT) in February 2026 to deal with a complaint in which Comcast accused Appalachian Power Company (APCo) of charging pole attachment fees in an illegal manner. The FCC boasted that its order in the matter between Comcast and APCo resolved the dispute within 60 days of the complaint’s filing and helped Comcast move forward with some of its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) projects in Virginia. However, APCo may be blowing off the FCC. In another case between a telecom operator and a utility, on June 24, AT&T filed a complaint with the FCC against Duke Energy Carolinas about the rates being charged for pole attachments. According to AT&T, Duke “has long charged AT&T unjust and unreasonable pole attachment rental rates” in North and South Carolina. And AT&T claims that Duke refuses to lower these rates “despite repeated Commission orders enforcing the right of ILECs to just and reasonable rates.” Unfortunately, the exact rates that Duke is charging are redacted in the public FCC document, except for the fact that it’s “millions of dollars.” AT&T is asking that Duke be required to refund overcharges and be ordered to charge reasonable rates moving forward.