The Maine Public Utilities Commission sided with Somerville on Tuesday, June 11, in its ruling that communications utility Consolidated Communications LLC, and not the town, must pay costs associated with readying telephone poles for the town’s long-planned fiber broadband network.
“I’m pleased they understood that Somerville is just exercising its rights,” said Sharon Reishus, chair of the Somerville Municipal Broadband Board. However, Reishus noted that she expects Consolidated Communications to bring the case before the Maine Supreme Court.
The ruling affirms Somerville’s eligibility to take advantage of a Maine statute that allows municipalities unserved or under-served by internet providers to attach their own town-owned networks to utility-owned poles without paying for preparations themselves.
Instead, the pole owner – in this case, Consolidated Communications LLC – will pay for the make-ready work.
“There does not appear to be any dispute that the core elements of the statute are met,” said Commissioner Philip Bartlett, of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, during deliberations on June 11.
Somerville, he continued, satisfies all the eligibility criteria for towns wishing to take advantage of the statute: namely, it is a municipality requesting that make-ready work be paid for, it is underserved by existing internet infrastructure and attempting to remedy that by creating a town-owned network, and Consolidated owns the shared telephone poles that the town wishes to connect its network to.
“I also agree that Consolidated should provide any make-ready work to accommodate the town of Somerville’s pole attachment facilities as part of the municipal broadband project,” said Commissioner Carrie Gilbert.
The third commissioner, Patrick Scully, also agreed.
Somerville initiated its broadband project believing the town was eligible and expecting to make use of the statute to reduce the cost of implementing the project, Reishus said.
Consolidated Communications attempted to prevent the town from making use of the statute, arguing in court filings that requiring the utility to pay make-ready costs would be unconstitutional.
Instead, Consolidated Communications said, Somerville should bear the cost.
The June 11 Public Utilities Commission ruling affirms Somerville’s stance that the town is eligible to receive make-ready work at the pole owner’s cost, Reishus said.
However, the Public Utilities Commission declined to comment on Consolidated Communications’ statement that the statute itself was unconstitutional.
“Historically, the commission has declined to address constitutional issues, recognizing that we are a statutorily created, quasi-judicial agency and that constitutional issues are best addressed by courts of law. I see no reason to deviate from this approach in this case,” said Bartlett.
“I think there are interesting constitutional questions that have been raised, but they’re not properly addressed by us, they’re properly addressed by a court of competent jurisdiction,” said Scully. Gilbert concurred.
Using grant money, Somerville has been paying under protest for the make-ready work to proceed while the Maine Public Utilities Commission proceedings have been taking place, Reishus said. This has gotten the municipal broadband network to the point where, now, construction has begun, and crews are beginning to connect fiber cables across town, she said.
Somerville’s town-owned fiber broadband project is the culmination of a decade-long, volunteer-led effort, according to Reishus. The town made concrete plans in 2022 to construct the network using funds from the Maine Connectivity Authority and National Telecommunications and Information Agency.
“We’re very excited that a volunteer effort has gotten us to this point and come to fruition,” Reishus said. “We are really looking forward to having this available to people in Somerville.
So far, over 100 people have signed up for the town-owned service, according to Reishus. The Municipal Broadband Board’s goal is to hit roughly 200 households, which would bring the town close to the two-thirds average that internet provider Axiom, which the town is working with to build and service the network, reports seeing in similarly small towns.
“A lot of people are really desperate,” Reishus said, noting that for some in Somerville, options for affordable internet service are nearly nonexistent. “We’re really trying to provide a public service … internet is a necessity, it’s not a luxury.”
However, she noted that it was important to the broadband board not to force residents to participate. Rather, they wanted to respect some residents’ desire to remain without internet.
What’s important to Reishus, she said, is that people have an opportunity to at least make a choice.
Conversation during a Monday, June 10 meeting of the Somerville Municipal Broadband Board centered around ways to increase awareness about the project in town.
Residents are eligible to have the cost associated with running fiber cable into their home from the street waived if they sign up by July 15, Reishus said.
Somerville’s victory against Consolidated before the Public Utilities Commission represents incremental progress in a dispute that has lasted more than a year.
The Public Utilities Commission originally sided with the town in a Rapid Response Ruling, which Consolidated then appealed, triggering the more in-depth review which concluded on June 11.
If the case goes before the Maine Supreme Court and the findings are still upheld, Reishus said in February when deliberations were still ongoing, the case may empower other small municipalities to pursue creating their own broadband networks.
Somerville will not bear the costs for a case if it moves forward, Reishus added, as the question – and legal fees – lie with the state.
Consolidated Communications had not officially indicated it plans to bring the case to the supreme court as of Tuesday, June 11, Reishus said, but she believed such a move was possible based on previous communications from the company.
For more information on broadband in Somerville, go to somervillemaine.org/broadband or call the town office at 549-3828.
