Pa.’s internet expansion money may run short
Two utility workers: One handles high-voltage power lines, often at great heights, where risks include arc flashes, electric shock, falls and thermal burns.
The second works closer to the ground with low-voltage coaxial cables or fiber-optic lines, which don’t carry live current.
The state Department of Labor & Industry classifies both jobs as “electric linemen,” despite the differences in the workplace hazards and necessary skills. In Pennsylvania, the prevailing wage rate for electric linemen last year was an annual median of $86,280, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A Harrisburg-based trade association thinks that’s a problem.
The pay rate for internet cable installers means that $1.2 billion in federal broadband expansion money that’s coming to Pennsylvania in 2025 will not go as far unless workers in the less-hazardous jobs are paid more appropriately, according to the Broadband Communications Association of Pennsylvania.
“It calls for a different skill set and we believe a different wage rate,” association President Todd Eachus told the state Broadband Development Authority Board Nov. 30. “The money won’t go as far and not everybody gets connected. That’s exactly our concern — we need to make sure the dollars go as far as we can to get to every Pennsylvanian.”
Instead of a median annual rate of $86,280, the association says the appropriate median wage for cable installers should be $60,190 or 30% less, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ telecommunications job classification. In addition to the federal Department of Labor, Massachusetts, New York and Wisconsin also differentiate cable workers from overhead linemen.
All of this matters because Pennsylvania is preparing to submit a
proposal by the end of the month to the National Telecommunications & Information Administration for Broadband Equity Access & Deployment grant funding. And contractors who receive funding for broadband expansion projects will be required to pay workers at prevailing wage rates, which are determined by geographic location.
Because Pennsylvania doesn’t distinguish between the two utility workers, cable splicers and installers will receive the premium wage, with few of the hazards or training necessary for high-voltage linemen. That means the $1.2 billion in BEAD funding that’s earmarked for broadband expansion in Pennsylvania in 2025 won’t go as far as it could, according to the association.
“Multiple government agencies and labor unions recognize the distinction between electric and teledata linemen,” the association wrote in July to the state Department of Labor & Industry, asking for the creation of a new category for teledata workers. “Teledata linemen do not require the same licensing as electric linemen.”
A spokesman for the Department of Labor & Industry acknowledged receipt of the association’s letter but said a formal appeal, which is necessary to change classifications on existing projects, has not been received.
BEAD funding, which is expected to be distributed next year, covers 75% of project costs while recipients are responsible for coming up with the remaining 25% of funding. Broadband subscriptions are expected to ensure network viability, but Mr. Eachus worries the higher labor rates could hobble system sustainability.
In Pennsylvania, 235,854 locations do not have internet service, which is about 5% of the total 4.8 million serviceable locations in the state, according to the latest Federal Communications Commission map, said Mike Conlow, a broadband data and internet policy analyst.
That’s 42,681 fewer unserved places than were in the FCC map released in June as county governments have used other sources of federal funding to extend internet service and challenges to the earlier map are resolved.
Even without the BEAD money, which has been described as once in a generation funding, Western Pennsylvania counties have been pressing ahead with broadband expansion plans.
Washington County, for example, advertised for proposals to expand coverage to 169 locations Dec. 1, covering 1,084 unique sites, which it called a “pivotal moment in the county’s mission to bridge the digital divide and improve connectivity for its residents.” Contract awards for the fourth phase of the county’s broadband expansion plan were expected in mid-2024.
“We are eager to review the proposals and work toward enhancing the digital landscape of our communities,” Commissioner Electra Janis said in a prepared statement.