New 'Dig Once' Law Would Lay Fiber Conduit With Highway Builds

For years we've noted how the government has considered "dig once" laws to improve broadband connectivity nationwide. Basically, these proposals usually include requirements that new fiber conduit banks be installed automatically as part of any Federal highway projects moving forward, gutting much of the cumbersome regulatory barriers in the process.

It's something that gets proposed every few years, but never seems to move forward, usually because it increases highway build costs and reduces the budget for overall projects, even if the long-term benefits and savings (from not having to dig again) are notable.

The idea appears to have popped up once again in a new proposal being pushed by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D, CA) and Greg Walden (R, OR).

Eshoo and Walden's new Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015 (pdf) takes things a little further, requiring that fiber conduit be installed alongside any federally funded highway build, and if surveys show the project vicinity is likely to see increased broadband demand over the next fifteen years.

"By laying broadband conduit during construction of roads that receive federal funding, broadband providers can later install fiber-optic cable without costly excavation of newly-built roads," Eshoo said in a statement. "'Dig once' is a commonsense bipartisan policy that will significantly reduce the cost of broadband deployment in our country."

In a blog post, Google stated they supported the bill -- noting that "dig once" policies can save up to 25–33% in construction costs in urban areas and roughly 16% in rural areas.

Hopefully this current proposal has better luck than the 2009 and 2011 efforts also spearheaded by Eshoo.

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