The internet has transformed our world, making us more connected than ever. But it is not done with us yet - more change is coming. As the shear amount of data shared across broadband connections continues to increase, and as we look towards deploying 5G broadband across the country, it is imperative that broadband companies are able to meet the growing demand.

Federal regulations are a major factor controlling how broadband services are deployed, but each individual state plays a role as well. And when it comes to broadband, the states are far from equal. R Street Institute recently released its “broadband scorecard” report, ranking all 50 states on their laws regulating broadband infrastructure development. This was the report that R Street’s Tom Struble covered in our November tech exchange conference call.

R Street’s report ranked states in three major categories, including:

1. Access to Public Rights of Way: In order to offer new broadband services and maintain existing infrastructure a company needs access to municipal property including sidewalks, telephone poles, and more.
2. Franchise Agreements: To offer cable video services, broadband companies must first secure a franchise from state or local governments.
3. Construction Permits:  Whether they are digging trenches or stringing wires, broadband construction projects require companies to pay for countless fees and expensive permit applications.

All of these issues directly relate to a company’s ability to deploy new broadband services to consumers.

Across these categories, no state received the full number of points possible. Four states – Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Wisconsin – did receive an “A”, with state regulations most conducive to broadband innovation and deployment. Montana ranked the worst, the only state to receive a “D” grade.

Here in Washington state, R Street’s report gave us a C-. Our construction laws hurt us the most – we received just two out of 22 possible points. In Washington, there are no state-wide caps on construction permit fees, and no time limits on permit application processing. Washington’s scores in Access to Public Rights of Way and Franchise Agreements were similarly terrible. In sum, the state received just six of 44 possible points. All of this creates an environment that limits broadband expansion.

You can read the full R Street report here, to see how your state ranks. 

While there is always room for regulatory improvement at the federal level, R Street’s report shows that every state can move forward today on broadband improvements. Streamlining permit processes and reducing barriers to broadband infrastructure development will help each state be better prepared to meet tomorrow’s challenges in an increasingly connected world.