TESTIMONY: Nick Hoh, CWA Local 1104

Assembly Standing Committee On Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions

Thursday January 8th, 2026

Good morning Chair Braunstein and members of the Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Nick Hoh. I am a broadband technician in Nassau County and the Legislative and Political Coordinator at the Communications Workers of America Local 1104.

CWA is the largest broadband union in the state, and our members are experts in their field. When the BEAD program was announced through the IIJA, our members were encouraged that this program promised a once-in-a-lifetime investment in broadband expansion. Even more so in New York, where the state promised additional funding towards broadband as well as the creation of the ConnectALL office to ensure effective deployment of these funds. 

For the past several years, CWA members have been educating the ConnectALL office and elected officials on the importance of awarding this funding to fiber providers as well as companies who commit to strong labor standards. As experts in our field, we know that fiber technology is the best investment, as it offers the most reliable service and fastest speeds. Additionally, we know firsthand the importance of utilizing a directly and locally employed and highly trained workforce. 

We are grateful for the partnership of ConnectALL, which has kept a door open to CWA and takes the concerns of the workforce directly impacted by this program seriously. Before this new federal administration, ConnectALL designed New York’s BEAD program to prioritize fiber technology as well as employers who utilize a directly-employed workforce, training standards, compliance with labor law, and support from county governments. Unfortunately, changes made by the NTIA forced New York to adjust its scoring mechanism and put cost above all, resulting in 25 percent of BEAD funds provisionally awarded to Elon Musk’s satellite company Starlink and 44 percent provisionally awarded to fixed wireless companies. I have attached more detailed information about the major drawbacks to both satellite and fixed wireless technology to this testimony, but I will share an example from my own backyard: 

Twenty years ago, CWA members constructed the first fiber optic network in the Northeast in a town called Syosset in Nassau County. At the time the maximum download speed available on that network was 15mbps. Today those same cables offer 2000mbps download speeds, an increase of over 13,000% with nothing more than the cost of basic maintenance. I can confidently say that those twenty-year-old cables have yet to reach their capacity. According to Starlink’s own website, their satellites perform what they call a “controlled re-orbit” after 5 years, so without further investment to launch more satellites into orbit the 25% of locations awarded to satellite will be left with nothing. 

While the federal government’s changes to the program was a major setback to the goal of achieving universal, high-speed broadband, we look forward to continuing to work with the ConnectALL office to invest in broadband and good jobs in New York. As the office considers its priorities, we would like to share our perspective on a few items:

Broadband Regulation:

The broadband investments which will soon be distributed across the state require accountability through state oversight of broadband. While ConnectALL plays an important role in administering these funds and achieving the goal of universal broadband, it does not have regulatory oversight authority over broadband. Telephone service used to be regulated by state public utility regulators, and telecom companies were required to provide reliable service to all customers. However, the industry has successfully fought for deregulation, resulting in lack of accountability to customers. There are no requirements to report service outages and no minimum backup power standards, and providers have abandoned maintenance of their copper lines and prioritized broadband deployment in wealthier areas. This year, CWA will be fighting to pass legislation that will explicitly authorize and direct the Public Service Commission to exercise oversight of broadband in areas of resiliency, public safety, data collection, and consumer protection. This oversight is crucial to achieving reliable broadband access for all. 

Municipal Broadband:

We understand that due to market failures as a result of decades of deregulation in the telecommunications industry, many localities have considered building and operating their own broadband networks. However, in order for this model to be a success, the municipality must become an expert in financing, construction, system maintenance, customer service, rate structures, the rapidly evolving field of telecommunications technology, and marketing of the network and product. They need to secure capital for the buildout and develop an operational model that includes financing for network upgrades, system maintenance, and operations. This is often just not possible for most municipalities. Instead, CWA supports public-private partnerships in which local governments partner with an ISP on broadband deployment, working closely with organized labor to ensure the work is done to the highest standard.

Enforcement of Violations of Safety Standards and Make-Ready Work 

“Make-ready” work refers to moving existing equipment to create the necessary space on utility poles for new equipment. This work is dangerous and complex, and, when done incorrectly, poses threats both to workers and the public. Unfortunately, subcontractors often evade responsibility for their workforce and rush through work, compromising both safety and quality. This can lead to shoddy work, accidents that endanger workers and the public, and damaged public infrastructure. We passed legislation last year that would ensure robust enforcement of unsafe make-ready work and violations of statutory protections of Collective Bargaining Agreements. To protect the safety of telecommunications workers and the public, especially in anticipation of a major investment in broadband construction, strengthening enforcement of safety and make-ready violations is urgently needed.

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today. CWA looks forward to continuing our partnership with the ConnectAll office.

Additional information:

Limitations of fixed wireless & satellite technologies:

An engineering analysis of fixed wireless technologies by consulting firm CTC Technology and Energy concluded that “fiber represents the most fiscally prudent expenditure of public funds in most circumstances because of its longevity and technical advantages” (CTC Technology, “Fixed Wireless Technologies and Their Suitability for Broadband Delivery”, 51, June 2022) CTC’s cost analysis of fiber and fixed wireless deployments finds that while fiber’s upfront capital costs are higher than those of fixed wireless in many circumstances, the total cost of ownership over 30 years is comparable for fiber and fixed wireless, and fiber provides much higher quality service. The CTC analysis further finds that while fixed wireless technologies will continue to improve, they will not match the performance of fiber optic networks because:

  • Fixed wireless network coverage is adversely affected by line-of-sight obstructions (including buildings and seasonal foliage) and weather.

  • Unlike a fiber network, fixed wireless networks have scalability challenges due to limited availability of spectrum, the need for frequent technology upgrades, and the need to install additional antennas at both customer premises and base stations. An estimated 40 to 80 percent of a fixed wireless network’s capital investment needs to be replaced every five years.

  • The fastest fixed wireless technologies (such as those that use millimeter-wave spectrum) are largely unsuitable for serving rural communities because of the typical geographic dispersion of addresses and the lack of mounting structures (such as towers or building rooftops). 

BEAD funds were meant to build next generation infrastructure in areas that are currently unserved. Funds that are allocated to satellites will not build any infrastructure - instead temporarily paying for an expensive service that these areas can already access. Furthermore, satellite is bidding on far more areas than it can actually serve: satellite internet service is, by design, capacity-constrained and subject to other physical limitations relative to wired service (Broadband Breakfast, “SpaceX wants Louisiana’s BEAD Plan reversed,” August 18, 2025, “SpaceX: NTIA Should Reject Virginia's BEAD Plan,” August 14, 2025).

  • Topographical Limits: Buildings, trees, clouds and poles can interrupt connections between homes and Starlink satellites (Starlink Website: https://www.starlink.com/support/article/bcbf0078-be81-d345-4bce-ebbcfa196f56.) Internet delivered over fiber optic lines, cable TV wires or mobile networks can handle far more internet usage at lower costs, even in most rural areas (Benton Institute,  “Fixed Wireless Technologies and Their Suitability for Broadband Delivery,” June 10, 2025).

  • Capacity Constraints: When many people in one area use a satellite service, internet speeds slow significantly (ArsTechnica, “Starlink is getting a lot slower as more people use it, speed tests show,” September 23, 2022). Satellite has an extremely large footprint for service, but it is not currently equipped to provide service to more than a small percentage of the potential subscribers in that footprint (Sascha Meinrath, et al, “Starlink Capacity Analysis v0.2,” July 18, 2025: https://thexlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Starlink_Analysis_Working_Paper_v0.2-1.pdf).

  • Inability to Meet BEAD Requirements at Scale: As of June 2025, only 17% of U.S. speed test users with Starlink can get 100/20 service (Ookla, https://www.ookla.com/articles/starlink-us-performance-2025). All BEAD-supported projects are required – by statute and NTIA’s guidance – to deliver speeds of 100 Mbps download/20 Mbps upload to every subscriber in the project area.