PACTEL Petition:

To: Members of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS)

We, the undersigned, are the small and mid-sized contractors and subcontractors who build and maintain the nation’s critical broadband infrastructure. From fiber optic deployment to pole work, underground drilling, and splicing, our companies and crews make possible the very networks that connect America.

Yet despite our essential role, telecom contractors are too often left vulnerable under federal broadband funding programs such as BEAD, RDOF, and RUS loans/grants. Unlike other federally funded industries — where strict rules protect contractors from exploitative pay practices — telecom funding programs allow ISPs and prime contractors to set non-negotiable terms, delay payments, and push unfair rate sheets on the small businesses who do the actual work.

This creates a system where:

  • Contractors are forced into untenable financial positions, with payment delays stretching 60–120+ days.

  • Many SMBs are pressured into unsustainable pricing, undermining safety, quality, and workforce stability.

  • Federal taxpayer dollars intended to expand broadband are instead contributing to predatory contracting practices.

We call on lawmakers and regulators to take action by ensuring federal broadband funding programs include contractor protections that are consistent with other federally funded sectors. Specifically, we demand:

  1. Prompt Pay Requirements – Mandating that contractors and subcontractors be paid within 15–30 days on federally funded telecom projects.

  2. Fair Rate Standards – Requiring transparent, market-based rate structures that reflect true labor, material, and operational costs.

  3. Accountability for ISPs – Holding ISPs and prime contractors to the same contractor compliance rules that already exist in federal construction, transportation, and defense contracts.

  4. Prohibition of Unfair Rate Sheets – Preventing the imposition of one-sided, non-negotiable rates on contractors.

  5. SMB Contractor Inclusion – Ensuring that small and mid-sized businesses have equitable access to federally funded opportunities without being forced into disadvantageous terms.

We urge you to act now to protect the livelihoods of thousands of small businesses, their employees, and the communities they serve. America cannot build the future of broadband on the backs of exploited contractors.

Respectfully,
The Undersigned Contractors & Supporters

To Sign, please follow this link to the Change.org Petition page: https://chng.it/9qt6mZMsr6