DRAFT Broadband
Master Plan & Digital Equity
Strategy
Naveed Ashraf
Chief Innovation Officer & IT Director
Overview for Tonight’s Discussion
Updates in Our Draft Report
Community Engagement Informing Our Report
Findings from Our Community Assessments
Proposed Infrastructure Designs & Cost Estimates
Programmatic, Policy, & Process Recommendations
Federal & State Funding Opportunities
Council Input to Finalize our Draft
New in This Report
• Digital Equity Discussion and Recommendations
• Access
• Affordability
• Devices
• Digital Literacy
• Potential Community Partners
• Infrastructure Designs and Cost Estimates
• Update to fiber ring design and estimate
• Updated design and cost estimate for connecting City facilities • Updated design and cost estimates for community anchor institutions • Fiber-to-the-premises cost estimate
• Residential Broadband Assessment & Fiber to the Premises Cost Estimates • Updated P3 Model Leveraging New Public Funding to Target Low-Investment Areas • Policy & Process Recommendations
• Dig Once ordinance
• Right-of-Way permitting process
• GIS telecommunications infrastructure mapping
• Funding Opportunities
• American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
• Federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program • State urban last-mile funding ($17M for Solano County) • Federal broadband affordability support for eligible households Initial Findings
Community Engagement
• Stakeholder Outreach Meetings/Interviews
• City Council Members
• Touro University
• Island Energy
• Vallejo Fiber Advisory Committee
• City of Vallejo Economic Vitality Advisory Commission • Vallejo Chamber of Commerce
• Solano County Economic Development Corporation
• City Staff
• GIS
• Public Works
• IT Division
• Broadband Survey
• ISP Interviews/Meetings
• Zayo
• Inyo Networks
• Smart Fiber Networks
• Sonic
• Paxio
• Wave
Household Broadband Needs: Telework & Small
Business
Household Broadband Needs: Education
“Low Investment Areas”:
• Areas that have cable,
wireless, DSL, or some
combination of the three
available—but no fiber.
• While portions of the low-
competition areas could
potentially have three
options for service, these
areas have no high-capacity
wireline service as a
competitive alternative to
cable.
Recommendations
Proposed Public Private Partnership Model
Leverages new public funding for broadband projects in areas of need/low investment
Designed to provide fiber for City facilities, community anchor institutions, fiber to the premises, and public WiFi
RFP will maximize flexibility for multiple respondents to propose solutions to City’s needs and maintain City infrastructure as an open-access network to improve competition
Existing & Proposed Fiber Routes
Connections to City Sites
City Locations Cost
1155 Capitol Street $52,100
1335 Fulton Avenue $88,900
1585 Ascot Court $32,700
595 Mini Drive $141,100
700 5th Street $67,000
Ferry Terminal $34,000
Marina Building $45,600
Total for City locations $461,400
DRAFT Connections to Anchor
Institutions
Facilities Seeking Connection DRAFT Cost
Forest Service $179,800
Kaiser Permanente $25,900
Six Flags DK $70,500
Solano Community College $24,200
Solano County Fair $46,900
Sutter Solano Medical Center $59,100
US Dept of Veteran Affairs $34,200
VCUSD $209,900
Programmatic, Policy, & Process Recommendations
Digital Literacy Program Outreach and Partnerships
• Senior Planet
• EveryoneOn
• Internet for All Now (California Emerging Technology Fund) • Digital Literacy Rocks! (Solano County Computer and Digital Skills Center) • Tech Exchange
Broadband Affordability Programs
City-wide Broadband Speed Testing
Dig Once Ordinance
Integrated GIS Mapping/Mapping all Telecommunications Infrastructure Adopt a Microtrenching Policy (SB 378 [2021])
Monitor Regional and State Broadband Development
• Solano County, Vacaville, and Fairfield broadband master plans • State of California middle-mile projects (e.g., San Leandro) Funding Opportunities &
Next Steps
Federal & State Grant Opportunities
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) • COV allocated $2.5M for broadband projects on September 28th, 2021 • Approximately $13M in additional funding to be disbursed to COV in June 2022
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
Digital Equity Act
• $2.75B to support statewide digital equity strategy development and implementation
Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program • Minimum of $100M for the State of California
• Notice of Funding Availability due on May 18th, 2022
State of California Federal Funding Account (FFA)
• Final rules adopted by CPUC on April 21st, 2022
• Final report will include detailed analysis of this new program • $17M allocated for eligible projects in Solano County (Local Government projects are eligible for funding)
• Projects must deliver at least 100Mbps download/upload speeds • Separate Funding for open-access middle-mile projects What Can Be Done Right Now & Next Steps
Community Outreach to Households Eligible for Low-Cost Internet Programs and Federal Subsidies
Comcast Internet Essentials/Internet Essentials Plus
• $9.95/month for IE: 50Mbps download/10Mbps upload
• $29.95/month for IE+: 100Mbps download/10Mbps upload
AT&T Access
• $30/month: 100Mbps download and upload
Combine either program with Federal Affordable Connectivity Program ($30/month subsidy)
Up Next: RFP For Citywide Fiber Deployment & Public WiFi • Release mid-May; review and final decision in June
• Focused on flexibility and ease of implementation while achieving City’s goals
Thank you for your comments &
recommendations!
CONTACT(S)
Patrick Mulhearn, CTC Technology & Energy
[email protected]