Placer County awards Wave Broadband $500K for broadband infrastructure

The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the first round of the Last Mile Broadband Grant program Tuesday, awarding Wave Broadband with a $500,000 grant to expand internet services in rural communities. According to Placer County Chief Information Officer Jarret Thiessen, the goal of the program is to provide resources to new and existing internet service providers to invest in building broadband infrastructure to support remote learning, economic development, public safety, telehealth services and overall community prosperity. Information Technology Manager Dieter Wittenberg said the grant will help fund six projects Wave has proposed, which will extend fiber broadband services to more than 1,500 households and businesses within Auburn, North Auburn and Penryn. The projects are: The Edgehill Road and Covey Road area of Auburn, which has 47 households, businesses and community anchor institutions. Wave has proposed to build 1.42 miles of fiber in the area, and all of the network expansion will be aerial (placed on poles). The Butler Road and English Colony Road area of Penryn, which has 280 households, businesses and community institutions. Wave has proposed to build 6.3 miles of fiber in the area with 5.9 miles aerial and 0.4 miles underground. Phase 1 of the Christian Valley area in North Auburn, which has 250-plus households, businesses and community institutions. Wave has proposed to build 12.6 miles of fiber in the area with 12.6 miles aerial and 500 feet underground. Phase 2 of the Christian Valley area, which has 385 households, businesses and community institutions. Wave has proposed to build 11.8 miles of fiber with 10.3 miles aerial and 1.5 miles underground. Phase 3 of the Christian Valley area, which has 296 households, businesses and community institutions. Wave has proposed to build 6.8 miles of fiber with 6.7 miles aerial and 0.1 mile underground. Phase 4 of the Christian Valley area, which has 260 households, businesses and community institutions. Wave has proposed to build 11.5 miles of fiber with 10.9 miles aerial and 0.6 miles underground. According to Wittenberg, the total cost of the project is $2.2 million, and Wave will contribute the remaining $1.7 million. District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson inquired about when Meadow Vista and Olympic Valley will be included and whether staff is directing service companies to the areas with the most need for internet services. Thiessen confirmed for this round the focus was on projects that were unable to move forward due to funding issues, however, staff is working on the broadband strategic plan. The strategic plan will identify specific communities so future program rounds can be more prescriptive. Thiessen said the plan will be brought to the board in December. Gustafson also recommended having customer service standards that companies wanting the county's support need to meet to ensure they are producing quality service for county residents. According to a county news release, the county will continue to seek grant opportunities for rural broadband programs and advocate for improved broadband service through participation in the Golden State Connect Authority, which the board also approved joining during Tuesday's meeting. The county will also launch an Internet Satisfaction Survey later in the month (placer.ca.gov/broadband) and utilize the data to inform future grant decisions. According to Thiessen, the projects must be completed within one year of the contract.