The 300-mile fiber optic cable will stretch from Eureka to Redding. The proposed alignment will run along State Route 299 with offshoots, or “aerial attachments,” connecting outlying communities to the main line. Map: CPUC

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A few weeks ago, there was a little rumor floating around social media claiming the “Digital 299” broadband infrastructure project would do nothing to improve rural communications for communities along State Route 299. The claim asserted that local internet providers would have no way to tap into the fiber optic line.

The Outpost is here to tell you that this rumor is not true! 

Once the fiber optic cable is fully constructed – likely in the next two years – local providers will have the opportunity to bring high-speed internet service to remote communities via access points, or “points of presence,” along the project’s path. 

“These points of presence will allow [local providers] to tie into the line,” Connie Stewart, the Director of Initiatives at Cal Poly Humboldt, told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “The goal is to make it as affordable as possible to get these services to [the community]. … The rumor was that is one line and we can’t plug into it. No, literally there are hundreds of places along the line.”

For those who need a little refresher, the “Digital 299” project is a part of the California Public Utilities Commission’s goal to bring high-speed broadband internet to traditionally underserved communities throughout Northern California by way of fiber optic lines. In total, approximately 300 miles of fiber optic line will be installed along State Route 299 between Eureka and Redding, with lines spurring off of the backbone to serve nearby communities.

The original project proposal, submitted by Inyo Networks in 2017, excluded the vast majority of folks living along the project’s path – with the exception of 307 residents in the tiny Trinity County town of Lewiston – because Inyo had received state funding through the California Advanced Services Fund for the project, and so was banned from competing with other internet service providers in the region. But in 2020, Inyo sent a letter to the CPUC asking to terminate the grant.

Shortly thereafter, Vero Fiber Networks expressed interest in completing the project without state funding, eliminating the issue of accessibility. Vero is also involved in the land-side operations of that big Google/Facebook subsea cable from Singapore, and so they need a way to get that data to the grid.

“When Inyo told us that they couldn’t get it done, we went out and found someone else,” Stewart said. “Vero cut a deal with Inyo and they returned the money to the state. So that released them from the obligation of not providing service to anyone. … [Vero] is actively working with existing local providers to try to see if they want to use the line; otherwise, we as a community can recruit more people to come in and use that line.”

Vero is going to place hundreds of access points along the route to serve as on/off ramps for communities seeking high-speed internet access. These access points will connect the main line, or “middle mile,” to the “end mile,” the final length of the transmission line that delivers telecommunications to customers.

“Placing this many access points provides more locations for local traffic distribution and makes it easier and less expensive for local broadband providers to take advantage of the Digital 299 route,” according to a prepared statement from Vero. “Vero is already talking with local broadband providers about accessing capacity to be able to serve local homes and businesses. In the highway analogy, these local broadband providers have access to the local roads and can take the new vast amounts of capacity and make it available to residents and businesses in the communities along the route.”

Who will construct these “last mile” projects? That has yet to be determined, Stewart said.

“One of the biggest problems has been how expensive it is to get that traffic back to the main hub,” she explained. “If we are putting in these points of presence closer to where people are, then even small companies can come in because they’ll have a cheaper way to get to there. … I can’t say this company is reserved for a specific community but we are having those conversations. … We’re hoping there’ll be more options and better quality service at a reasonable price.”

Vero began construction on the project at the beginning of this year. If everything goes according to plan, the fiber optic network will be completed by the end of 2025.

More information on the project can be found here.

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Here’s the full press release from Vero Fiber Networks:

As previously announced Vero Networks began construction in early 2023 on the Digital 299 route from Arcata (along hwy 299) to Redding bringing fiber optic network along a corridor that has traditionally been underserved or unserved with broadband. 

The network is slated to be completed by the end of 2025 and conduit is being placed throughout the project alignment now in anticipation of that completion timeframe. Once conduit infrastructure is placed, high capacity fiber optic cables will be pulled through the network to carry information that can be transmitted on the route. 

The initial conduit and fiber network will have substantial capacity akin to a multilane highway allowing vast amounts of data traffic to traverse the route. Additionally, Vero Networks is placing hundreds of access points along the route that serve as on/off ramps to access that capacity. Placing this many access points provides more locations for local traffic distribution and makes it easier and less expensive for local broadband providers to take advantage of the Digital 299 route. Vero is already talking with local broadband providers about accessing capacity to be able to serve local homes and businesses. In the highway analogy these local broadband providers have access to the local roads and can take the new vast amounts of capacity and make it available to residents and businesses in the communities along the route.

While this project will take a couple more years to be fully operational, Vero is working with local broadband providers now to try to give them ample time to plan for and maximize the potential benefits of the new route.

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Previously: