State Tech Department Inks Key Broadband Pact

The California Department of Technology and Arcadian Infracom have reached agreement on a middle-mile broadband “joint-build” agreement that is the first of its kind in the state, CDT said Tuesday. The state estimates 1 in 5 residents lacks an “adequate Internet connection,” it said, adding that once the middle-mile network is done, local carriers will be able to access it to offer direct Internet to homes and businesses, as well as low-cost or free broadband to those who qualify. Among the takeaways:

• CDT and Arcadian together will build 306 miles of “open access network” between Los Angeles and Needles — through some of the state’s most urban and most rural areas, according to a news release from the department. Part of the 10,000-mile network that CDT released in June, the route begins in L.A., heads east about 112 miles to Barstow, another 144 miles to Needles, and then turns south for 50 miles to connect with other planned Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative components at Vidal Junction, where state routes 95 and 62 intersect.
• As a joint-build, the endeavor lets private-sector companies partner with the state on middle-mile broadband — and make good use of the streamlined permitting enabled by state Senate Bill 156. Among its provisions, the bill established the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy within CDT specifically to oversee contract acquisition and management to develop, build and run statewide middle-mile broadband; exempted “linear broadband deployment” in existing rights-of-way from the California Environmental Quality Act provided they meet certain requirements; and set a deadline of no later than Dec. 31, 2026, for the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account to approve funding for broadband-related infrastructure projects.
  “Since Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 156 into law in July 2021, the state has fast-tracked the development of the middle-mile broadband initiative network to ensure Californians can benefit from the opportunities provided by increased broadband access, which is critical to achieving digital equity and inclusion in the state,” CDT said in the news release.
• California is also expected to benefit by being able to share construction costs with private firms that are poised to start work immediately; working with Arcadian is expected to reduce costs by around 40 percent per mile compared to the state doing the build on its own. Several other joint-build pacts are expected by late March, which the state indicates would put construction ahead of schedule and at a reduced cost. Most of the middle-mile build should happen between 2024 and 2026, after the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) finishes the environmental permitting processes.
• The state has, CDT said, sought bids across the system via “Job Order Contract (JOC) and Construction Management/General Contractor (CMGC) construction contracts,” and Newsom’s Request for Innovative Ideas (RFI2) process as well. The latter, it said, “invites vendors to submit offers for IRU/lease, joint-build, purchase, or electronics co-location opportunities.” CDT and Caltrans are currently evaluating bids.
• State officials broke ground in October on the 10,000-mile network with installation of the first middle-mile fiber cable, on State Route 67 near Poway in San Diego County, a project aimed at providing high-speed Internet to more than 675,000 unserved residents.