New fiber hope?

Proposed fiber path along Hwy. 299

The fiber scramble continues.

The strangest thing about the various efforts to bring a redundant broadband fiber to Humboldt County is how new plans just seem to pop up out of nowhere. Virtually everyone is in agreement these days that a second fiber optic cable is vital to our community’s ability to function in the 21st Century. Coming up with a viable business model, however,  has proved elusive.

A company by the name of
Broadband Associates International, Inc.
is the latest player on the field, having just landed
approval for almost $8 mil
in state funding via the California Advanced Services Fund. That’s 40 percent of the total price tag of the project — $19.5 million — and local players are already questioning how Broadband Associates plan to come up with the other $12 mil.

If their plan proves viable (and for now that “if” remains large), not only would it provide a broadband safety net to those North Coasters who subscribe to their service (in addition to AT&T’s existing line — gotta have both!), it may also allow for “last mile” broadband access in such un- or under-served communities as Willow Creek, Salyer, Burnt Ranch, Big Bar and Weaverville.

According to Broadband Associates’
Web site
,  the company was “founded by a team of highly experienced education professionals and telecom experts from AT&T Broadband.” Could that explain why
AT&T seemed hesitant
to sign on to another approach? Stay tuned.

UPDATE
: Willits Online also received CASF funding approval — $54,000 to bring broadband to Laytonville. Again, this amount is 40 percent of the total project cost — in this case, $135,000.

CORRECTION
: While virtually everyone is in agreement that redundant broadband is needed on the North Coast, not everyone agrees that the method must be a second fiber. Microwave technology could provide an alternative.

This article appears in Spending Headwaters.