Placer approves another $17.2M in funding to extend broadband service

In the continued effort to address broadband needs in Placer County, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an additional $17.2 million in funding to expand services in rural areas during its April 18 meeting. In October 2021, the board approved three broadband expansion projects to address needs for more than 1,500 households and businesses in Auburn, North Auburn and Penryn. In September 2022, the supervisors approved a project to expand service to 638 homes and businesses in Penryn. With the additional funding, the board also approved seven projects which would aim to expand broadband service to 17,847 homes across four of Placer's districts in North Auburn, South Auburn, Sheridan, Newcastle, Loomis, Meadow Vista and the Folsom Lake Estates community in Granite Bay. "It offers the greatest number of homes that we're connecting to high-speed broadband services," Placer County Chief Information Officer Jarrett Thiessen said. "... With the two (projects) that we have currently going on, we would end up connecting about 20,000 homes total." Thiessen shared future expansion projects, which he noted would require all of the $30.2 million in Federal Funding Account (FFA) funds, which were allocated to Placer from the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) in April 2022. According to Thiessen's powerpoint, future projects would aim to address the need for 18,228 homes in the areas of Foresthill, Walden Woods, Applegate, Magra/Cape Horn, Alta, Alpine Meadows, Olympic Valley and Tahoe. "Even with those seven projects, there's a lot of work that still needs to be done," he said. Placer IT estimates the cost of the future projects being between $78 million and $138 million. The staff report notes county staff will explore other funding options through the CPUC, such as the California Advanced Services Fund. As the CPUC is identifying high-priority areas in the county for the FFA funds, District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson asked if Placer could be reimbursed if one of its projects is in one of the CPUC-identified areas. Dieter Wittenberg, information technology manager for Placer County, said it was unknown if the county would be reimbursed but noted staff is working with the CPUC to challenge its maps. Thiessen noted staff is also working with the CPUC to avoid overbuilding in areas where the county is already working with providers to expand services, as the commission will be approving projects with providers directly. "We want to try to avoid overbuilding and make sure the CPUC understands here's what we're doing today … don't overbuild in those areas; here's the rest of the need that aligns with your priority areas and try to give them direction," he said. According to Thiessen, the total cost of the current projects is estimated at $31 million, utilizing $9.9 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding and $7.3 million from the general fund. As rising costs due to inflation continue to be a challenge in expanding broadband in the county, Thiessen confirmed the projects' approval also establishes agreements which would lock in the costs. Thiessen said other challenges are funding, geography and infrastructure. According to a county news release, the project will be executed by Astound Broadband with work expected to begin immediately.