Create new access points along the applicants 822-mile, five-state, underground existing middle mile fiber route, providing a highly resilient alternative to the aerial fiber used currently, which…

The Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded Zayo Group LLC $19,554,630 under the Middle Mile (Broadband) Grant Program (CFDA 11.033) to construct new access points along its existing 822-mile underground fiber route across five states. The grant aims to expand and extend middle mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of broadband connectivity for unserved and underserved areas, as identified in FCC data. Specifically, Zayo will use the funds to retrofit its fiber network with new tailored access points, including constructing 18 180-foot cellular towers and related facilities. This is intended to enable last-mile broadband providers to enhance service to over 104,000 unserved census blocks with a rural ratio above 38% located along the route. Zayo also plans to subaward funds to build 16 new interconnection access points on the network. The period of performance is July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to create new access points along the applicants 822-mile, five-state, underground existing middle mile fiber route, providing a highly resilient alternative to the aerial fiber used currently, which is subject to outages, to provide better service to unserved and underserved areas and access to community anchor institutions .according to ACS 5 year estimates 2016-2020, the counties in this proposed service area have between 10% and 33.6% federal poverty rates. There are over 30 school districts for which 60% or more students participate in the national school lunch program and for which 36 schools are within 1000 feet of the fiber routes. The applicant identified 209 community anchor institutions that are located within 1 mile of the fiber route that could have access to the network and be supported on a non-discriminatory open access basis. The funds requested would help enable last mile service from wireline isps. A portion of the funding will allow the applicant's project partner to construct 180-foot towers that will provide non-discriminatory access to up to four wireless isps to provide mobile and fixed broadband service within a 5-mile radius of each tower.

Activities

Project will use fiber to build new/resilient middle mile network through UN/underserved communities with a commitment to open access and carrier neutral non-discriminatory interconnect. The period of performance is expected to be 2 years.

Expected outcomes

The proposed project has been designed with the following goal: retrofit the applicant's existing 822-mile, five-state, underground middle mile fiber route with new, tailored access points (including towers) to enable better service to unserved and underserved areas. According to the FCC 477 july to december 2021 data and US census bureau 2020 data, 104,000 census blocks along the proposed route are unserved with a rural ratio over 38%. The applicant further states that the mississippi choctaw reservation along with 209 anchor institutions will also benefit from the project through non-discriminatory open access.

Intended beneficiaries

The applicant has proposed to modify and operate a long, multi-state, underground fiber optic middle mile network that follows a path through five states (texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, and georgia) spanning 822 miles. The proposed route passes through twenty counties between dallas and atlanta, with over 104,000 blocks unserved with a rural ratio over 38%. 209 underserved anchor institutions will also benefit from the project. The middle mile network has been designed to include access points to serve underserved and unserved areas as determined by the federal communications commission form 477 data from july to december 2021 in: 8 texas counties - kaufman, upshur, smith, van zandt, wood, dallas, harrison, and gregg; 10 louisiana parishes -bossier, webster, jackson, cadde, lincoln, richland, beinville, ouaschita, claiborne, and madison; 6 mississippi counties - rankin, newton, scott, warren, lauderdale, and hines; 10 alabama counties - shelby, ST. Clair, cieburne, jefferson, tuscaloosa, calhoun, talledege, bibb, hale, and greene; 6 georgia counties - cobb, paulding, douglas, fulton, haralson, and carrollproviding access to this network would enable last mile providers to greatly enhance their service to these communities, many of which have no broadband connectivity. For ones that appear to have some broadband availability, the connectivity is typically single threaded (non-RESILIENT), very aged (30+ years old), and mostly aerial.

Subrecipient activities

The applicant intends to subaward funds for the following activities: construction of 18 180' cellular towers and 75'X75' cellular compoundsprocurement, installation and permitting of 16 new ILA's.