California broadband infrastructure grant requests total $533 million as challenge period opens

Two more broadband project proposals surfaced as the California Public Utilities Commission posted the official list of applications for grants from the California Advanced Services Fund. One is for what appears to be a neighborhood fiber to the premise (FTTP) system in Nevada County, the other is an FTTP project that covers the same Placer County area that Charter Communications proposed for a hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) build.

The total now stands at 54 projects asking for a total of $533 million, about twice what’s available in the CASF kitty now. The entire list is below, but for future reference, I’ve also posted here, and will update that page as necessary.

Exwire, a Truckee-based wireless Internet service provider, wants to enter the wireline world by building an FTTP system in the Kingswood area of Lake Tahoe. It would serve, its application says, “240 homes and 110 unbuilt lots”. The ask is $4.5 million, or $19,000 per existing home. The public summary doesn’t say how much of its own money it proposes to put into the project, if any at all.

Charter Communications is also asking for a CASF grant to extend its Tahoe cable system to the Kingswood area. It’s requesting $1.2 million to pay the entire tab for building out HFC plant to 120 homes, at a cost of $10,000 each. Exwire proposes to serve what looks like a larger area, but its application also notes that the CPUC classifies some of it as already having broadband service, at least at the achingly slow level of 6 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds that the California legislature thinks is perfectly adequate. Exwire disputes the CPUC’s finding.

Nevada County Broadband – an apparently newly formed company – is asking for $552,000 – 94% of the total – to build an FTTP system in two small residential pockets in the mountains outside of Nevada City. They propose serving 50 homes at a cost of $11,000 each.

By posting all 54 applications and maps, the CPUC also kicks off a three week window for incumbent providers to challenge the proposals by submitting information that shows they’re already providing service in project areas. At that miserable 6 Mbps down/1 Mbps up level.

CASF Project Proposals – 4 May 2020 Grant Application Window

The Central Coast Broadband Consortium (CCBC) supported Charter’s San Benito County proposal and assisted Etheric Networks with its application. The Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium (CCABC) assisted DigitalPath. I assisted the CCBC and the CCABC, and also kibitzed on other projects. I’m not a disinterested commentator. Take it for what it’s worth.