Inside Citynet :: Citynet's Broadband Plans
Regrettably, Citynet’s application in Round 1 of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (“BTOP”) was not funded. However, Citynet remains confident that its application will be funded in Round 2 of the Program. Citynet’s confidence stems from the fact that the emphasis of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s ("NTIA") second Notice of Funding Availability mirrors the emphasis of Citynet's proposed plan. Specifically, the NTIA is focusing on applications that emphasize "middle mile" projects such as that proposed by Citynet. Below is the Executive Summary of Citynet’s Round 1 application which likely will be expanded to include the entire State of West Virginia. For more information about Citynet’s broadband expansion plans, please contact Jim Martin, 304-848-5412, jim.martin@citynet.net. Broadband Infrastructure Application
Submission to RUS (BIP) and NTIA (BTOP) 8. Executive Summary of Project for BIP and BTOP: This Middle Mile Project is designed to provide broadband infrastructure throughout a 25 county region in primarily in north-central West Virginia. The majority of communities in this area consist of Unserved and Underserved Rural markets that remain disadvantaged or totally void of Broadband service opportunities. Citynet's proposed network will be capable of: (a) extending core Internet backbone infrastructure throughout the region, (b) providing next-generation high capacity transport solutions, (c) delivering a robust fiber optic infrastructure, and (d) significantly reducing Broadband transport costs (i.e., transport capacity, backhaul capacity, etc.). This Project seeks to resolve these core barriers by delivering Middle Mile Network solution that supports a dense fiber optic backbone and is powered by next-generation transport technologies. The Network is designed to provide a fully route diverse system that will economically enable Broadband expansion to over 144 communities throughout the region. The Network will provide immediate relief and added opportunities for all Last Mile providers in the region and also will provide a highly durable long-term data super-highway system to support future innovations and growth. The single largest challenge faced by Rural Last Mile providers is rooted in the high-cost of legacy transport solutions which typically account for 40% of their operating budgets. This Project purposefully and directly resolves this core barrier by reducing these costs by 70 to 90 percent. For example, transport costs (i.e., tariff DS3 rates) in rural West Virginia average $7,000 to $10,000 per month versus $1,000 to $1,500 that will result from completion of Citynet's proposed Project. The underlying effects of this strategy are profound and warrant extra consideration for similar application in other Rural Areas throughout West Virginia and the United States. By lowering this core economic barrier for Last Mile providers, hundreds of Unserved Rural Areas immediately become economically viable for broadband service. These effects are further expanded to Underserved Areas by stimulating competition and by delivering vast improvements in End-User bandwidth performance. This opportunity is made possible for several key reasons: (a) Citynet can leverage its existing business operation in the region, (b) a transport network strategy involves highly fixed operating costs with virtually limitless expansion opportunity, (c) by extending and aggregating regional transport services, Citynet can drastically reduce the transport/backhaul cost while delivering technically superior solutions, and (d) by leveraging federal capital dollars the core capital costs savings will be passed down to the entire Broadband food chain (raw cost to > transport network > service providers > end-users). In addition to maximizing economic development opportunities throughout the Region, this Middle Mile Project is designed to maximize social benefits through a unique partnership with the State of West Virginia. Pursuant to the West Virginia Partnership Program, the State of West Virginia will receive 25% of the fiber strands to be utilized by any State-based governmental agency. Citynet believes this is a highly unique and creative solution to ensure maximum utilization and social benefit of the system. (a) Opportunity The Proposed System Seeks to Address: The opportunities proposed in this Middle Mile Project include: (i) resolving core infrastructure needs in the 25 county region covered by the project, (ii) providing affordable next-generation broadband transport solutions, (iii) resolving the core economic barrier for Last Mile service providers and thus economically enabling hundreds of Unserved and Underserved markets, (iv) economically empowering the entire region, (v) enabling key social institutions, (vi) providing a unique asset partnership with the State of West Virginia, and (vii) stimulating competition and choice for all End-User subscribers throughout the region. (b) Description of the Proposed Funded Service Area: This Middle Mile Network covers a 25 county service area and directly enables 144 communities in the region, 97% of which are Rural, 69% of which are Unserved, and 35% of which are Underserved. (c) Number of Households and Businesses Passed: Relevant statistics for this Middle Mile Project include the following: 377,747 people, 160,358 households, 33,355 businesses, 940 cellular tower sites and 1,541 social institutions in the 144 communities (more than 4,300 Census Blocks) the network will serve. The core transport network will also open up the entire geographic region adding thousands of additional subscriber potentials through new Last Mile network extensions within the region. (d) Number of Community Anchor Institutions: This Middle Mile Network system provides broadband access opportunities to a total of 1,541 key social institutions: 579 schools, 75 hospitals, 96 libraries/museums, 320 safety facilities, 280 government offices, 120 Post Offices, 55 ILEC central offices, and 16 E911 Centers. (e) Proposed Services and Applications for the Proposed Funded Service Area: This Middle Mile project will provide a diverse set of broadband transport services including: (a) fiber optic cable leases, (b) point-to-point optical wave services, (c) DS3, OC3, OC12 and OC48 SONET transport services, (d) Gigabit and Fast Ethernet Services, and (e) DS1, DS3, OC3, OC12 and Ethernet based Internet Services. Applications for the Network include: (a) broadband transport, (b) Internet access services, (c) video services, (d) voice services, (e) wireless voice and data applications, (f) private Intranet business networks, (g) security services, (h) data recovery and backup services, and (i) route protection and diversity services. (f) Approach to addressing non-discrimination and interconnection obligations: This Middle Mile Network system is purposely designed as a competitive enabler for all service providers in the region (i.e., Last Mile providers, telecom carriers, cable operators, etc.). At the physical layer, the network will be equally accessible by all potential users in regard to price, terms and access. Users may consume and utilize these capabilities based on their own independent needs and applications without discrimination. At the IP layer, Citynet maintains and publishes use standards in compliance with FCC guidelines. The Company does not filter, limit or prioritize IP bandwidth services by individual, application or source and deems network neutrality as key enablement requirement for Internet expansion and utility. (g) Type of Broadband Network that will be deployed: The Middle Mile network will consist of 600 route miles utilizing 144 fiber count non-dispersion shifted fiber cables. The transport layer will include an expandable core Dense Wave Division Multiplexing ("DWDM") system, initially capable of carrying 800 gigabits of capacity and multiple SONET ring systems. The Internet layer will include 7 core Internet gigabit routers that will expand core Internet backbone facilities throughout the regional network. Combined these systems provide a powerful bandwidth transport engine that extend these capabilities to over 144 communities in the region with approximately 600 access points. (h) Qualification of the Applicant: Citynet is a leading competitive local exchange carrier ("CLEC") based in West Virginia and has extensive experience in addressing broadband challenges throughout the region. The Company successfully built one of the premier regional transport network businesses in the Mid-Atlantic United States covering 13 states and 8,000 route miles of fiber optic cables which was successfully sold in 2008 for many times its original investment. The Company is now prepared to leverage its combined knowledge, experience and existing business operations to tackle the more defined challenges of Rural communities in West Virginia made possible by the BIP and BTOP programs. This expertise and experience provides the Company with an advantaged position to address this critical Middle Mile Project and to accomplish this effort in a highly sustainable and durable manner. (i) Overall Infrastructure Cost of the Broadband System: The total capital investment required to implement this Middle Mile Network is $43,112,922, broken down as follows: 71% for construction of the 600 mile fiber route system, 12% for core network transport equipment, 7% for market access facilities, 7% of network construction labor, 1% for collocation facility improvements, 1% for OSS and Management Software systems and 1% for pre-application expenses. (j) Overall Expected Subscriber Projections for the Project: The five year operating forecast (5 years of full operation) demonstrate projected subscriber use of: 106,956 households, 7,467 businesses, and over 500 social institutions. These subscriber estimates will expand in proportion to the continued expansion of the regional network system itself. Network expansion will be realized through new Last Mile network extensions within the region and future capital expansions of the fiber routes. (k) Number of Jobs Estimated to be Created or Saved: This Project will create an estimated 77 new jobs throughout the capital deployment and construction phase and an additional estimated 81 new jobs for on-going business operations. Indirectly, however, this Project will enable more than one thousand high-job creation businesses and institutions throughout the region. While it is difficult to accurately estimate the exact number, this Project will likely produce or save hundreds of jobs throughout the region and is perhaps the single largest economic develop opportunity in the region's history. |
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