Community Broadband Networking

CTC is a national communications consulting firm that specializes in public broadband initiatives. Our expertise includes feasibility analysis, business plan development, network design, network deployment, RFP development, and negotiations with private sector providers.  We also provide support with strategic planning, engineering, network design, business planning, and application preparation for federal and state broadband grants.

Technical Models:  CTC has provided consulting services on both fiber and wireless public broadband projects to communities throughout the United States, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tucson, and the State of Michigan, as well as numerous smaller communities.  CTC recommends evaluation of a full range of technologies to meet public needs—including fiber, WiFi, WiMax, microwave, and other technologies.

Business Models:  CTC has extensive experience with a wide range of US public broadband business models—ranging from public facilitation of private investment to government ownership to hybrid models (partial government ownership). CTC is deeply familiar with emerging broadband business models in Europe, where municipal fiber deployment leads the U.S. 

Community Broadband Drivers:  CTC has experience evaluating and modeling a wide range of benefits from community broadband initiatives, ranging from economic development to digital inclusion to education to environmental protection. We have analyzed these factors with respect to both U.S. and European community broadband networks.

CTC is independent of communications carriers and equipment manufacturers. We offer unbiased, community-focused advice and recommendations.

The following is a small sampling of representative projects. Further information is available upon request.

CTC prepared a groundbreaking analysis of the feasibility of the City building and operating a fiber to the premises (FTTP) network to every home and business in San Francisco—including detailed analysis of multiple business models and business recommendations customized for San Francisco’s unique circumstances. This was the first study of its kind by a major American City. The study has been read internationally. It led Cisco’s Connected Urban Development Project (a program of the Clinton Global Initiative) to approach CTC about an international demonstration of the potential of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions through fiber networking.

CTC followed up on that report with a Phase 2 market and business study of FTTP in San Francisco, which included conducting extensive research of business and residential markets, and preparing a detailed analysis of the potential impact of high-bandwidth communications on carbon and other greenhouse gases. As Phase 3, CTC is providing ongoing consulting and strategic guidance to the City with respect to an FTTP pilot and related technology projects, including network design and specifications.

CTC wrote two major studies for Seattle’s electric utility. The first, an evaluation of the risks and benefits of FTTP municipal broadband, included an internal needs analysis, market research on residential and business broadband use, assessment of competing services and technologies, and an evaluation of the business case and business risks of constructing a broadband network. CTC’s second study for Seattle City Light, in 2009, was unprecedented in the municipal telecommunications market. It explored the benefits of FTTP beyond the traditional balance sheet analysis, including cost avoidance, monetary savings, and environmental impact.

CTC assisted the City of Portland with strategic planning and grant application preparation in connection with Portland’s plans to facilitate a public-private partnership to build an FTTP network.

CTC researched and prepared an extensive analysis of the broadband communications needs of government, public safety, business, and residential users across Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The report explored the business case for a proposed Open Cape broadband network, including the role and opportunity for a private sector partner that would design, build, and operate the network. CTC also provided case studies of similar regional efforts in other parts of the country, including analysis of business opportunities and the benefits of regional aggregation; summarized a range of potential benefits of enhanced broadband access, including cost savings to the community, enhanced public safety, and reduced carbon emissions; evaluated the functional differences between fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology and the existing broadband technologies offered by incumbent providers; and applied aggregate market research findings to Cape Cod.

CTC providing extensive business planning and engineering design assistance to the One Maryland consortium of 10 jurisdictions, which plans to build an interconnected broadband network covering 85 percent of the population of Maryland. CTC helped the consortium establish its initial framework by facilitating and offering expertise in inter-jurisdictional discussions on the group’s structure and governance.

To help the Hoopa Valley Tribe achieve its goal of constructing a high-speed wireless communications network to provide broadband Internet access across the approximately 144-square-mile Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, CTC will be providing engineering design and project management tasks, including identifying and reviewing existing assets, conducting a physical site survey, preparing a system-level design, providing engineering oversight, and completing operational documentation.

CTC helped the Redwood Coast Connect (RCC) consortium in California, which represents the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity, explore the feasibility and business case for a community broadband project centered on middle-mile fiber and potentially supplemented with additional technologies. We provided strategic guidance and advice on the development and implementation of the project; assisted with the development of a project governance structure; facilitated brainstorming and issue spotting; supported RCC in strategically preparing for discussions and negotiations with potential public and private sector partners; and advised on the development of a federal broadband grant application to partially fund the project.

CTC supported the Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband (UC2B) Coalition, comprising the University of Illinois and the cities of Champaign and Urbana, in preparing its application for a federal stimulus grant to support its proposed fiber optic broadband network.

CTC assisted the City of Philadelphia and the William Penn Foundation to assess the state of broadband competition in the City and to evaluate the capability of various forms of broadband technology to competitively provide widespread, high-speed services. The technologies we evaluated included wireless, satellite, digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, FTTP, and broadband over powerline (BPL).

CTC conducted a comprehensive FTTP and wireless networking feasibility study for Gastonia’s municipal electric utility and has advised Gastonia on the potential for federal broadband grant funding. The feasibility study included a needs assessment, a review of the competitive marketplace, market research of the City’s residential and business communities, identification and evaluation of the risks for each potential market strategy, and a review of the business cases for each strategy. CTC also determined and documented the risks and business benefits of various levels of client involvement in the broadband initiative.

CTC developed a conceptual design for a Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in Lake City. The project included a description of FTTP architecture alternatives, a budgetary implementation cost estimate (fiber and required electronics), considerations for the detailed design, insights on how the conceptual design would support various business models, and a summary of estimated annual operating costs.

CTC prepared a strategic study of the feasibility of a public-facing wireless communications network in Bountiful. The study included an internal needs assessment, evaluation of the local competitive market, review of the local cable franchise agreement, preparation of a potential business case, and preparation of a conceptual network design.

CTC assisted this groundbreaking fiber optic network operator, backed by 16 cities in Utah, with an independent review and assessment of its business and marketing plans.

CTC conducted a comprehensive FTTP feasibility study for NPU, and has assisted NPU with strategic planning for preparation of a major federal grant application. CTC also designed a fiber institutional network (I-Net) to enhance NPU’s existing communications services and scaling of network capacity. In addition, CTC has been NPU’s strategic advisor on advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) implementation based on fiber connectivity, including by developing a request for information (RFI), analyzing vendor responses to the RFI, and developing a follow-up request for proposal (RFP) to launch a 3,000-meter AMI pilot program.

CTC developed an infrastructure blueprint and strategy for Warren County with the objective of encouraging the expansion and enhancement of cellular telephone and broadband connectivity services in the County. The strategy included a blueprint for the County and its partners to facilitate a reduction or removal of barriers to market entry for new and enhanced connectivity services.

CTC developed a long-term strategic plan covering both wireline and wireless connectivity for the Commission's Institutional Networks (I-Nets). CTC also designed a wireless strategy for NSCC. The NSCC operates a mixture of I-Net fiber and coaxial cable, as well as some leased circuits. The purpose of the strategic plan was to plan and design a network to meet the existing and emerging technical requirements of the NSCC members and their agencies and departments, and to provide a blueprint for future network development and construction.