Presentation to the Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband -- August 13, 2013

1. FTTH COUNCIL’S
GIGABIT COMMUNITIES
RACE-TO-THE-TOP
PROGRAM
Presentation to the Minnesota
Governor’s Task Force on
Broadband -- August 13, 2013
Thomas Cohen, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
tcohen@kelleydrye.com

2. FTTH Council
Gigabit Communities Initiatives
 Community Toolkit
 Becoming a Fiber-Friendly
Community
 Gigabit Communities Race-to-the-Top
Program
 Gimme Fiber Day – November 4th

3. FTTH COUNCIL
COMMUNITY TOOLKIT
From Gigabit Envy
To Gigabit Deployed

4. FTTH COUNCIL
COMMUNITY TOOLKIT
• http://www.ftthcouncil.org/p/cm/ld/fid=79
• Purpose
– Provide communities with a roadmap for the
deployment of gigabit, all fiber networks
• Value Proposition
– Unlimited bandwidth transforms communities
• Building and Implementing the
Business Plan
– Creating a community asset inventory
– Initial Financial Spreadsheet (courtesy of the
Blandin Foundation)
– Federal and State Resources

5. FTTH COUNCIL
COMMUNITY TOOLKIT
• RFP Templates
• Six different models to fit different
communities (courtesy of Gig.U)
• Building Community Support
• Creating a community leadership team and
organizing support
• Managing the Project
• Going to contract (Google KC Agreement)
• Deploying the network
• Council Community Toolkit
Conference May 2013
• Contact the Council for Presentations

6. BUILDING A
FIBER-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY
• http://www.ftthcouncil.org/p/bl/et/blogaid=
214&source=1
• Community Leadership and Support
– Develop a clear Broadband Plan
– Ensure commitment of community
stakeholders
• Government Approval Requirements
and Permitting
– Define an expeditious process for on-going
permitting and inspections
– Permit innovative construction techniques
– Build out requirements have proven
counterproductive; instead provide incentives

7. BUILDING A
FIBER-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY
• Use of Existing Infrastructure
– Publish data about existing
infrastructure
– Make all rights-of-way and poles
available on clearly defined, reasonable
terms through a rapid approval process
– Ensure make-ready work for poles is
performed expeditiously
– Coordinate pole maintenance and
make-ready work with the network
provider
– Allow prospective attachers to
perform/direct make-ready work

8. BUILDING A
FIBER-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY
• Proactive Measures to Improve
Infrastructure and Expedite
Deployments
– Provide space on poles for new
attachers
– Install ubiquitous fiber conduit
– Use building codes and community
development plans to drive fiber
deployments

9. GIGABIT COMMUNITIES
RACE-TO-THE-TOP PROGRAM
• The Petition
– FTTH Council petitioned the FCC on July
23, 2012 to establish a Gigabit Communities
Race-to-the-Top Program
• The Opportunity
– Unlimited bandwidth can “transform the
mindset and capabilities of a community”
• The Challenge
– While communities want gigabit networks,
there is a gap between the high up-front
cost of the network and the lag in obtaining
sufficient revenues

10. GIGABIT COMMUNITIES
RACE-TO-THE-TOP PROGRAM
• The Program Objective
– Bridge the market gap by seeding a critical
mass of gigabit communities, lowering the
cost of deployment and creating sufficient
gigabit applications
–
• The Program
– A competitive grant program to award
Catalyst (seed) Funds in Tier II and III
communities for the deployment of
symmetrical gigabit networks
– Modeled on the Department of Education’s
Race-to-the-Top Program for states;
Complements the FCC’s new E-Rate
Proposal

11. GIGABIT COMMUNITIES
RACE-TO-THE-TOP PROGRAM
• Program Funding
– $150M in annual Catalyst
Funding for 5 years
– Approximately $20M per project
($10M in Catalyst Funds with
100% match)
– Funding Source – “Unused”
support from the FCC’s Connect
America Fund Phase I/Phase II
programs (after support is
rejected by price cap – larger –
telcos)

12. GIGABIT COMMUNITIES
RACE-TO-THE-TOP PROGRAM
• The Projects
– Deploy within 2 years a gigabit network
to community anchor institutions and
their surrounding neighborhoods and,
in doing so, seek to maximize the value
of the gigabit network for the entire
community
– Largely last mile deployments (with
additional middle mile connectivity if
required)
– No overbuilding of existing networks
with same gigabit capabilities
– Examples – Health Care Center;
Community College

13. GIGABIT COMMUNITIES
RACE-TO-THE-TOP PROGRAM
• The Project Team
– Facilities & Service Providers
• Public or Private (Incumbent or
Competitive Provider)
• Not necessary to be an Eligible
Telecom Carrier
– Local governments
– Community anchor institutions

14. GIGABIT COMMUNITIES
RACE-TO-THE-TOP PROGRAM
• Project Selection Criteria
– Involvement of and Connections among
Community Anchor Institutions and
Associated Neighborhoods
– Reasonableness of Business Case
– Efficiency of Deployment
– Efficiency of Network
– Amount of Matching Support
– Opportunities to Stimulate Deployments
and Advances in Applications Development
– Service Provider/Vendor Experience and
Financial Soundness

15. GIMME FIBER DAY
• FTTH Councils’ Global Alliance
initiating annual celebration
– November 4th – Birthday of Dr. Charles Kao,
inventor of fiber optics
• In North America, we are featuring
one of our FTTH communities
– Will focus media outreach on community’s
leadership, economic and social
applications due to FTTH
– We will announce the community at the
FTTH Annual Conference and Expo next
month in Tampa