...Title
Adopt City Council Resolution Supporting the Broadband Alliance's Goals and Strategies to Provide the Foundation for a Countywide Broadband Plan
...Summary
The Mendocino County Broadband Working Group has drafted a document that identifies five overarching broadband goals for Mendocino County and various strategies to reach each goal. These goals will be presented to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors late this summer and their endorsement/approval will be requested. The Working Group hopes to demonstrate widespread support for these goals by obtaining endorsements from various agencies and city governments. The approved goals will provide an important foundation for the future development of a County Broadband Plan.
The Broadband Alliance is a grassroots group that was formed in 2010 by Mendocino County residents who were frustrated by lack of broadband options and saw its negative impact on economic development in the County. The Alliance prepared a Broadband Plan for the county in 2012 which relied upon an open infrastructure project called “Golden Bear Broadband” as a foundation for the deployment of broadband around the County and to support existing providers. Unfortunately, that project was not funded by the California Public Utilities Commission, and there is currently no comprehensive plan for Mendocino County that addresses how to meet current and future broadband needs.
The North Bay North Coast Broadband Consortium (NBNCBC) is a four-county collaboration for regional broadband planning which works closely with the Alliance. The Broadband Working Group was initiated in 2016 as part of NBNCBC work plans specifically to get input from county agencies into the development of a Broadband Plan. The working group is composed of nine members representing public safety, education, city government, business, providers, consumers, non-profits, and county IT (while being small enough to get things done). These goals are only the first step. Next a conceptual infrastructure design will be developed as a foundation for a larger broadband plan in 2018.
The Fort Bragg City Council is requested to endorse these five large goals for our County (as identified in the attached resolution). All endorsements and related comments will be compiled and included in the presentation to the Board of Supervisors for their consideration.