HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment Marshall April 6th, 2022
To the Board and staff of TDPUD, and the Community Broadband Committee.
On behalf of Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications (PST), I'd like to give a bit of background, and
clarify a few items that were discussed at the last District meeting. This feedback is based on
our ongoing partnership with Truckee-Donner and our decades of experience in the industry.
Comment#1: There was some confusion about wholesale access to broadband. PST's service
on the Truckee-Donner system is Open Access, as it is for our entire system. Wholesale
customers are great and encouraged. We would be delighted to serve Oasis, T-Mobile, Verizon,
or anyone else. PST and Oasis are currently working on several locations where Oasis will offer
retail service.
Comment#2: One of the slides from the Broadband Committee made the comment that PST
was going for the low-hanging fruit. The low-hanging fruit is already being served by AT&T.
They have all the subsidized accounts including colleges, schools, and hospitals, as well as
Suddenlink, hotels, and the cellular carriers. PST has been focusing on businesses that need
high-speed internet as well as all interested parties that can connect to the TDPUD system.
Lessons learned and Market Potential —We would be glad to further share our experiences in
the business in general and specifically with the Truckee area. Please let us know if you would
like a presentation.
What's the roadblocks? -The short version on why expansion is tough is the utility poles in the
Truckee area are owned jointly by AT&T and Truckee Donner. Truckee-Donner has had to
battle with AT&T about overloading for many years. If someone wants to attach a new fiber-
optic line to an overloaded pole, the new attachment must pay all upgrades. The average cost
of upgrading a pole is $20,000 per pole. Please let us know if you'd like more detailed
information on roadblocks.
What's the best model for the Truckee community? We encourage you to hire a consultant.
That consultant will have key questions like:
A. What size longterm investment is the TDPUD board willing to make?
B. What time frame will TDPUD allow for partners?
C. How much staff time is TDPUD willing to donate to the effort, especially to setup a
clear map of what fibers can be used?
Grants-There are some grants available with State funds in the Truckee area. Whomever
applies for the grants will need to be able to develop and keep customers for a decade after
project completion. There are grants are available for many of the mobile home parks and a
few residential areas. The deadline for applying for state grants is Q3 of this year.
Please let us know if you'd like more information on any of these topics.
Sincerely,
Bob Marshall, GM, Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications.