Centennial City Council Adopts Fiber Master Plan

CENTENNIAL, CO — The Centennial City Council has dedicated $5.7 million to implement its Fiber Master Plan throughout the city. This master plan was developed by Magellan Advisors in consultation with the Fiber Steering Committee.

The Master Plan is a result of an extensive public outreach process, including discussions with stakeholder organizations, local businesses, telecommunication providers, and the City Council. Fiber Steering Committee Chair C.J. Whelan said, “This plan provides the roadmap for a future fiber optic network infrastructure that will become a key resource of the city and ultimately enable Centennial to pursue improvements to public services and enhance economic development.”

The Fiber Master Plan includes capital and operational budget estimates, a conceptual business plan, and a recommendation of operational roles and responsibilities. The Plan lays out the potential benefits that a neutral, carrier-grade backbone could provide to the city and its stakeholder agencies.

“The city will now be in a position to partner with anchor agencies such as school districts and public safety agencies to offer better alternatives for their technology needs and improve their services to our residents," said Council Member Stephanie Piko.


Background
Following the completion of the first phase of the Fiber Optic Initiative (asset inventory and opportunity analysis), city Council directed the Fiber Steering Committee to perform three tasks: 1) Implement best management practices for the city’s fiber optic assets; 2) Contract for, design, and complete a fiber optic backbone; and 3) Develop goals for the city in moving forward with the Fiber Optic Initiative, and in particular how a fiber backbone will be used to achieve those goals.

The first task was completed with the adoption of revised right-of-way regulations by City Council. Magellan Advisors has completed a conceptual design of a city fiber optic backbone. Finally, Council adopted 2015-R-72, which set goals for the city related to the Fiber Optic Initiative. Each of these tasks were integrated into the development of the Fiber Master Plan and the results are included in the attached document.

The most significant portion of the Fiber Master Plan is a conceptual design and cost estimation for a neutral, carrier-grade fiber optic backbone utilizing both existing city infrastructure as well as new infrastructure. The recommended fiber optic backbone was developed to fulfill the goals adopted by City Council in 2015-R-72.

With the conceptual design developed, Magellan Advisors and the Fiber Steering Committee reviewed operational models and potential roles that the city could pursue. Ultimately, the operational model proposed in the Fiber Master Plan recommends the City construct and operate a dark fiber backbone across the city for use by the city itself, community anchor institutions and in cooperation with economic development initiatives. This backbone will serve as the foundation for a variety of other initiatives the city may ultimately consider.