Work on slow-moving Digital 299 high-speed internet project gets underway in North State

A proposal to expand high-speed internet to underserved, rural communities in the North State has not rolled out at lightning-fast speed.

More than five years after receiving approval to install a “backbone” fiber optic line from Eureka to Cottonwood, work has finally begun on the project.

But it will take another two years to complete the first phase of the 300-mile-long project, which is designed to bring broadband internet to homes and businesses in the three counties it passes through.

Vero Fiber Networks, the company that received California Public Utilities Commission approval to install the fiber-optic cable, is only installing the “middle-mile” main line as the first phase of the project.

Vero would work with internet service providers “to connect to the backbone and deliver high-speed broadband internet across their existing networks throughout communities,” according to an environmental study of the project.

"So what we will do is provide more like a wholesale service. We're hoping to serve those retail service carriers that will want to build out to people's homes," said Zach Negergall, Vero's executive vice president.

Where the line is getting built

Much of the main line conduit installed during the next two years would be buried underground along roadways. From Eureka to Redding, the line would be buried near Highway 299, but then in Redding it would break off the highway and follow a southeasterly route along local streets and roads to Cottonwood.

The line would be buried near Buenaventura Boulevard, Placer Street and other nearby roads to South Market Street and then south along Highway 273 to Anderson. The fiber-optic line would end on Trefoil Lane near Cottonwood, according to the environmental report.

A company called Inyo Networks initially received a grant in 2017 from the public utilities commission to build the line, but the company stepped away from the project and returned the grant, worth nearly $47 million.

Before quitting the project, Inyo hired a consulting firm to hold public meetings, take comment on the proposal and complete an assessment of the environmental impacts of the job. Attendance at public meetings at communities From Eureka to Redding was sparse.

Four people turned out for the Redding meeting; eight in Lewiston and 25 in Weaverville, according to the environmental report.

Vero took over the project, called the Digital 299 Fiber Optic Broadband Project, in 2021.

Nebergall said work on the project began in January of this year. Rather than pay for the fiber-optic line installation with a CPUC grant, the company is using private funding, he said.

He said work started at the western end of the line and will generally progress eastward, but he said there could be some places where they will jump ahead and bury line at different points along the route, depending on weather.

Digital 299 finds support, opponents

Fiber-optic line offers speeds up to 35 terabits per second, which is thousands of times faster than megabits, according to the city of Redding’s Fiber Broadband Project webpage.

In the meantime, Velocity Communications, which provides internet services in Trinity County, has filed objections to the project with the CPUC. Velocity has asked the commission for a rehearing on the resolution that allowed Vero to proceed with the project.

Velocity also wants the commission to have Vero stop work until a more thorough and updated environmental analysis is completed on the project, according to Travis Finch, Velocity’s CEO.

Nebergall said his company worked with a third-party firm to comply with all state and federal requirements in compiling environmental reviews of the project.

Anita Taff-Rice, Velocity’s attorney, said recently that the commission had not ruled on the company's requests.

Finch said Velocity also objects to the project because his company has had little contact with Vero.

“Consultation has not really occurred with 'last-mile' providers, which are kind of allegedly supposed to be the lifeblood of this project,” Finch said.

Last-mile providers offer internet access to homes, businesses and other retail customers, Finch said.

“The reason why the public utilities commission kind of pushed this through, as far as we can tell, is because Vero promised to help facilitate last-mile connectivity, because Vero is not a last-mile provider. They don’t sell directly to homes or all businesses,” he said.

Velocity currently taps into a main fiber-optic cable line owned by AT&T, Finch said. Later this month, Velocity expects to also tie into a federally owned fiber-optic line that would provide backup internet service, in case the AT&T line went down, he said.

Nebergall said his company has received interest in the project from last-mile providers, wireless companies, tribes, tower operators, universities and local governments.

"While the project is expected to be completed in 2025, we have already received very encouraging interest from not just last mile providers, but also anchor institutions, tribes, wireless providers, tower operators and other carriers." Nebergall said.

Cal Poly Humboldt is also investigating using the fiber optic cables to detect and measure earthquakes along the California coast, he said.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: High-speed internet project from Eureka to Redding has taken years