The Future of Fiber Optics for San Leandro Residents: We Need Your Help!

By SLNext
In Uncategorized
Jan 31st, 2018
5 Comments
3324 Views

If you are a resident of San Leandro, please join us at one of two upcoming Community Broadband Workshops to help the City prioritize Broadband Expansion opportunities for San Leandro residents:

  • When: Tuesday, February 13 at 6 p.m.
  • Where: Multipurpose Room B at the Marina Community Center / 15301 Wicks Blvd., San Leandro

AND

  • When: Wednesday, February 14 at 6 p.m.
  • Where: Lecture Hall at the Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro

In 2011, the City of San Leandro executed a License Agreement with San Leandro Dark Fiber to build a fiber optic network specifically to advance the City’s economic goals. On the heels of the Great Recession, the priority was to ensure that San Leandro businesses would have access to state of the art telecommunications infrastructure, enabling fast connection to the internet and a host of new “smart” technology applications. The first facility to be lit up was the Main Library!

Lit San Leandro has been successful, empowering the City to attract new software and hardware businesses, new investment and supporting our existing businesses to grow through improved technology. To date, almost 300 businesses have connected to the internet at Lit San Leandro’s fiber optic speeds. Additionally, all San Leandro Unified School District sites now access the internet via a 10 gbps connection.

In 2017, the City Council agreed that it was time to create a Fiber Optic Master Plan to identify broadband expansion opportunities and priorities for all our community stakeholders, including San Leandro residents. At this Residential Community Broadband Workshop, you will discover the rapidly expanding technologies available through broadband at home. With your participation, you can help us to identify your priorities. These priorities will be considered by the City Council for inclusion into the final Fiber Optic Master Plan.

BACKGROUND

In April of 2017, the City of San Leandro issued a Request for Proposals to engage an experienced “Smart City” consultant to assist in development of a Fiber Optic Master Plan. Development of the Lit San Leandro fiber optic network and the Alameda County Bus Rapid Transit line (now under construction) has provided the City with a uniquely modern infrastructure asset: ownership of 30 to 144+ strands of dark fiber throughout the City of San Leandro.

What are the possible services the City could provide its residents, businesses and visitors with this state of the art infrastructure? Of these possibilities, what services do our residents and businesses need and want? To help the City understand its options, Magellan Advisors, under the direction of former Santa Monica Chief Information Officer Jory Wolf, was hired.

The Magellan team invested considerable time in the last quarter of 2017 interviewing City staff throughout all departments to understand challenges that may have a technology solution. As we enter 2018, Magellan and staff are preparing a series of Broadband Community Workshops to engage our residents and our businesses in this exploration.

5 Responses to “The Future of Fiber Optics for San Leandro Residents: We Need Your Help!”

  1. I would really like to help this effort. I am a business owner and resident here in San Leandro. Community broadband would add a huge benefit to our city. Unfortunately I am unavailable the evening this event takes place. How can I help the cause?

  2. eric says:

    i’ll see if my fiance wants to spend valentines day doing this.

    Seriously though i wish i could make it but both times won’t work for me. If there is some online survey or something in the future i would be happy to input my opinion as a resident.

    thanks!

  3. Gary Huffman says:

    It is good that you asked for people to attend, but picking back to back days is not good. And positioning them around an event day (Mardi Gras, & Valentines Day) was a good way of planning lackluster attendance.

    Technology wise, when will gigabit be generally available? As an opinion I should suggest that 50Mbs as a baseline minimum service. Last technical comment, upload speeds should increase significantly as download speeds increase.

    In the future plan sessions like this a week apart one maybe Tue and the other maybe Thursday?
    Thank you

  4. […] Fiber Optic Master Plan, currently under development with assistance from expert consultant Magellan Advisors. A draft plan is scheduled to be reviewed by the City Council at a workshop in May, with a final […]

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