Open Access

Placerville, California, to Build City-Owned Open Access Fiber Network

Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Placerville 'strikes gold' with $20 million broadband project.

Sean Gonsalves

Nov 1, 2024 — 6 min read

Photo of Placerville, Calif., Mayor Jackie Neau from the Mountain Democrat

Placerville, California will soon be a place with a municipally owned open-access fiber network as the city of 10,000 looks to provide its residents and businesses with local choice and more affordable broadband service.

The years-long effort was launched after frustration with what the city’s 2021 Broadband Master Plan described as the “equivalent of an ISP (Comcast) Monopoly.”

“Because of this,” the plan noted, “residents and businesses in Placerville are exposed to the common limitations of monopolies” – a high-priced reality that prompted 98 percent of city survey respondents to say “yes” to a municipally owned network.

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Open Access Placerville Comcast CPUC Last Mile Federal Funding Account Jackie Neau El Dorado County Indian Creek Coloma Georgetown Garden Valley Steve McCargar Local Area Technical Assistance Mountain Democrat AT&T Golden State Net Digital Equity LA Fiber Funding California