Fiber-Optic Broadband Internet Service Starts In Nicasio

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Households and businesses at 80 locations in the west Marin County village of Nicasio are enjoying fiber-optic access to the internet for the first time thanks to a public-private partnership.

Inyo Networks Inc., a private carrier created the Nicasio network and turned on the gigabit-level service in May, and the Marin County Information Services and Technology Department provided technical assistance and consultation on the project that gradually will reach 150 customers.

Four households that met low-income criteria started receiving the service at a reduced rate on Nov. 15.

"That was one of the goals of the Marin County Board of Supervisors and the state, to help eliminate the pockets of Marin that are excluded from the digital world," Peter Pratt, a county-hired consultant, said.

More lower-income customers will soon receive the service after they are identified by Inyo Networks and the Nicasio Land Owners Association.

Standard full gigabit connections cost $89 a month, and qualifying lower-income households will receive it for $29.95 a month.

Nicasio School, the Nicasio Fire Department, a Druids hall, a church, farms and ranches and other small businesses will receive the broadband service.

The effort to establish the network in west Marin County by the Marin Broadband Task Force comprised of county departments and agencies took many years, and further expansions are coming.

The Bolinas Gigabit Network Project has received a $1.89 million grant from the California Public Utilities Commission. When that service starts, Inyo Networks expects to exceed 800 fiber-to-home connections in west Marin County locations that did not have a state-defined level of broadband available.

When that happens, the number of remaining underserved locations in the county will be down to about 700. In 2014, there were nearly 4,000 locations in Marin County that had inadequate broadband as defined by state law.

The cost of the Nicasio project was about $2.5 million and the CPUC paid 60 percent of the capital costs from public funds. No county or local government funds contributed to the capital investment.

By Bay City News Service

Photo: Field technicians from Inyo Networks inspect a fiber optic splice closure as it is installed in an underground vault in Nicasio. Photo via County of Marin