The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutI. B. SOUTHSIDE NETWORK AUTHORITY TELECOM RING UPDATE 4.9.24Briefing for Virginia Beach City Council April 9, 2024 Regional Connectivity Ring (RCR) Presented by: Steven DeBerry, Executive Director of Southside Network Authority (SNA) Pedro (Peter) Wallace, Director of Information Technology (City of VB) Noel Mitchell, Cyber Security Manager, Global Technical Systems (GTS) 1 Outline ➢History of Southside Network Authority ➢Regional Connectivity Ring (RCR) ➢Objectives aligned with City of Virginia Beach Focus Action Plans and RVA757 Connects Initiative ➢Next Generation Network ➢Public/Private Partnership (SNA and GTS) ➢Our Plan to Drive Forward 2 Southside Network Authority (SNA) History and Objectives ➢Created November 2019 ➢Five Virginia cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach ➢Concurrent resolutions that adopted Articles of Incorporation pursuant to the Wireless Services Act, Chapter 54.1 of Title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia, 1950 ➢Project Participation Agreement defines $25M investment (Each city provided $5M and received 20 Shares in the project valued at $250,000 per share) ➢Our objectives are to: ➢Pursue economic development opportunities and encourage public/private partnerships ➢Support Government via connected fiber ring infrastructure ➢Enable lower cost, faster service and enhanced broadband coverage to support underserved/unserved communities and businesses ➢Support higher education organizations and advance partnership possibilities 3 Jul 2017 City Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from across the region started to discuss a regional broadband concept. Early 2018 Hampton Roads City Managers requested their CIOs to identify how regional connectivity can benefit public safety, higher education, and economic development. Fall 2017 City of Virginia Beach announces construction completed on 1st transatlantic cable (Marea). Jul 2018 Five Hampton Roads Southside Cities formed the Broadband Steering Committee. Jul 2020 Hired Columbia Telecomm Corp (CTC) to conduct 60% design, develop construction cost estimate and Business Case Analysis Nov 2019 Southside Network Authority formed Jan 2019 Completed 30% design and Master Plan for Regional Fiber Ring Jun 2020 Hired Interim Executive Director Our Pathway to Lower Cost, Faster Service and Expanded Broadband Coverage Oct 2018 Region wins National Smart Infrastructure Challenge Fall 2017 HRPDC endorses 4- Phased Regional Fiber Ring Plan to GoVA 4 Our Work Ahead: Major Milestones for Finishing the Task Feb 2021 Made the decision on optimal approach for fiber infrastructure financing, construction and ownership, including potential private partnerships. Mid-Nov 2020 CTC delivered 60% design, estimated construction cost and BCAs on options and timelines. Dec 2020 Held strategic retreat to examine business case, estimated construction cost and 60% design. 2022-2024 Construction of Southside Regional Fiber Ring by Danella Construction 2024-2025 Lower cost, faster service and broader coverage delivered to 757 Southside residents, businesses and educational institutions. Phase 1 is Projected to be Delivered to 757 Southside by Q2 FY25 Oct 2023 Signed P3 Comprehensive Agreement with Global Technical Systems (GTS) 5 Regional Connectivity Ring (RCR) Permits and Construction Status 6 ➢The Network Connecting Southside Hampton Roads jurisdictions will connect to the Trans-Atlantic Subsea Cables landing in Virginia Beach ➢Our Network Ring has the Unanimous Support of 17 Local Jurisdictions that make up the 757 Region Subsea Cables Landing in City of Virginia Beach 7 An Open Access Dark Fiber Network Future Expansion of Regional Connectivity Ring Our Vision Ultimately, this will be a Fiber Optic Network Ring that will connect our entire 757 Region 8 Balancing Goals for the Regional Connectivity Ring 9 Provide a mechanism for the Five Cities to meet internal communications needs while containing the financial risk associated with price increases for commercial services Facilitate economic development initiatives with low- or no-cost access to middle mile infrastructure Reduce barriers to entry in new markets by making middle mile infrastructure available on a competitive and non- discriminatory basis Enable revenue generation through dark fiber leases and/or lit service offerings Govern Envision Invigorate Smart Region Digital Divide Remote Learning Job Creation Sea Level Rise Recurrent Flooding Transportation Managed Lanes Emergency Communications High Tech Companies Public Safety Autonomous Vehicles Higher Education & Research Center For Innovation Technology Ecosystem Teleworking Our objectives are aligned both with City of Virginia Beach’s Focus Action Plans & RVA757 Connects Initiative 10 Telecom Competition & Expansion in Virginia Beach ➢Six out of Eleven Telecom Franchise Agreements signed after 2019 ➢Fiber Infrastructure Construction permit requests more than doubled after initiation of RCR project ➢Lumos Telephone LLC - $83M Project for 760 miles fiber (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth) ➢Metronet – Currently present at Norfolk and plan to expand to Virginia Beach Calendar Year Count Permit Requests before and after RCR Project 2015 40 2016 60 2017 407 2018 502 2019 639 2020 673 2021 576 2022 501 2023 588 Grand Total 3987 1009 2389 Fiber Infrastructure Construction Permit Requests 11 NGN Completed (FY24), and Planned/In-Progress (FY25-26) ➢City of Virginia Beach NGN fiber footprint = 160 miles 12 Location Description Status Linear Foot Mileage Creeds Senior Resource Center (FY24) Measurement includes Pungo-Blackwater Library (FY24) Complete 45,500 8.6 Police Mounted Patrol (FY24)Complete 2,500 0.5 48,000 9.1 Location Description Status Linear Foot Mileage Sandbridge Fire Station #17 to General Booth (FY24/25) Via Globalinx In Progress 19,500 3.7 Sandbridge Water Tank and Pump Station (FY24/25)In Progress 800 0.2 Little Island Park (FY25/26)Pending Funding 20,000 3.8 Pleasant Ridge Radio Tower Fiber Backhaul (FY25) Measurements include DPW Pleasant Ridge Facility/Mosquito Control (FY25) In Progress 5,000 0.9 Creeds Fire Station #6 (FY25)Planned 14,500 2.7 Law Enforcement Training Center at Creeds/Campbell Landing (planned FY25) Planned 9,000 1.7 Blackwater Fire Station #13 (FY25/26)Planned 25,000 4.7 93,800 17.8Total Footage/Mileage Recently Completed NGN Fiber Extension Projects Creeds/Blackwater Fiber Total Footage/Mileage In Progress and Planned NGN Projects Sandbridge Fiber Expansion Pungo/Blackwater Fiber Expansion NGN Fiber Expansion to Sandbridge via Globalinx 13 ➢Project funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) ➢Connect the Globalinx fiber to the City’s NGN network ➢Extend fiber to Fire Station 17 - This station also houses: ➢ The Sandbridge Volunteer Rescuer Squad which provides emergency medical services to the Sandbridge Community ➢ The Police Department Satellite Office ➢Provide direct network between Fire Station 17 and 21 ➢Serve the Little Island parking area as well as the Stormwater Pump Station ➢Additional node to existing NGN fiber network for resiliency ➢Increase access to high-speed internet services at reasonable costs by means of subsea cables ➢Leverage the regional fiber ring with increased cybersecurity posture Public Private Partnership with Global Technical Systems ➢SNA and GTS signed Comprehensive Agreement on October 13, 2023 Major Deal Points ➢GTS to Operate, Market, and Maintain the Regional Fiber Ring ➢GTS pays SNA $2M/YR for 20 years - Initially 96 fiber strands with options ➢GTS receives exclusivity for 1st 18 months with option for additional 42 months based on meeting performance metrics (meets 25% of business plan; including 10% unserved/underserved areas) ➢GTS maintains entire fiber ring ➢GTS working with SNA member cities to position the region/cities for potential Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants (Unserved/Underserved Areas and Community Anchor Institutions) 14 15 Capabilities & Services 15 ➢High Speed Connectivity ➢Symmetrical ➢Scalable ➢Reliable ➢GTS Managed Services ➢Network Monitoring & Security ➢Data Backup & Disaster Recovery ➢Server Maintenance ➢Infrastructure Management ➢Systems Administration ➢Cloud Storage ➢Co-located Data Center ➢Transport (Back Haul) ➢Provide Transport Redundancy 784 Lynnhaven Parkway 15 July 2023 White House and NTIA announce BEAD funding allocations. Virginia’s allocation $1.48 Billion Nov 2023 DHCD’s BEAD challenge portal opens. Oct 2023 SNA & GTS Sign comprehensive agreement. Dec 2023 DHCD’s BEAD challenge portal closes. May2024 DHCD opens Formal full application submission portal for BEAD project Apr 2024 DHCD opens Pre-application submissions for BEAD projects Broadband Equity, Access & Development BEAD Timeline Mar 2024 DHCD Completes review process for all submitted challenges in Virginia Oct 2023 NTIA approves DHCD’s Volume 1 initial Proposal. 16 TBD on approval of BEAD Vol 2 Other C&C Challenges 52% Chesapeake 2% Norfolk 18% Portsmouth 3% Suffolk 1% VB 24% Resident Submitted BEAD Challenges 11 -1-23 to 11-30-23 17 Code Challenge Type Description A Availability The broadband service identified is not offered at the location including unit of a multiple dwelling unit (MDU). S Speed The actual speed of the service tier falls below the unserved or underserved thresholds. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Chesapeake Norfolk Portsmouth Suffolk Virginia BeachChallenges Type S Type A BEAD Challenge Submissions by Type 18 Next Steps ➢SNA complete construction of the Regional Fiber Ring 2nd quarter Fiscal Year 2025 •GTS short term plan ➢Begin design for last mile fiber (connectivity to residents, businesses, unserved/underserved areas, higher education, and other anchor institutions in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement) ➢Develop Operations, Marketing, and Maintenance plans ➢Establish Strategic Advisory Board 19