Paso Robles and Atascadero begin the challenge of equalizing the internet provider playing field 

The cities of Atascadero and Paso Robles are about to enter a new digital age following the approval of a plan that aims to end internet connection inequality for residents.

"Just because you have some form of internet access doesn't mean you can use it," Maria Kelly told New Times. "Our biggest goal with this project is making sure that people that have devices—whether that's a computer, phone, iPad, whatever—can use those to their full potential."

Kelly serves as the project coordinator for the North County Broadband Strategic Plan, a collaborative effort between the cities of Atascadero, Paso Robles, and consulting company TeleworX that began last October. Both City Councils approved the plan during the last two weeks of April.

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• Screenshot From speedtest.net
• CONNECTION CONNUNDRUM Residents of North County are encouraged by officials to test their internet standards regularly via speed tests to ensure that as the county works to end the digital divide, everyone's experiences are considered.

The plan, which will take until at least 2024 to fully implement, focuses on three major aspects of broadband (basic internet) access across all aspects of life, from home use to public resource use like libraries and downtown districts. These include laying down new fiber optic internet wires to speed up overall connectivity, changing policies about the pricing and development of those new wires, and ensuring that the changes bring about affordable, stable internet for all residents.

"Our first step is figuring out what populations are considered to have adequate access versus inadequate," Kelly said. "From there we will need to begin reaching out to internet service providers to see what partnerships are needed to close that divide between the population."

One issue, however, according to Kelly, is determining what cities consider adequate internet access to be versus what internet service providers (ISPs), such as Charter or AT&T, consider it to be. Paul Sloan from the city of Paso Robles and Loreli Cappel from the city of Atascadero, who work as co-managers for the project, said that coming to a mutual understanding with any ISPs the project works with is paramount to success.

The cities are considering establishing an open access network business model, which would mean the underground fiber optic cable would be installed by an outside company rather than one of the ISPs. Sloan said this would effectively eliminate any sole proprietorship an ISP might have over fiber optic cables, opening the door for multiple ISPs to offer their services without having to worry about who owns the actual wires.

"In short, this is a wholesale service to retail ISPs with nondiscriminatory pricing," Sloan said via email. "The effect of this business model is to lower the cost of installation while maintaining a sense of competition for people looking to find service providers."

Sloan, Cappel, and Kelly all told New Times that broadband access is considered by the city, state, and federal governments to be the "fourth utility." This means that, much like water and electricity, broadband must have a uniform agreed-upon quality and price for all residents to pay for.

"Regardless of what is considered quality internet or not, over 50 percent of the people we polled across North County said they pay too much for a single service," Kelly said. "When you have that many people expressing the same sentiment over something we consider an essential part of everyday life, that's something that needs to be addressed."

Sloan and Cappel worked together to apply for state grants to help offset some of the initial costs for the two cities and ensure the plan could move forward. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ultimately granted the cities $200,000, which reimburses the cities $100,000 each for funding they already spent on the project planning process.

Sloan told New Times that having the initial buy-in costs covered by the grant enables the cities to begin work to acquire the respective funds needed to install the cable in each city.

Paso is already ahead of Atascadero when it comes to funding its fiber optic network. The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded Paso Robles $3.5 million in 2020 to help extend existing fiber optic wiring as part of the city's downtown development program.

"The city of Paso Robles has deployed conduit and fiber ... totaling 10.1 miles of fiber," he said. "Thanks to that grant, we can begin the deployment of 14.2 additional miles of fiber, providing connectivity to key areas of the city."

Atascadero doesn't have that same level of existing fiber optic, but Cappel told New Times that conversations with ISPs are progressing smoothly and she hopes to apply for and receive similar grants to the one Paso Robles received.

"While the city of Atascadero has not received formal proposals for deployment to date, we anticipate moving conversations forward in the coming months," Cappel said. "We are considering also applying for federal grant funding to solidify a public-private partnership to aid the deployment of fiber."

Both Sloan and Cappel see easing the digital divide as key to stimulating their local economies, which is something that will be essential as the total funds needed to implement the project are still being determined.

"Atascadero is looking to bring quality to our city and supporting all North County economic growth efforts including the potential Paso Robles spaceport," Cappel said. "We also have development projects in the pipeline such as Del Rio Marketplace, which is designed for company start-up and growth. High-speed internet fiber to this project and other job centers is imperative."

Kelly told New Times that the Northern Broadband Strategic Plan's consistent goal is to serve the people of Atascadero and Paso Robles and ideally bring the same services to other areas of SLO County.

"It's exciting to see cities working together, especially when—despite it being our digital future—it's been hard to get the conversation moving on actually planning things out," she said. "You always have to remember that people piece of it. People are why we have to do this." Δ

Reach Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas at [email protected].