Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
27 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 1. Network and Coverage <br /> 3 North State Communications will engineer, build, operate, and maintain a fiber to the <br /> 4 premises (FTTP) network in Orange County consisting of over 615 miles of fiber that will <br /> 5 enable connections to approximately 9,898 unserved locations. The network's coverage is <br /> 6 depicted on a map in Attachment A. The precise address points served are listed in <br /> 7 Attachment B (138 Page Document Only Available at: <br /> 8 www.orangecountync.gov/servicesites). Any address points that were inadvertently omitted <br /> 9 from Attachment B, but are in the coverage area, will be added to the list of addresses <br /> 10 covered automatically. The provider will be responsible for procuring all easements and <br /> 11 rights of way and will continue to make best efforts at reaching blocked locations for five <br /> 12 years after the completion of construction. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 The network will offer up to two gigabit per second (gbps) symmetrical fiber broadband <br /> 15 internet access to every home and business passed. The minimum level service offered to <br /> 16 each home and business will be 100 mbps symmetrical. <br /> 17 <br /> 18 The network covers all of the homes identified by the County as unserved with the exception <br /> 19 of approximately twenty (20) households south of Chapel Hill. Since the North State project <br /> 20 will not provide coverage in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, building the network out to these <br /> 21 homes would add significant cost. Several other broadband providers serve this area, so a <br /> 22 less expensive solution may be available given the proximity of these homes to Chapel Hill. <br /> 23 Staff will examine alternatives to serve these homes. An additional unserved address <br /> 24 identified by the County in the eastern portion of the County will be served by North State <br /> 25 Communications through a construction project outside the scope of this agreement. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 2. County Contribution and Timeline <br /> 28 The cost to build the entire network is approximately $45 million. The agreement requires <br /> 29 Orange County to pay up to $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as a <br /> 30 grant to North State in three installments: <br /> 31 <br /> 32 • $1,000,000 within 30 days of contract execution <br /> 33 • $3,000,000 after enabling connections to 3,000 homes no later than December 31, 2023 <br /> 34 • $6,000,000 after enabling connections to the remaining 6,898 homes no later than <br /> 35 December 31, 2024 <br /> 36 <br /> 37 Some of the households defined as unserved are located in areas where a different provider <br /> 38 was awarded Rural Digital Opportunity Funds (RDOF). State law currently prohibits the use <br /> 39 of other State or Federal funding sources to be applied in areas where RDOF was awarded. <br /> 40 Therefore, none of the County's funds will be used to serve households in those areas. <br /> 41 However, North State will build the network and serve the homes in those areas using the <br /> 42 company's own funds. A detailed timeline for construction activities is included in <br /> 43 Attachment C. Assuming that the contract is executed by April 30, 2022, the construction <br /> 44 timeline would make services available to homes according to the following schedule. <br /> 45 <br /> Phase Homes Added Date <br /> 1 2,000 April 2023 <br /> 2 2,000 July 2023 <br /> 3 2,000 October 2023 <br />