Next Steps

VPS provided the following Strategic Plan outline to help inform next steps in the County's project. The purpose of a Strategic Plan is to focus on setting mid to long-term goals and devise a plan for achieving them.

The Strategic Plan Summary is available in the Final Executive report. It provides additional guidance for the implementation of the three main recommendations, which are:

1. The County should create a Broadband Consortium that can focus on pursuing funding and establishing partnerships for middle-mile and last-mile network deployment.
2. The County should pursue establishing a partnership with a last-mile provider.
3. The County should consider building a middle-mile network that could be implemented all at once or phased in over time.
4. The County should research potential grant funding opportunities.

It should be noted that Columbia County should focus on completing steps 1 and 2 first. The County should establish a Consortium before establishing partnerships and both of these steps should happen before a network plan can be truly developed.

The biggest hurdle the County faces to implementing a fiber project, such as what's recommended, is cost. There is no current, dedicated funding for building a middle-mile network. Additionally, much of the grant funding available comes with specific qualifications, such as population density, that the County may or may not meet. However, this study has established that the need exists, and thus laid the groundwork for future grant application.

While the funding is an ongoing challenge, the County is committed to improved broadband access for residents and businesses alike. As such, staff will pursue the establishment of a Broadband Consortium and partnership with a last mile provider, as recommended by VPS. Staff will also look at other tools that could potentially encourage existing service providers to expand their service areas, such as franchising agreements that offer incentives for infrastructure improvements and dig-once policies that give vendors an opportunity to place conduit during road construction projects that expose the right-of-way.