FORT BRAGG, CA., 6/18/26 — Fort Bragg’s broadband director, Sage Statham, said Tuesday that the installation of the city’s fiber broadband fiber project is on track, though the first connections to people’s homes won’t happen until the end of summer or early fall. He added that a milestone was reached Monday when the last conduit was placed in the ground, marking the main part of the project as complete.
The Fort Bragg project is building what’s termed the “last mile” of internet infrastructure—the lines that bring connectivity directly to homes and businesses.
Statham said the system will improve service reliability throughout the city.
California is also developing a statewide middle-mile network intended to improve regional connectivity. Statham said that effort is separate from Fort Bragg’s project but is expected to strengthen broadband infrastructure by expanding capacity across the state.
In broadband planning, “middle mile” and “last mile” refer to separate parts of the network, and understanding the distinction is key to the city’s approach, Statham said.
The middle mile refers to the high-capacity backbone that carries data between communities and major internet hubs. It connects smaller cities and rural areas to the broader internet system through long-distance fiber routes along highways or between counties.
The Fort Bragg “last mile” project is the final segment that will deliver service to homes, apartment buildings, and businesses.
Statham said a $7 million funding gap was tied to the final stage of the city’s last-mile buildout and was identified during financing discussions. The project initially received $750,000 in federal funding secured with support from U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman. The funds were appropriated in the recently passed federal budget and are helping cover the cost of cable installation for the city’s fiber buildout. Other funding was acquired through bond sales.
Monthly service packages will range from about $50 to $110, and those receipts will be used to service the bond debt. Customers will not be charged separate installation, setup, modem or equipment fees. Instead, those costs are included in the monthly subscription, Statham said.
How it works
Under the plan, a fiber line will be installed directly into each home, connecting to a modem and upgraded router included with service. The router will support Wi-Fi and home networking needs. Statham said customers will also have access to an app to manage Wi-Fi settings and monitor network activity.
For apartment complexes and other multi-unit buildings, the city will work with property owners to bring fiber into buildings and distribute service to individual units. These sites, known as multi-dwelling units, were designed with additional fiber capacity in mind. A single fiber line can serve up to 32 units, Statham said.
MCN, the local broadband provider operating the network, previously functioned as an enterprise under the Mendocino Unified School District. The city acquired MCN last year, and MCN employees transitioned to city staff. MCN now operates as part of the city’s broadband department, as a city-owned utility, Statham explained
He said the municipal utility model allows broadband service to be priced based on the cost of providing service rather than generating profit. Once construction loans are repaid, rates could be reduced because the system is not designed to return profits to shareholders.
Comcast and other private corporations will not be able to use the city’s fiber system to directly provide retail service, Statham said. Companies could purchase connectivity like any customer but will not be permitted to use the fiber-to-home infrastructure for service delivery.
The system uses Juniper routers and Calix fiber equipment, with fiber cable manufactured by CommScope, Statham said.
Unlike copper-based telephone lines, fiber infrastructure is less vulnerable to corrosion and degradation. Statham said fiber installed decades ago remains in use in other regions, with upgrades typically made by replacing electronics rather than the fiber itself.
Connecting up to homes will take time
The city’s broadband department currently has nine staff members and expects to hire additional temporary workers to support installation work connecting homes and businesses.
“This could take several years depending on installation speed,” Statham said. “A technician can eventually install three homes per day.”
Existing services, including wireless and DSL connections, will continue in the interim as long as possible. Statham said the wireless “Open Air” service may be phased out sooner within city limits because fiber offers higher speed and reliability.
Existing MCN customers need to sign up
Existing customers will not be automatically transitioned to the new fiber system and must sign up for service. After signing up, staff will then contact customers before installation to coordinate a smooth transition. MCN Fort Bragg Customers and other city residents can enroll online at mcn.org/signup/fiber or call 707-937-1444 for more information. Residents or local businesses, joining the notification list will be contacted in order of signups.
Statham explained the fiber network uses ribbon cables containing multiple fiber strands that are split and distributed to serve multiple homes. He said the installation process begins with crews determining the path from the street or sidewalk to each home and marking locations with flags. After completing utility marking, a technician will dig a small access point at the service box and run fiber cable across the yard, driveway or other surface to the house for connection. A second crew will later return to bury and secure the cable permanently.
Statham highlighted that Fort Bragg’s boundaries do not always align neatly with neighborhoods. In some places, he said, one house on a street may be within Fort Bragg’s city limits while a neighboring property is located in an unincorporated area and thus outside the city’s service area.
Statham said, “We’d love to be able to expand beyond the city borders, in which case we would have to set up what’s called a joint powers authority. That would be through the county’s local agency formation commission, LAFCO, which oversees local government service boundaries and jurisdictional issues.”
He said that once the system is fully rolled out and operational, the city could pursue additional grant funding and work with the county on future expansion. He added that there is now significant fiber funding available and potential opportunities for partnerships.
Statham said the “last mile” project initially hit a roadblock. California’s middle-mile broadband project was scaled back after costs exceeded initial estimates. To reduce expenses, the state eliminated several thousand miles of planned fiber routes, including many spur lines that connected communities to the network.
Fort Bragg was among the communities affected. The planned middle-mile route along Highway 20 from Willits to Fort Bragg was removed, which left Fort Bragg without a connection to this secondary broader network.
According to Statham, Fort Bragg officials, including Economic Development Manager Sarah McCormick and staff traveled to Sacramento to advocate for restoring the Highway 20 segment. They argued that eliminating the route would limit access to middle-mile infrastructure and reduce the value of the state’s investment in Fort Bragg’s municipal broadband project.
Their efforts were successful, and the state reinstated the Highway 20 connection.
“The construction that you’re seeing on Highway 20 right now — all the conduit going into the ground over the past year — that’s the state’s middle-mile project,” Statham said. With that construction currently underway, the connection is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Once finished, the route will provide Fort Bragg with a second access to the state’s broadband backbone and an additional pathway for internet traffic.
Statham said the community currently relies primarily on an AT&T fiber route that travels south through Mendocino before connecting inland. With the Highway 20 connection, Fort Bragg will have access to two internet routes. The new Highway 20 connection is expected to improve network resilience by providing an alternate route and reducing dependence on a single provider pathway.
Statham noted that bringing fiber to Fort Bragg has been a long-standing goal, recalling that it was a stated priority in local leadership discussions as far back as the early 2000s, and said the current rollout represents the realization of a decades-long effort.
This project is doomed if this bozo is in charge