Arcadian Infracom is accelerating the build-out of its fiber routes in the Southwestern and Western US through its public/private collaboration with the California Department of Technology. As part of that agreement, Arcadian will build additional long-haul and middle-mile fiber routes in California.
In June 2021, the State of California's historic legislation allocated $6 billion to fund its Broadband for All initiative, including $3.25 billion to create a middle-mile fiber network within California spanning 10,000 planned miles.
The California Department of Technology leads the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative, which includes state partners the California Department of Transportation and the California Public Utilities Commission. GoldenStateNet was chosen as the state’s third-party administrator. The 10,000-mile network is being built with public and private sector partners to ensure digital equity, access and inclusion for all Californians.
In February, California became an anchor customer on the California portion of Arcadian’s LA to Phoenix route. This route is scheduled to go live later this year, with full route completion slotted for mid-2027.
Arcadian can now announce expanding their public/private partnership with California by adding three new critically needed fiber routes. California will become an anchor customer on a new Bay Area-Eureka route and the California portions of the San Jose-Sacramento-Reno and Los Angeles-Las Vegas routes. Upon completion, these new routes will connect significant data centers and subsea fiber landing stations while, at the same time, forming an integral part of California’s 10,000-mile Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative. The California portions of these routes are expected to be completed by December 2026.
Arcadian currently has six long-haul fiber routes under development in the Western U.S. that, when completed, will add 3,500 route miles of critically needed new fiber infrastructure.
“Throughout 2023, Arcadian and the California Department of Technology have continued to work closely together to develop cost-effective middle-mile network solutions,” said Dan Davis, CEO of Arcadian. With the announcement of these three new fiber routes, Arcadian and California are now partnering on over 1,250 route miles of new critical information infrastructure.”
While Arcadian is the latest provider to partner with the California Department of Technology, they are not the only provider interested in the state’s middle mile network. Lumen recently announced it would participate in California’s middle mile network drive as part of its public-private partnership program to address digital inclusion issues.
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