Broadband

The conduit infrastructure is being strategically routed to and between Lancaster County’s 12 incorporated cities/villages and 10 unincorporated communities. 

• High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) conduit will be placed in multi-unit bundles. 
• Lancaster County can lease each of the conduits for providers to install fiber. 
• Providers can then bring their services to County residents and businesses. 

It is anticipated the conduit will be placed in existing County road right of way, minimizing the need for easements from property owners along the route.

The conduit infrastructure will be designed, permitted, and constructed in four quadrant-based packages, starting in the southwest quadrant and progressing counterclockwise. 

• Lancaster County is hosting community informational meetings in September 2022 to share project information with city/village/community staff and elected leaders. 
• Lancaster County will further coordinate with communities during the design phase of each quadrant. 
• Project updates will routinely be added to the project website and shared with Lancaster County communities.

September 19, 2022

Last week, Lancaster County hosted two informational meetings about the Lancaster County Broadband Infrastructure Project. The meetings provided an overview of the project, shared the preliminary conduit route, and outlined what communities can expect from this infrastructure project. 

• Poster boards from the meeting
• Meeting handouts

For residents and businesses 
Lancaster County is encouraging County residents and businesses located outside Lincoln city limits to take a brief survey about current and future internet service in the County. The information collected will be used by the County to help telecommunications services providers understand anticipated internet service demand and what our residents and business value in internet service, like reliability, speed, and price. The surveys will be open through September 30, 2022. 

• Survey for RESIDENTS
• Survey for BUSINESSES

For potential service providers 
Middle Mile Grant Letters of Commitment 
Lancaster County is also issuing a Call for Letters of Commitment from Providers. Submitted Letters of Commitment will be used to support the County’s application for the Middle Mile Broadband Grant Program (“MMG Program”), a federal broadband grant under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Division F, Title IV, Section 60401, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (November 15, 2021) (“Infrastructure Act”). 

If a grant is awarded, the proceeds of the grant will be used by Lancaster County to construct, improve, or acquire fiber-based middle mile infrastructure (the “the MMG Network”) pursuant to and in accordance with the Infrastructure Act and the MMG Program Notice of Funding Opportunity issued on May 13, 2022 (as the same may be revised or updated, the “MMG NOFO”).  

The MMG Network would be operated in combination with the County’s public conduit project. A rough draft of an initial conceptual drawing of how the MMG Network could be configured in combination with the County’s public conduit project can be found here.

Interested service providers should provide: 

1. Finalized Provider Letter of Commitment; 
2. Exhibit A: Provider’s last mile networks that provide or plan to provide broadband services to unserved households within the County and therefore may be served by the MMG Network; and 
3. Exhibit B:  A description of the proposed service offerings, including anticipated or estimated pricing of the services to be offered over Provider’s last mile facilities.  

Provider Letters of Commitment are due to broadband@lancaster.ne.gov by close of business Tuesday, September 27, 2022.

Public Conduit System Requests for Proposal 
Check back soon for more information! 

September 6, 2022

The Lancaster County Board of County Commissioners is excited to invite you to an in-person event to learn more about the Lancaster County Broadband Infrastructure Project! This project will place conduit in the county road right-of-way, strategically routing to and between communities so that telecommunications companies can install their fiber and bring services to Lancaster County communities, residents, and businesses.

Next week, Lancaster County is hosting two open houses that will provide an overview of the project, including the preliminary conduit route. The first meeting will be held Wednesday, September 14, 2022, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Firth Community Center (311 Nemaha St, Firth, NE 68358). The second meeting will be held Thursday, September 15, 2022, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Davey Community Center (17810 N. 2nd St, Davey, NE 68336).

The same information will be provided at both meetings, so please join us for the meeting that is most convenient or works best for your schedule. After the second meeting, we will post more information and meeting materials to www.lancaster.ne.gov/broadband.

June 7, 2022

Broadband infrastructure is coming to Lancaster County!

Today the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement with JEO Consulting Group for the design, permitting, and construction administration of the Lancaster County broadband infrastructure project. This project will place conduit in the County road right-of-way, strategically routing to and between communities. Once this conduit is placed, telecommunications companies can install their fiber to bring services like ultra-high-speed internet to Lancaster County residents!

With more than an estimated 170 miles of conduit system infrastructure to construct, the project will be completed in multiple phases so that we can bring this quality-of-life benefit to portions of Lancaster County as soon as possible.

What is broadband?
In the simplest of terms, broadband is reliable high-speed internet. The Federal Communications Commission defines high-speed internet as having download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps.

Broadband is delivered through multiple technologies, such as fiber, fixed wireless, digital subscriber line (DSL), or cable. The Lancaster County Broadband Infrastructure project will install conduit for telecommunications companies to install and deliver high-speed internet by fiber.

Will this project bring fiber to my home or business? 
This project will not directly deliver fiber, or high-speed internet, to Lancaster County homes and businesses. Instead, the goal of this project is to lay conduit infrastructure in County right of way so that telecommunications companies can bring fiber service to Lancaster County homes and businesses. 

How was the quadrant order determined? 
The Southwest quadrant was selected as the first quadrant because the need for County-owned conduit infrastructure is amplified by a separate, but relevant, two-year broadband grant program administered at the State level. In January 2022, the Nebraska Public Service Commission awarded Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program grants to telecommunications companies to bring high-speed internet to nearly 12,400 homes across the state. Sprague, Holland, and Martell were among the communities benefiting from this program. However, it is not feasible for telecommunications companies to bring their services to Lancaster County homes and businesses without conduit infrastructure in the County. Thus, this project will bring conduit infrastructure to southwest Lancaster County first, in support of the Broadband Bridge Program deadline of December 2023. 

Why should Lancaster County own broadband infrastructure – isn’t that the responsibility of the service providers?
Broadband infrastructure could be designed and constructed by private service providers; however, it is more beneficial for the County to own this infrastructure for several reasons: 

1. The public infrastructure enables multiple telecommunications companies to bring their services to Lancaster County, preventing monopolies in service areas and encouraging competitive service (and pricing) for County businesses and residents. 
2. The conduit infrastructure can be used to provide high-speed internet to Lancaster County facilities, like maintenance shops. This infrastructure also sets the County up for smart traffic signals and other connectivity projects, as needed, in the future. 
3. Once constructed, the conduit infrastructure can generate enough income to support its ongoing operations and maintenance through the leasing of conduit space to telecommunications companies.

This approach is similar to the City of Lincoln’s conduit lease program, which through a public-private partnership delivered high-speed internet to the City of more than 275,000 people in four years. 

How did Lancaster County come up with the funds for this project?
In January 2022, the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners committed $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support the development of broadband infrastructure in the County. The Board prioritized this project based on input received from the community on how to allocate the funds. 

Will this project require additional easements or right of way?
Lancaster County intends to use existing right of way as much as possible. Property owners will be contacted by the project team and Lancaster County Right-of-Way staff should additional easements or right of way be required. 

Why doesn’t construction start immediately after the procurement phase?
The brief gap between the procurement and construction phases allows time for the final coordination of design plans, scheduling of construction management staff, and pre-construction meetings between Lancaster Counter, JEO Consulting Group, and the awarded contractor.