March 5, :00 AM

 The problem  The solution  Why fiber is “future proof”  What is needed, next steps

 Current Expenses  Level of Service  Economic Development

Vendor Estimates Henry County BOCAT&T Charter GTA HCBOC total: $526,510.43$352,360.44$384, $407, Henry County BOEAT&T Charter N/A CogentN/A HCBOE toal: $1,094,620.91$1,128,553.66$956, $1,000, Henry County WSAAT&T Charter Other? HCWSA total: 256,134.09$196, ,628.09$183, TOTAL: $1,877,265$1,677,907$1,540,193$1,590,028

 Schools currently have.0015 Mbps per student of Internet bandwidth or about 1/1000 th what home broadband delivers. ◦ Equates to about 11.3 Mbps per school  Henry County currently have.02 Mbps per employee of Internet bandwidth or about 1/100 th what home broadband delivers. ◦ Equates to about 1.1 Mbps per building. ◦ Henry County government utilizes more bandwidth per employee because we also service many E-Services directly to Citizens, such as Video of Board Meetings, Electronic access to Tax information and payments,  Many areas of the county are not serviceable at all, including most parks.

 Henry County has been eliminated for consideration because of lack of redundant suppliers of Fiber Optics. Cite Douglas County, Microsoft Datacenter most recently.   Targeted Industry Study – Cite Study ◦ Firms are beginning to near-shore customer-care and processing centers for complex support and solutions management function ◦ Proposed new investment in fiber telecommunications infrastructure would provide a transformative new asset ◦ Digitization of every form of information continually opening new opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators

 Flexibility and ability to serve UN-Served locations such as Mount Carmel Park Soccer Complex, traffic signals, etc.  10 times the bandwidth for less cost than is currently being paid for service.  Provides Private Sector opportunity for Economic Development (Wholesale of Dark Fiber Only – NO services).

 Dark Fiber – Fiber that has not been attached to any equipment, and provides no utility or benefit without equipment. No services are provided over dark fiber.  Interconnect – Connections made from one building to another. This is often called a LAN or Local Area Network, sometimes called a MAN, or Metropolitan Area Network. Allows transmission of data from one building to and from another. Alone, this is NOT the Internet.  Internet – A global network of interconnected networks. ◦ It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. ◦ It is over the Internet that computer users are able to access , web sites, and many other services. ◦ The HUB of the Internet for our area is located in Downtown Atlanta, and on a map looks much like transportation network.

 Build a Fiber Network, as specified in plan.  Government Only Service for HCBOC, HCBOE, HCWSA, Cities and other government entities optional (their choice).  Operations of the network would be outsourced to a company experienced in running such a network.  Any surplus capacity (i.e. Fiber strands) would be offered for lease in a Non-Discriminatory fashion at market rates for wholesale dark fiber access. (limit of 20% available to any single company or subdivisions including parent/child of company) ◦ Any revenue to be used to pay down debt service and/or to expand network for economic development and/or education. ◦ Note: Due to construction methods, petroleum costs, labor costs, etc. It can actually be less expensive to buy MORE fiber than less.  Example: A 4 strand Fiber Cable costs about $110 per strand for 1000 Feet. A 144 strand Fiber Cable costs about $16 per strand for 1000 feet. When bought in bulk these numbers go down even more.  Most of the cost associated with a Fiber Optic network is the LABOR and permitting costs, not the raw material.

 Total Cost = $14,000,000 financed at 2.5% for 15 years.  Variable or Recurring costs – ◦ Principle and Interest = $1,143, ◦ Annual Operating Expenses = $331,000 (46)  Total Annual Expenses = $1,474,590  15 Years, and we own the whole thing. Then the Government, Schools, expenses go to the operating costs only of $331,000 per year.  Savings Per Year after payout = $1,169,000  Level of Service increased 10 X current levels for Internet Access and 50 X for backbone infrastructure. ◦ Each government facility and school would receive 100 Mbps of Internet on a 1 Gigabit Dedicated Fiber Network

 The laws of physics limits the capacity that wireless can accommodate in a terrestrial setting.  There is a 2.2 second time delay for satellite transmissions (due to the distance and the time it takes signals to be routing to and from earth) – this is called “latency”.  Speed of light – anything faster?  Wave-division multiplexing – means one strand of fiber can simultaneously transmit signals at different wave lengths.

 Staff seeks approval to pursue Letters of Commitment from HCBOE, HCWSA ◦ Other letters of commitment from other government entities (Cities, GDOT, etc.)  Staff seeks approval to move forward with financing options to bring back to the Board for further discussion.  Staff seeks approval to engage Rural Broadband to update the business plan – removing the commercial component.

Thank You.