1. From Inception to Reality
PROJECT THOR
From Inception to Reality

2. Genesis of Project THOR
Numerous outages across region completely cut off communities
Impacted governments, schools, businesses and public safety……
Local efforts and existing providers didn’t deliver reliable, affordable middle mile
Frustration with non-competitive pricing compared to front range
NCB organizes to get aggregated pricing and redundant connections
Rural customer needs not being met by incumbent providers
Vail assists CDOT in fiber development to build local wi-fi network
Glenwood Springs, Rio Blanco, Vail, and others operate public broadband networks

3. Speakers Nate Walowitz Evan Biagi Joe Krzizike Dr. Paul Schultz
Director of Broadband NWCCOG
VP of Business Development Mammoth Networks
Sr. Sales Engineer Ciena
IT Director City of Aspen

4. Initial Vision Making it Happen The Process The Network
Planned Services
The Value of THOR
Agenda

5. Initial Vision & Making it happen
Nate Walowitz
Director of Broadband NWCCOG

6. Initial Vision
NW Colorado historically underserved by resilient, affordable broadband to connect rural communities
Need regional approach to develop critical mass, and attract commercial partners, and physical paths
Bring together local alliances to achieve strategic and tactical goals

7. Who is NWCCOG A Regional entity with 28 members and 4 pay-in partners
Members drove a regional approach to broadband in
Hired regional broadband director in 2014
Provide technical assistance for local projects and Project THOR Development
NWCCOG’s broadband efforts have benefitted from Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Partnerships with CO OIT BB Program Office and CDOT and CO DORA, SIPA
Contracted with mammoth networks to operate and administer THOR network with ongoing nwccog oversight on behalf of participants

8. Broadband Program Approach
Strategic Planning and Education
Local Team Development, Needs Assessment
Local Strategic and Tactical Plans
Local and regional plan
Technical support and implementation
Project THOR Development and Deployment
Economic Development, Environment Education impact
Evaluate Local and Regional Needs

9. Concept Internet Traffic The Cloud Fiber Routes Data Center Local ISPs
Meet Me Center
Anchor Institutions
Local Network

10. What is Project THOR
Open access, net neutral, middle mile transport network
Government owned and operated buyers co-op
Improve quality, affordability and access to robust broadband
Connected by a shared middle-mile “backbone network” creating a carrier-grade 100/200-Gigabit 400 MILE Fiber loop
178 mile 200 Gb backbone with CDOT fiber
Connecting 12 towns across 9 counties each hosting local Meet Me Centers empowering local broadband improvements tailored by each partner
CDOT fiber provides additional opportunities to connect NW Colorado to Front Range, Western Slope…….

11. Service Area 9 Counties, 12 rural towns and cities
Assists economic development regions 9, 11, 12
20% area of state, 23% Non Front Range Population
Scalable to serve other communities
Can support adjacent regions in future
12 Meet Me Centers
Contracted with mammoth networks to operate and administer THOR network with ongoing nwccog oversight on behalf of participants

12. Making It Happen Local government cooperative Project THOR White Paper
RFP For Network Operator
Blueprint & Cost Modeling
Funding / Enabling
DOLA, Local match, CDOT
Partner and IRU agreements
Hardware and software contracts
Governance
Implementation
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

13. Meet Me Center Host Entities

14. The Process
Evan Biagi
VP of Business Development Mammoth Networks

15. Tactical Plan vs Strategic Plan
Blueprint
Tactical Plan vs Strategic Plan
1. Define Roles
2. Network Design
3. Business Model

16. CDOT CenturyLink Mammoth School Dist. Hospital Pub. Safety
Roles
Network Owner
Network Providers
Network Operator
Meet Me Center Hosts
ISPs
CAI Customers
NWCCOG
CDOT CenturyLink Mammoth
City County Coop
Mammoth Networks
Fiber ISP WISP
School Dist. Hospital Pub. Safety

17. Network Design Identify communities willing to participate
Research Network Routes to create diversity
Use existing assets when possible
Work with available resources
Plan for future growth

18. Project THOR Elements CDOT fiber Commercial fiber and lit services
Meet Me Centers
Local connections

19. Evaluate Technologies
Scalable
Deployable
Supportable
Affordable

20. Cost Model and Business Case
Establish Costs
Network Establishment Costs
Local Fiber Connectivity Costs
Local MMC Buildout Costs
Monthly Operating Costs
Allocate Costs
Sustainable
Fair among members

21. Cost Model and Business Case
Capital costs for Network Establishment shared among all MMC Hosts
Monthly costs for all circuits are shared among all MMC Hosts
MMC Classification
Capacity
Points
Class 1
100G x 100G
100
Class 2
100G x 10G 90
Class 3
10G x 10G 80
Class 4
10G x 1G 70
Class 5
1G x 1G 60
Helps offset direct costs for individual communities
Provides access to larger circuits
Greater good philosophy
Future cost reductions as network continues to expand

22. The Network
Joe Krzizike
Sr. Sales Engineer Ciena

23. Network Design – 200G Core

24. Denver & Glenwood Springs
Small Footprint
Meet Me Center
3 RU
1 x WS Ai (East)
1 x WS Ai (West)
1 x 5170
Fiber management tray optional (1 RU)
Denver & Glenwood Springs
1 x WS Ai (East or West)
2 x 5170
Frisco
4 RU

25. Simple plug and play. Does not require significant DWDM knowledge.
Design Highlights
Feature
Summary
Redundancy
Dual chassis and module redundancy on transport core network. 320GB of capacity over 4 redundant paths into Denver. Multiple failover paths with no communities stranded or single threaded. Main hub sites have redundant switches and mesh architecture to prevent outages in the event of a switch failure.
Capacity
Day 1 configuration provides a 200G core backbone between Glenwood Springs and Denver. Each Meet Me Center supports 2 x 100G (east and west) traffic capacity. Community sites support 2 x 10G (east and west) traffic capacity that can be upgraded to 100G+.
Footprint
Community sites are 1 RU. Meet Me Centers are 3 RU. Hub sites (Denver, Frisco, and Glenwood Springs) are RU. Fiber management (optional) is an additional 1 RU.
Complexity
Simple plug and play. Does not require significant DWDM knowledge.
Scalability
Provides significant growth potential (up to 4 TB) by utilizing 10 channel filters and up to 400G line connections.
Versatility
Provides Layer 2 and Layer 3 capabilities over a redundant, high capacity transport network. Will support 100M, 1G, 10G, 40G, and 100G client connections. All core transport is encrypted.
Operation
Includes 100M to 100G test generations for service turn-up and diagnostic testing. Ciena’s advanced QoS capabilities ensure maximum service uptime. Integrated OTDR function allows the network operator to instantly troubleshoot fiber problems including locating fiber cuts.

26. Planned Services Evan Biagi
VP of Business Development Mammoth Networks

27. THOR Services Open Access Middle Mile Transport Network
Resilient Transport to Denver and beyond
Transport between MMCs
Bulk Bandwidth purchasing option
Direct access to carriers & content providers
Collocation at MMCs
Open Access for any carriers and ISPs
Uses we haven’t contemplated yet

28. The Value of THOR
Dr. Paul Schultz
IT Director City of Aspen

29. Aspen Community Broadband:
Paul Schultz

30. Aspen Fiber Network

31. City of Aspen Staff Locations

32. Why Aspen Community Broadband
Better, cheaper, faster broadband:
Resiliency
Serve Community Anchor Institutions
Customers can resell broadband
Net neutral

33. THOR: The Reality
Nate Walowitz
Director of Broadband NWCCOG

34. Moving Project THOR Forward
DOLA Grants awarded local matching fund collected
$1M matching grant – Network Development
$270k for 3yrs. CDOT Fiber Lease (IRU)
NWCCOG is billing partners
Rolling deployment – July 1
Fiber connections and Meet Me Center builds underway
Steering Committee established with bi-monthly meetings
Future expansion and extension planning
Formal Launch November 2019

35. Partnerships = Success