Objectives and Purposes
The recent COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how important universal access to high-speed, reliable broadband and a connected device is for work, education, healthcare, and civic participation. Access to high-quality broadband should no longer be considered a luxury. Essential government services, educational and economic opportunities, business services, telemedicine, public safety, and staying connected with family and friends are all increasingly reliant on broadband networks. While many Nevadans are unable to access the Internet due to lack of connectivity infrastructure, others are unable to access the Internet because they cannot afford it or do not have a computer or laptop. We cannot afford to leave any community, rural or urban, behind as we work to close the digital divide.
The objective of the High Speed Nevada Initiative is universal access to modern broadband infrastructure that provides all Nevadans at their home or business access to an affordable, reliable, and scalable high-speed internet connection. While the federal government has allocated significant funds for broadband, needs in Nevada are also significant due to our geography, rough terrain, the remoteness of our population centers, and the lack of modern broadband infrastructure. The High Speed Nevada Initiative will combine federal, State, local, and private funding to begin to close the digital divide in Nevada and bring 21st Century infrastructure to every part of the state. The State will use available funds to invest in long-term, life-changing infrastructure assets that will benefit Nevadans in their homes, schools, and places of business for years to come.
Expansion of Middle Mile Infrastructure in Nevada & The Nevada Middle Mile Network
The objective of the Nevada Middle Mile Network Project is to directly support recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency by building the infrastructure necessary to provide affordable, reliable, scalable internet to communities in Nevada that have been underserved. The capital assets built through this project will work to correct inequities in access to critical education and health services, and provide Nevadans in these communities with modern, long-term, scalable internet access. The sole objective of building interconnectivity infrastructure linking rural unserved population centers with Internet Exchange facilities is to provide affordable and scalable Internet to households.
In developing the High Speed Nevada Initiative, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology undertook a detailed analysis of the availability of broadband infrastructure in the State. OSIT discovered that a significant deterrent to the deployment of high-speed, affordable, scalable last-mile residential, business and Community Anchor Institutions (schools, universities, libraries, healthcare providers, public safety, government, community centers, etc.) was the lack of middle mile infrastructure.
Middle mile infrastructure is fiber optic based broadband infrastructure that traverses major Interstate and US Highways in a state. It passes by rural population centers and through rural areas terminating in cities like Las Vegas and Reno. In cities such as Las Vegas and Reno (and Los Angeles, Portland, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle) major data centers/interconnect facilities exist that are on ramps to the Commodity Internet with access to the World Wide Web.
A lack of middle mile infrastructure in a region can result in both limited options and high costs for last mile broadband service providers to access high speed fiber-based transport services to access Commodity Internet Access and Commodity Peering Services. For residential and business consumers, this can often mean lower speeds and bandwidth, higher monthly service costs, and fewer service providers offering service in a given area.
The Nevada Middle Mile Network
To address this need for middle mile infrastructure in Nevada, OSIT will create the Nevada Middle Mile Network. The Nevada Middle Mile Network is a 2,500-mile open access, fiber optic network that will reach many unserved communities in Nevada. Part of the High Speed Nevada Initiative, construction of the middle mile network will enable OSIT to bring better connectivity to hundreds of unserved K-12 schools, libraries, State and local government facilities, and community anchor institutions in the coming years.
The Nevada Middle Mile Network will also significantly expand network capacity between urban areas of Nevada and throughout rural regions across the state, greatly enhancing the capacity of last-mile networks to deliver affordable, high-speed Internet access to over 40,000 locations that are unserved or underserved today.
OSIT will build ubiquitous, open access, middle mile infrastructure that will result in robust, redundant pathways to major internet exchange points, a range of lit middle mile services offered at affordable pricing comparable to that available in metropolitan areas, and long-term dark fiber IRUs available to competing companies.
The Nevada Middle Mile Fiber Network project is a part of the larger High Speed Nevada Initiative with the goal of universal access to high speed internet that is affordable, reliable, and scalable. Over the next four years, over $900 million will be dedicated to broadband infrastructure and digital equity and adoption initiatives.
The map below depicts the Nevada Middle Mile Network routes and displays the rate cards for each route. A link for the map can be found here. Entities interested in purchasing services along any of the routes may contact the given route marketing partner directly or may contact OSIT with questions: highspeednv@gov.nv.gov