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Imperial Valley Telecommunications Authority outlines BorderLink network and free connectivity programs
Summary
A representative of the Imperial Valley Telecommunications Authority described a countywide JPA-owned fiber and wireless network that now provides free BorderLink internet service; the system includes roughly 22 towers, about 11,000 SIMs in circulation and more than 7,000 customer premises devices, officials said.
Michael Kaler, assistant director for network initiatives at the Imperial County Office of Education and presenter for the Imperial Valley Telecommunications Authority (IVTA), briefed the council on March 18 about the countywide communications cooperative and its BorderLink wireless service.
Kaler described IVTA as a joint powers authority that connects more than 100 member sites across Imperial County with a mix of fiber and point-to-point wireless. "A majority of them are connected via fiber optic cable, our own privately owned fiber optic cable," he said.
He said IVTA operates a privately owned LTE service called BorderLink that uses roughly 100 megahertz of spectrum the JPA had available. Kaler said the BorderLink program began in earnest after 2017 and expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide free connectivity to households, libraries and agencies. "We are now providing, connectivity services, you know, not only to the student themselves, but actually to the family in that home," Kaler said.
Kaler told council members the network currently includes about 22 towers across the county, roughly 11,000 SIM cards in use and more than 7,000 small customer premises devices (CPEs) in homes and community locations. He said many member agencies have leveraged the system to provide devices that residents can check out through public libraries and that some city or school staff use devices as a backup connection.
On capacity and growth, Kaler said utilization remains well below technical limits: "Currently I think we're at maybe 10% utilization on the system, so we have plenty of room to grow still." He described efforts to place equipment on existing poles, school light poles and other vertical infrastructure to reduce buildout costs and explained that some locations include battery backup to keep service running for several hours during power outages.
Council members asked whether IVTA could expand the program beyond schools and libraries to housing authorities or other community hubs. Kaler said IVTA is structured for local government and education members and that some partner organizations such as housing authorities face membership or policy constraints, but he said IVTA is open to cooperative arrangements through member agencies.
Armando Garibay, Brawley IT director, introduced Kaler and said the city had applied for broadband grants with IVTA assistance. Council members discussed future development projects and the value of coordinating conduit installation during street or construction projects to reduce later costs for fiber deployment.
Kaler encouraged the city to continue early coordination on public works projects so IVTA can place conduit and fiber before streets are finished. He also said IVTA does not sell service directly to residents but provides connectivity through member agencies, libraries and schools where permitted.
Kaler closed by offering quarterly IVTA board meetings as a venue for further coordination and said the organization will provide updates as library checkout devices and other community outreach expand.
