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Astound outlines $24 million fiber buildout for Atascadero; residents ask about poles
Summary
Astound representatives described a private $24 million plan to deliver fiber to about 12,700 homes in Atascadero, offering 1 Gbps service from $40/month and discounted senior/low-income tiers; residents asked whether poles can be buried and staff noted state/federal limits on local regulation.
Astound told the Atascadero City Council it will invest about $24 million to build fiber to most homes in town, starting with the west/northwest side, and described pricing and customer outreach while council and residents pressed on pole placement and local authority.
Jeff Buckingham, who identified himself as representing Astound and described decades in regional telecommunications, said the company and investors plan to serve roughly 12,700 homes in Atascadero and build more than 230 miles of cabling by the end of 2026. "The blue is aerial and the red is underground," Buckingham said while explaining the map shown to council and answering a resident question about map color coding.
Buckingham gave pricing examples intended to show affordability: a 1-gigabit up/1-gigabit down plan for $40 a month and senior/low-income discounts of $19.95 and $9.95 for lower speeds. He said field teams will visit every serviceable home and provided a customer phone number for local questions.
City Manager Jim Lewis acknowledged resident concerns about temporary pole installations and said city staff are limited by recent state and federal actions that push for faster broadband deployment and restrict some local regulation. He cited recent state bills (referred to in staff remarks as Senate Bill 378 and Assembly Bill 965) and a pending Federal Communications Commission rulemaking as constraints on local control of telecom installations.
Residents and public speakers thanked Astound for in-kind support to local nonprofits and asked about undergrounding and timelines; staff said the company will present more details in future coordination meetings. Buckingham said the goal is broad, private investment-driven coverage and encouraged residents to contact field representatives for individual questions.
Council members and staff framed the project as a significant private investment expected to improve connectivity in parts of town that have been underserved, while noting open questions about aesthetic impacts and pole placements that will return to staff for follow-up.
