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Los Altos Hills Community Fiber reports cabinet powered by PG&E, work to connect Foothill underway
Summary
Project lead reported PG&E power installed at the Paris Macap cabinet; pending AC board replacement will enable power‑up and service benefits. Stonebrook and Foothill connection work is under town pre‑review; permitting requirements and per‑connection costs were discussed.
A representative for Los Altos Hills Community Fiber told the Technology Committee that PG&E power has been installed at the Paris Macap cabinet and that the project is close to powering the cabinet once an air‑conditioner board replacement arrives. The speaker said powering the cabinet is a "major accomplishment" that will enable permanent backbone connectivity and improved service for residents.
The Stonebrook work (Statement of Work B) includes moving several vaults away from pedestrian pathways; staff noted remediation costs to reposition those vaults. Statement of Work C (the Foothill connection) is in town staff pre‑review and the committee was told the town approval process is the long pole. If reviews proceed quickly, the team expects to meet a June timeline for the Foothill connection.
The speaker outlined steps to streamline residential connections to the backbone and said current practice requires separate encroachment and building permits (and, for some permits, a PE‑signed drawing), which creates per‑connection costs (staff noted a minimum of about $800 for the PE drawing example). Hidden Villa’s on‑campus fiber build is near completion and donor funding has supported that work.
Committee members discussed pole attachments and town policy that favors underground installations; staff said AT&T is replacing copper with fiber for existing maintenance work but that new pole attachments would require further legal or ordinance analysis. The speaker said the LAHCF team is exploring becoming a regulated utility to secure attachment rights in some areas. The committee encouraged staff to publicize the cabinet power‑up in the town newsletter once the unit is live.
