Portsmouth Broadband Authority sets Dec. 31 target to complete city fiber ring, seeks ISP partners

The Portsmouth Broadband Authority on an unscheduled meeting discussed the status of the city's fiber ring, its role in encouraging private internet service providers and a Dec. 31 target to finish the internal network, officials said.

Agency official (S6) told board members an independent authority can enter into agreements with private providers in ways a municipality cannot, and said the board's role is to reduce deployment risk so ISPs will extend service into neighborhoods that otherwise would be left out. "We're not saying that the Internet service providers have to use a fiber drop all the way to the home," the agency official said. "We don't have a preference as to how they deliver the service. What we're trying to do is take some of the risk out of them having to build that backbone."

The presentation emphasized that federal and state grant reporting by census tract can leave gaps in coverage counts; the authority aims to use the city's backbone to incentivize providers into areas where residents lack affordable options. A committee member, Marco Fragella, said the ring also creates opportunities for municipal savings if the city uses its own hardware for internal communications. "So when we put all that in the ground...there's still excess capacity in the fiber in the ground so that the authority could engage with businesses in town to lease them," Fragella said.

Officials outlined practical progress and remaining work. The presenter said portions of the network already carry city services after an unplanned migration required by the demolition of the old jail/civic center, and identified two specific outstanding challenges: completing the fiber pull across the Churchland Bridge corridor and securing easements to reach the ODU campus. The presenter said staff are exploring alternate routes and working with property owners to resolve easement issues.

The authority has set Dec. 31 as the target date to complete the internal Portsmouth ring so it can begin "monetizing" the investment through partnerships or leasing, the presenter said.

Board members asked technical and operational questions. In a "fiber 101" exchange the presenter explained that fiber moves data with light and capacity is governed by endpoint equipment rather than the fiber strand itself. A member asked whether the authority should also promote wireless options such as 5G or satellite; the presenter said those services still depend on fiber backhaul and that the authority's work can support wireless or wired last-mile options alike.

On regional connectivity, members discussed the Southside Network Alliance, a planned regional ring connecting Hampton Roads cities and potentially linked to undersea cables landing in Virginia Beach. Presenters cautioned that costly subsea connections should be pursued only with committed partners rather than funded solely by municipalities.

Regarding operations, the presenter said the city uses a contracted installation and maintenance vendor and that the authority needs a clear maintenance and operations plan to manage repairs and locates when fiber is cut. Staff agreed to provide new members with historical presentations, maps of the ring and an updated prioritized connection list at the next meeting to help bring everyone to the same baseline.

Because the body lacked a quorum, members did not vote on any measures or adopt minutes at this session; the chair announced the next meeting for Tuesday, June 9 at 4 p.m.