DIGITAL 395 PROJECT OVERVIEW

Much of the region between Carson City, Nev. and Barstow, Calif. has limited, insufficient broadband middle-mile capabilities. The telecommunications system is dependent on decades-old telephone infrastructure, leaving wide swaths of the Eastern Sierra region of California and Nevada underserved.

The Digital 395 Middle Mile project is building a new 583-mile fiber network that will mainly follow the U.S. Highway 395, a major transportation corridor between Southern and Northern California, which passes through Nevada.

The project’s service area encompasses 36 communities, six Indian reservations, two military bases, 26,000 households and 2,500 businesses. In addition, 35 public safety entities, 47 K-12 schools, 13 libraries, two community colleges, two universities, 15 healthcare facilities and 104 government offices will also be served, as well as the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab, the White Mountain Research Station and the California Institute of Technology Owens Valley Radio Observatory.

Unused, high-capacity fiber will be available to the region’s last mile providers to expand or enhance service to households and businesses, as well as to government agencies or carriers seeking local or long haul transport.