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<br /> 18 | P a g e <br />City of San Leandro, CA <br />Fiber Master Plan <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />In creating this Plan for the City of San Leandro, or indeed for any city, current trends, <br />best practices, and comparative business models must be considered. This background <br />information provides the context by which to examine options and to evaluate what is <br />most important and most feasible for San Leandro’s leadership, residents, business <br />community, and anchor institutions. As the landscape of technological advances is <br />constantly changing, it is imperative that the most current information be thoroughly <br />assessed to allow for a comprehensive understanding of the current and future state of <br />technology within the City. <br /> <br />OVERVIEW OF BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY <br />The term “broadband” refers to high-speed internet services that provide users access to <br />online content including websites, television shows, videoconferencing, cloud services, <br />or voice conversations. These applications can be accessed and shared through a variety <br />of technologies including personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and other connected <br />devices. Although demands for this high-speed data are rapidly increasing, the Federal <br />Communications Commission (FCC) defines broadband speeds as at least 25 Mbps <br />downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. Cable, DSL, fiber, and wireless are the prime <br />broadband delivery systems used to meet these demands by connecting users to the <br />internet. <br /> <br />Fiber-optic cables (or just “fiber”) are strands of glass the diameter of a human hair that <br />carry waves of light. Unlike other connections that carry electrons across copper wire, <br />fiber supports fast, reliable connections by using photons across glass, giving it the <br />capacity to carry nearly unlimited amounts of data across long distances at spectacularly <br />fast speeds. Because of this speed and reliability, fiber is considered the gold standard <br />for supporting broadband across the full spectrum of devices and applications. Its usability <br />and resiliency has brought fiber to the forefront, making it a highly desired asset for all <br />entities, public and private, that own or control it. The availability of a reliable, cost- <br />effective fiber connection creates opportunities for the communities it serves. <br /> <br />Generally, broadband is one of many services offered by telecommunications companies <br />on multiple tiers of performance and cost. These services are divided into business and <br />consumer users and are then offered at a subscription fee. The variety of services and <br />technologies are increasing—exemplified by the explosion in smartphone apps —but the <br />networks themselves are converging, so that any device operated by any user can <br />potentially connect with vast amounts of information either inside or outside of the same <br />network. <br /> <br />Broadband is deployed throughout communities as wired cables or wireless technologies <br />that carry digital signals to and from users. The content comes into the local community <br />from around the world via global, national and regional networks. The local infrastructure <br />is built, connected and operated by internet and telecommunications companies that own