Community Broadband Network

2025, July 22 - Sept. 30 - Utility Field Work: To support the network’s design, the County’s contractor, Bonfire, has partnered with Hexad to perform utility field data collection. This field work will assess existing utility poles to determine whether fiber can be attached or if the poles require modification. They are also examining both existing and proposed underground conduit routes. In some cases, Hexad’s crews will need to access a utility pole in a resident’s backyard. Affected property owners will receive a door hanger with the scheduled date and time window for entry. (READ the FAQs about this backyard field work.) 

2025, May 20: A "Community Broadband Network" (CBN) project update was presented to County Council, touching on high-level design results, and the plan for the upcoming transition from high-level to low-level design. Bond funding plans were also presented. Council agenda documentation and video of the meeting. 

2025, Jun. 10: Currently in Phase 1 design of the high-level and low-level design. Research found that 90% of the unused conduit in the Cerro Grande fire burn area is intact. The reuse of the conduit is expected to reduce costs. Three conduit hubs are now planned for the project--two in Los Alamos and one in White Rock. Redundant lines will be included to improve network resilience and reliability.

2025, Mar. 17 - April 11: Starting March 17, crews and trucks from Kelly Cable will be working in the North Community and Western Area neighborhoods as part of the initial phase of the Community Broadband Network project. These teams will be assessing existing county-owned conduit infrastructure for possible use with the CBN. Crews will work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Read the press release

2024, Nov. 19: The Los Alamos County Council awarded two contracts to Bonfire Engineering & Construction LLC to 1) Design and build a county-owned Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) open access network for $35 million and 2) Manage the FTTP open-access network for $15.9 million over 20 years.  View the PowerPoint Presentation(PDF, 435KB) and the November 19, 2024 Council meeting.

2024, Jan. 12: The Community Broadband Network project request for proposal (RFP), including Phase 2 of this 2-step "Design, Build, Operate" opportunity has closed. Information is on the County Closed Bids and RFPs page. 

2023, Jan. 24: Presentation to the County Council on the results of the residential broadband survey(PDF, 1MB)  and presentation of the DRAFT Broadband Strategic Plan(PDF, 14MB). View the January 24, 2023 Council meeting. The Council  adopted a policy declaring broadband an essential utility and prioritizes five characteristics for a Community Broadband Network:

2022, Oct. 19: Los Alamos County held a Community Broadband Forum on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. at the White Rock Fire Station 3.  You can watch it here.

2025 DESIGN:

1. Research.
2. Design.
3. Low-level design is anticipated to go to Council in March/April 2026 for approval.

2026-2030 BUILD:

1. Upon approval of low-level design by Council, construction can begin approximately June 2026.
2. Construction on Phase 1 – (Location TBD) – Summer 2026.
3. Other construction phases: Neighborhoods TBD.
4. Total construction timeline estimate is 3 to 4 years.

MID 2026

Tentative plan is to provide network operations to customers as it becomes available, with the first customers having access potentially by Spring/Summer 2026.

As of March 2025, we are in the DESIGN and engineering phase.

• Initial presentation April/May 2025 (High Level Design).
• Low Level Design will be presented to County Council for approval.
• 100% Design – March/April 2026 (Low Level Design).

The BUILD will be done in multiple phases.

• Vendor plans to have two construction crews active concurrently.
• Estimated completion in 2029 or 2030.

Los Alamos County-owned network

• Bonfire will provide DESIGN, BUILD, and will operate the network following completion
• Open Access Network – 4 to 6 ISPs (internet service provider)
• Bonfire is a neutral operator and will not be one of the ISPs.
• Bonfire will receive a fee to run the network
• Once operations begin, Bonfire will be under a 5-year agreement, with options to renew for up to 20 years

• The network will be 100% fiber optic based and provide “symmetrical” service, meaning upload and download speeds will be the same.
• Initial service speeds will be available up to 10GB, with increases set to happen over a 20-year span.
• Pricing is part of the agreement and will be very competitive.
• Redundancy is part of the network design, providing backup internet source(s), therefore preventing service interruptions.
• Fiber is expected to be available at every resident’s home by 2030.
• Funding for this project comes from NM Gross Receipts Tax (no increase currently anticipated).
• Existing ISPs will continue to be available.
• To avoid internet outages like what Los Alamos experienced in December 2022, the Community Broadband Network is being designed with several points of redundancy including automatic failover between two internet feeds. Los Alamos County is partnering with San Ildefonso Pueblo to provide this redundant internet line. Construction is currently in progress on this new fiber line from White Rock to Pojoaque, where connection will be made to existing fiber.

2024, Nov. 19:  The Los Alamos County Council awarded two contracts to Bonfire Engineering & Construction LLC to:

1) Design and build a County-owned Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) open-access network to every residence and business (10,000+ locations) in Los Alamos County for $35 million, and

2) Manage the FTTP open-access network for $15.9 million over 20 years.

View the PowerPoint Presentation(PDF, 435KB) and the November 19, 2024 Council meeting.

2023, Jan. 24: Presentation to the County Council on the results of the residential broadband survey(PDF, 1MB)  and presentation of the DRAFT Broadband Strategic Plan(PDF, 14MB). View the January 24, 2023 Council meeting. The Council  adopted a policy declaring broadband an essential utility and prioritizes five characteristics for a Community Broadband Network:

In the 2023 Strategic Leadership Plan adopted by the County Council, councilors identified high-speed community broadband is a priority to improve economic vitality of the County. This has remained a priority in the 2024 and most recently in the 2025 Strategic Leadership Plan.

Vocabulary we often use to talk about broadband includes "last mile" and "middle mile." Last mile simply refers to the internet cables (copper, coax cable, or fiber optic) coming from the street into your home. Middle mile, for Los Alamos, refers to the internet feed coming into the County from the outside. Progress is slow, but daily work on these two items is resulting in steady movement forward. Funding opportunities don't always pan out and take a while to move through their own due process. At some point in the future, the county will have made some decisions related to options on how to proceed with broadband related projects. Once those decisions have been made, project plans will be communicated here, so everyone can follow the timeline progress.