Lit San Leandro

Lit San Leandro, the City of San Leandro’s growing 20-mile, 10 gigabits per second (gbps) fiber optic network, was created and co-financed in 2012 through a public private agreement with a local business owner who needed the bandwidth to meet the needs of their expanding international tech business.

Then the City had to figure out what to do with it.

Synopsis

February 2013 – April 2018
San Leandro, CA 94577

Client: 

Key Stakeholders:

Product:

  1. Oct 2011: Lease Agreement between City of San Leandro and Dark Fiber LLC (parent to Lit San Leandro) to build a 10 mbps fiber optic network in 10 miles of existing City fiber optic conduit. City receives 30 unrestricted strands of fiber out of approximately 300 strands pulled. 

  2. April 2012: First two San Leandro businesses are connected to fiber, OSIsoft and FH Dailey Chevrolet. 

  3. Sept 2012: City is awarded $2.12 million broadband network expansion grant from EDA.

  4. Feb 2013: City hires trailblazing Chief Innovation Officer Deborah Acosta to create economic opportunities built on access to fiber optics. 

  5. Dec 2013: City Council adopts economic development strategy & work plan with unique focus on Lit San Leandro and development of a “tech & innovation ecosystem”.

  6. Jan 2015: Acosta leads development of Amended License Agreement between City and Lit San Leandro.

  7. Established system maintenance agreement and increased number of fibers allocated to City from 30 to 72 strands. 

  8. 2016-17: Mayor Pauline Cutter is persuaded by Acosta to champion development of a fiber optic master plan to create a roadmap for the the City’s fiber optic/economic future.

  9. April 2017: Joint CIO and IT project - RFP launched to develop Fiber Optic Master Plan.

  10. Aug 2018: Magellan Advisors proposes, and City Council adopts, City of San Leandro’s Fiber Optic Master Plan. 

Role:

Lit San Leandro

Lit San Leandro was born in 2012 as result of a public-private lease agreement between the City of San Leandro and Dr. Patrick Kennedy, CEO of San Leandro’s largest tech company: OSIsoft (now Aveva). The local internet service providers would not bring the fiber optic connections to the internet needed to serve OSIsoft’s international client base and employees.

Dr. Kennedy was aware that the City had built ten miles of fiber optics and conduit to run its transportation systems. The deal? In exchange for allowing Dr. Kennedy (Dark Fiber LLC) to run several hundred strands of fiber through the City’s conduit, Dr. Kennedy would 1) create a company to manage the fiber (Lit San Leandro) and 2) provide the city with a certain number of strands to use for civic purposes.

In 2012, the City was awarded a $2.1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Commerce/Economic Development Agency (EDA) to expand its conduit network. Today, the City’s fiber optic conduit available for Lit San Leandro expansion has reached almost 20 miles, connecting hundreds of San Leandro and regional businesses to the fastest internet speeds publicly available in the U.S.

Outcomes:

  • Feb 27, 2013: 3 weeks into their new CIO role, Acosta creates a welcoming itinerary and event for visiting FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski.

  • June 2013: SanLeandroNext.com is launched as joined media project between City’s Economic Development staff and Acosta.

  • Dec 2013: Acosta launches tech media strategy focused on highlighting San Leandro’s advanced manufacturing and R&D businesses: New San Leandro; Prototype City of the Future; East Bay Manufacturing Day

  • 2013 – 2018: Acosta works with private partners to develop impactful, regional and national conferences at San Leandro’s Zero Net Energy Center & San Leandro Tech Campus, attracting hundreds of tech / IoT and advanced manufacturing entrepreneurs, businesses, and investors. These events included, not exclusively: Prototyping the Future (2014 & 2016), Transformation (2015), HardwareCon (2015-17), Clean Tech Open, and many others.

  • Indirect benefits to City: Increased media presence as a “City of Innovation”. Stories of San Leandro’s tech transition were featured across the media spectrum, from the Wall Street Journal to the San Francisco Business Times to GovTech.com.

  • Proclamation Issued by The Mayor, City of San Leandro, Declaring April 18, 2018 as Deborah Acosta Day in the City of San Leandro.

Acosta CIO Role:

  • Spearhead,  manage, and execute a strategic economic development plan based on San Leandro’s fast access to the internet via Lit San Leandro 

  • Manage the city’s relationship with its private partners; Dark Fiber, LLC and Lit San Leandro 

  • Represent the city in numerous (national and regional) speaking engagements 

  • Be the first point of contact for external and internal inquiries related to technology, including; entrepreneurs; pilot projects; speaking engagements; and public-private partnerships (PPPs).

  • Develop and execute marketing strategies that would maximize the connection of San Leandro businesses to Lit San Leandro

  • Lead the development of tech and education conferences in the city of San Leandro ex. “Prototyping the Future”;  “HardwareCon”; “San Leandro Solar Week; “Make San Leandro”. 

FEATURED SPEAKER:

Education

Sustainability & Innovation

Real Estate

  • Urban Land Institute (San Francisco, CA); CoreNet (Palo Alto, CA); and more

Policy & Governance

  • Governing Summit; Growth Innovation & Leadership Conference (Phoenix, AZ); and more

Industrial

  • HardwareCon (San Leandro, CA); Step Forward Bay Area (San Leandro, CA); and more

IOT/Smart Cities

  • Global Communities Technology Consortium (formerly Global Cities Team Challenge): (Austin, TX; Washington D.C.; IOT Tech Expo (Santa Clara, CA); Gigabit Cities Summit (Kansas City, MO); Fiber to the Home Conference (Los Angeles, CA); Internet of Things World (Santa Clara, CA); and more

FEATURED IMAGES: