Since its formation in 1999, the Regional Fiber Consortium has worked to facilitate access to broadband, high-speed fiber optic facilities for communities throughout the three-county region of Lane, Douglas, and Klamath counties.
The Regional Fiber Consortium was the first fiber consortium formed as the local governments of the area of central Oregon began developing a plan for fiber access to rural communities. The Fiber South Consortium was the second and largest of the fiber consortia formed as the local governments of the area of western central Oregon began developing a plan for fiber access to rural communities. In return for permitting assistance and an exchange in lieu of right-of-way fees that would otherwise have been charged by the Consortia member cities, the Consortia accumulated control through an irrevocable right of use (IRU) of 12 strands of optical fiber running from Merrill to Salem, and from the Trans-Pacific fiber landing site near Bandon north and east to Eugene and Coburg.
In August 2007, the Regional Fiber Consortium and Fiber South Consortium agreed to merge under the name Regional Fiber Consortium.
With a vision in place, the Consortium joined with the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) to apply for federal grant money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as ARRA or the stimulus bill. The awarding of the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant for broadband improvements throughout the three-county region makes clear the benefits of this portion of the stimulus bill.
The project made possible by the BTOP grant brought broadband at needed speeds to community anchor institutions in unserved and underserved communities in the three-county region. The grant was awarded to the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) in February 2010, after working closely with the Regional Fiber Consortium to make the grant application possible.
The project brought broadband services to 111 community anchor institutions, ranging from the Klamath Tribal Medical Clinic in Chiloquin to the new police headquarters in the City of Eugene. Other anchor institutions include school buildings, entire school districts, libraries, community service centers housing social service agencies, hospitals, and fire districts (some of whom provide ambulance services). The project also constructed an interconnection facility in Eugene, where local service providers will be able to directly exchange signals, avoiding the delays of the internet for large files, and where local service providers will have several options to connect to the internet.
Since the completion of the BTOP project the Consortium has continued to support the deployment of broadband services within its member jurisdictions. Consortium grants have connected new businesses and a new medical clinic, helped bring fiber optic connectivity to an industrial park, reestablish connectivity to a new city hall and a school, and establish broadband services in two member communities who were not eligible for BTOP funding.