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C. Project Narrative Gi la River Local Exchange CatTier, Inc, OBA Alluvion Communications (GLEC or Alluvion) is a provider of bespoke, fiber-based technology solutions serving businesses and communications service providers throughout Central and Southern Arizona. Alluvion's vast portfolio includes [nternet access, Ethernet and PDNs, Voice solutions including HPBX and Cloud Call Center, and Dark Fiber and Lit Fiber solutions. We work closely with clients to achieve greater business success by providing these right-fit solutions designed to meet their evolving needs.

Because we are committed to fulfilling our mission of building and supporting robust networks and creating economic growth to our community be meeting the mission-critical needs of businesses and their customers, we provide fiber and communications networks in some of the most unique and inaccessible regions of Arizona.

ln our application for the ACA Rural Broadband Development Grant, Alluvion Communications is proposing to establish a communications presence between the City of Coolidge and the Cool idge Municipal Airport, within Pinal County, Arizona. The limits of this project will extend roughly 7.3 miles and will be strategically placed to service anticipated near-term future developments in the area and rural Arizona. The proposed network will be capable of providing service to all businesses in the proposed funded service area (PFSA) at a speed of at least 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, per ACA Rural Broadband Development Grant program requirements.

Alluvion is proposing to install fiber optic cable from City of Coolidge to the Coolidge Municipal Airport. The fiber will be placed in the rural environments allowing the opportunity for residents, business owners, and other governmental facilities to use high speed communications. New communication hubs will be placed at strategic locations based on the user needs. The fiber will be placed on existing utility poles and the majority of the project will avoid ground disturbance. There will be a need to install new utility poles to the east of the City of Coolidge where there are currently no poles present. The utility poles will be roughly 18 inches in diameter, 30 feet tall , and will be buried roughly 5-6 feet below ground.

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D. Project Descript ion and Timeline - Infrastructure Matters

The purpose of the project is to install fiber optic cable to the City of Coolidge airport in order to provide the airport with high-speed communications. Currently, the Coolidge airport communicates via older copper cable, which has slower and can have somewhat unreliable speeds versus current fiber technology. For such facilities, high-speed communications is critical to ensure airport departments operate efficiently and are well informed of operational changes that may impact the safety of its end users.

The proposed fiber will be a 288-strand cable and will tie into a Gila Local Exchange Carrier fiber backhaul, which is currently an ongoing project. The proposed airport fiber will be installed aerially and attached to existing San Carlos Irrigation Project (SCIP) poles. New wooden utility poles will be installed where there are no SCIP poles available. The poles will be class VI grade which is typical for telecommunications equipment and the cable will be attached a minimum of 18.5 feet above the ground. The height of the poles will be 30 feet tall and will extend roughly five feet below ground. At the airport, the fiber will terminate at a termination unit directly inside the airport' s central communication hub. Jumper cables based on the airport' s needs will be connected to the airport ' s layer 3 switch in order to provide communication to individual airport departments and businesses. To account for future development, the fiber will be connected to splice points attached to the poles and will provide the opportunity for future businesses and residential development to tie into the fiber.

The proposed fiber will not only benefit the Coolidge airport, but will also help in building a fiber redundancy throughout Pinal County and City of Coolidge. The majority of the area is currently undeveloped, but there are significant planned developments in the near future. The fiber will pass through City of Coolidge and Pinal County on route to the airport. The City of Coolidge has a population of over 12,000 people and has a vast array of businesses. Thus, this fiber will help set the market for newer construction, provide high speed reliability at a regional level, and increase economic development throughout Pinal County and City of Coolidge.

Although Alluvion is engaged in an ongoing fiber project in the Coolidge area, the Coolidge Airport extension is not scheduled as a near-term priority project due to other opportunities. In the absence of RBDG-A funding, Gila River Exchange Carrier would not proceed with the proposed Airport fiber optic project for at least two or three years, if at all. However, because of the $9mm grant awarded to the Coolidge Airport for infrastructure improvements, and to support other economic and regional development efforts, there is an immediate need for broadband connectivity.

Roughly 7.3 miles of fiber will be added to the system and is planned to be in design and construction by year 2020. The design phase is estimated to take roughly 3 to 4 months including securing engineering approval from permitting agencies. The construction phase including

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material lead times is anticipated to take roughly 4 months to complete. Thus, the project is anticipated to begin and complete within the calendar year 2020.

The project team will consist of Gila Local Exchange Carrier who will operate and maintain the fiber network, Y.S. Mantri and Associates, LLC who will provide the engineering and construction management services, and Native Technology Solutions who will perform the construction activities. All organizations are licensed and insured to perform business in Arizona.

All RBDG A funds are intended to go to construction costs including furnishing and installing equipment. We understand that all costs related to design, management, administration, permitting, contingencies, etc. are considered ineligible to receive funds. All ineligible costs and will be funded by Gila Local Exchange Carrier.

Alluvion is committed to providing funds beyond what is received from the subject grant application as well as willing to provide cash match of the eligible funds and is willing to match the funds once grant approval is received. All cash match will go towards eligible costs. Gila Local Exchange Carrier will commit to operating and maintaining the fiber for a minimum period of 5 years upon completion of the improvements.

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E. Project Description and Timeline - Development Matters Members of the City of Coolidge management approached GLEC to request an opportunity to connect the Coolidge Airport to high speed fiber communications. Therefore, preliminary engineering was done to determine the optimal path subsequent costs to install fiber to the airport. Thus, the nature of the proposed grant funded project is to install aerial fiber optic cable on new and existing utility poles to the Coolidge Airport in order to provide them with high speed communication services. As part of the improvements, GLEC commits to providing 25/3 Mbps speeds as well as provide an opportunity for future developments to tie into the fiber. The presence of the fiber optic cable will help stimulate economic growth in the City of Coolidge and Pinal County.

The project proposes to use an Aerial Figure-8 Microfiber configuration which allows for four pathways to install the fiber cable. Thus, GLEC is equipping itself to install additional cable as the development continues to expand. The cable will be a single mode, 288 strand, micro-fiber cable and will be installed through the innerduct via the fiber jetting method. This will result in a lower installation cost and quicker installation.

The project team is highly experienced and has been involved in hundreds of miles of fiber installation over the past 20 years. Headquartered in Chandler, AZ on the Gila River Indian Community, Alluvion operates fiber-based communication networks throughout Arizona. Alluvion boasts a smart, fast, and reliable network engineered to exceed expectations from the ground to the cloud. This network consists of expertly planned dark fiber, wavelengths, voice, Ethernet and IP-based services.

Alluvion was founded in 2006 as an enterprise of the Gila River Indian Community. Alluvion 's purpose was to serve Gila River Indian Communities ' neighboring communities demand for data and voice services. Since then, Alluvion had grown to specialize in providing high-quality

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bespoke fiber optic networks along with data and voice services. Alluvion Communications is focused on growing the network throughout Arizona with an emphasis on connecting rural areas to promote economic development and opportunity. We believe that this will benefit Arizona and our surrounding communities.

Y.S. Mantri and Associates, LLC who will provide the engineering and construction management services has designed and managed over a 150-miles of fiber optic infrastructure for local agencies including ADOT, MCDOT, Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe. Thus, they bring a vast array of experience and lessons learned. Native Technology Solutions who will perform the construction activities. The products anticipated to be used for the fiber build are from reputable global manufacturers such as Duraline, AFL, and Coming among others. All organizations are licensed and insured to perform business in Arizona.

ARIZONA COMM ER C!: AUTHORll't' RGA Application Form

F. Other Project Outcomes The Coolidge Municipal Airport is a critical anchor institution in Pinal County and Coolidge, AZ. Among many other functions, the airport serves as an anchor point for coordinated training and drills for emergency response personnel throughout Central Arizona, including Florence, Coolidge, Casa Grande, Eloy, Maricopa, Pinal County, Gila River Indian Community, AMR ambulance, and the Arizona Department of Corrections. As you can see by the FCC data displayed below, the Coolidge Municipal Airport and the surrounding City of Coolidge are lacking Gigabit bandwidth that Alluvion Communications fiber optic network would bring.

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Not only will Alluvion ' s network bring Gigabit bandwidth to the Airport and surrounding business, but our fiber route will provide carrier and provider diversity in an area that is low in fixed broadband providers as shown in the FCC map below.

Coolidge Municipal Airport has recently been awarded a grant to expand the runways and other airport improvements . This expansion will bring economic growth to the area along with

ARIZONA COMM ER C E AUTHOR I TY RGA Application Form

higher volumes of bandwidth needs. Planning now to provide the necessary fiber infrastructure to support this development will be a key aspect to attracting the high-tech and digitally advanced clientele the airport needs to grow. Modern day businesses run on connectivity and data. Massive connections to datacenters now drive supply chains requiring bandwidth pipes that only fiber optics can provide. To ensure the Coolidge Municipal Airport and the surrounding community have the competitive edge in economic development, Alluvion Communications will provide a state of the art, low latency fiber network.

This section of Coolidge, AZ is home to multiple ·anchor institutions that we intent to provide service, including but not limited to the following :

AZ Lifeline IV Mark Overton CEP/FP-C Base Medical Manager 3546 S. Hangar Dr. Unit B Coolidge, AZ 85128 (520) 723-0986

International Air Response Matt Densley 3546 S. Hangar Dr. Building B. Coolidge, AZ 85128 ( 480) 440-7367 International Air Responses leases space to AZ Lifeline IV

Pinal County Sherifrs Office Elodia Wyatt (520) 858-4937

Coolidge Municipal Airport James Myers Airport Manager Office: (520) 723-6075 Cell: (520) 251-1365 jamesm@coolidgeaz.com 131 W. Pinkley Ave. Coolidge, AZ 85128 www.coo lidgeaz.com

City of Coolidge Jon Thompson Mayor - City of Coolidge Office: (520) 723-6047 jthompson@coolidgeaz.com 130 W. Central Ave. Coolidge, AZ 85128