Alluvion Communications Expands into Gila River Native Indian Community

Challenge: Alluvion Communications began developing its fiber broadband network in 2019. The charter of Alluvion, a subsidiary of Gila River Telecommunication, a tribally-owned entity of the Gila River Native Indian Community, is to expand the fiber beyond the community boundary and support the growth and economic prosperity of the community. Alluvion needed help to plan its fiber network, write grant applications to secure funding from various federal and state grants, and design and build the network.

Solution: Since 2019, the broadband team has provided management and oversight for all the Alluvion builds. The design team streamlined the design process to minimize the amount of time needed for QA/QC and prepared plans and standard specifications for all the projects. A project tracker was created and shared to manage the timeline of each portion of the construction phase.

Network Construction and Inspection

In addition, we assisted Alluvion Communications during the construction stage of the network by providing post-design and inspection services. The network’s routing would require the design and construction of hundreds of miles of aerial and underground fiber optic cable. These routes would have to cross state lands, bureau of land management easements, freeways, irrigation canals, and railroads, necessitating the team to secure approvals from dozens of agencies and jurisdictions.

Site visits were performed regularly to coordinate objectives and survey the areas of work. When subcontractors were required, we provided Alluvion with sub-management services and coordination. All efforts were communicated and discussed directly with Alluvion management to ensure the most efficient operational path and maximum impact on the network.

FTTP Design and Permitting

The proposals for FTTP designs were negotiated at a consistent rate and streamlined further. Alluvion Communications began the design process by presenting the route and explaining its initial desired alignment. As needed, the team assisted Alluvion with coordinating the premise owners and developing expectations for the project. Permitting began immediately after the design and would often occur concurrently with the permitting of other portions of the network.

Benefit: The Alluvion network grew from nearly no presence beyond the GRIC community to over 150 miles of 288-strand fiber network. The client has been pleased with the team’s services and was able to rely on us throughout the build. Currently, their network connects from Phoenix to Casa Grande, with portions continuing to develop in Tucson and Mesa.