How this effort got started

• Briefly walk me through how this project began and who on your team initiated it.
• Which event or data point triggered the decision to seek a construction-ready partner? Options: A formal gap study, Resident petitions, State or federal grant opportunity, Political directive, Other
• Who will be the day-to-day point of contact for vendor coordination and grant reporting?
• How urgent is the grant timeline, and what hard deadline are you working toward? Options: Under 30 days, 30-60 days, 60-120 days, More than 120 days, No firm deadline yet
• Which funding sources are you targeting for this build? Options: Federal broadband grant, State broadband grant, ARPA or local recovery funds, Local bond or levy, Private foundation or donor, No confirmed funding

Exactly where service is failing

• If your community's connectivity were audited tomorrow, which census tracts or streets would fall below your minimum speed standard and by roughly how much?
• Provide the most recent gap study or speed testing summary and the date it was completed. Options: I will attach the study, Study summary available, will share date, No formal study, only anecdotal reports, Other
• Do you expect the build to aim for every address, targeted clusters, public facilities, or some mix? Options: Every address, Targeted clusters, Public facilities only (schools, libraries, municipal buildings), Mixed approach, Undecided
• How many addresses are in the target build area, and how many of those are currently unserved or underserved?
• What single mapping or data discrepancy would make you pause moving forward with an external builder? Options: Address count mismatch, Incorrect provider coverage on official maps, Outdated GIS parcels, Disputed service boundary, Other

What could derail the project

• Point to the regulatory, right-of-way, or pole-attachment issue that, if unresolved, would stop construction entirely.
• How many weeks of delay would the grant program allow before funding is jeopardized? Options: Under 4 weeks, 4-8 weeks, 8-16 weeks, More than 16 weeks, No flexibility
• Who among stakeholders is likely to oppose or slow permitting (select all that apply)? Options: Utility companies, Neighborhood associations, Historic preservation board, State permitting agency, Elected officials, Incumbent providers, Other
• Tell me about any past projects where permitting or easement issues extended timelines, and what specifically caused the hold-up.
• If a single permit or easement cannot be obtained for a critical corridor, is there a plan B that still meets your coverage and grant requirements? Options: Yes, defined alternate route, Yes, but routes will change scope, No plan B identified, Would require re-scoping grant

Who else you're weighing

• Name the option you would default to if this partnership did not proceed, incumbent, a different vendor, or an internal build, and what they would need to promise for you to stay with them.
• Select the alternatives you have actively evaluated so far (choose all that apply). Options: Incumbent cable provider, Fixed wireless provider, Different fiber builder, Municipal-led construction, Internal build using in-house staff, Cooperative or public-private model, No alternatives evaluated
• What evidence about the incumbent's current approach would need to be true for you to stay with them instead of changing? Options: Demonstrated symmetrical speeds, Binding upgrade timeline, Affordability guarantees, Formal coverage commitment for all addresses, None of the above
• Has anyone inside your organization proposed solving the gap without an external partner, and if so, who would deliver and fund that work? Options: Yes, public works suggested internal delivery, Yes, finance suggested internal funding, No internal proposal, Discussion only, no formal proposal
• On a scale, how likely is the project to proceed without an external fiber partner? Options: Very likely, Possible with internal changes, Unlikely, Impossible without external partner

Who needs to sign, and who will feel the pressure

• Assuming contracting begins this month, list who must approve the agreement inside your organization and in what order.
• Select roles that will be part of vendor evaluation Options: City manager, County broadband coordinator, Procurement or legal, Finance or CFO, Public works or engineering, Community relations or communications, Elected officials
• Name the political or public sentiment risk that would cause elected officials to block the project. Options: Perceived unfair coverage, High cost to residents, Construction disruption, Lack of transparency, Other
• How quickly can your governing body meet to vote on a contract? Options: Within 2 weeks, 2-6 weeks, 6-12 weeks, Longer than 12 weeks, No meeting scheduled
• Identify the final signature authority and list the conditions they would require before signing.

How you will measure success and satisfy grants

• Imagine the grant reviewer asked for measurable success criteria today; which three metrics would you expect us to commit to in the agreement?
• From the list below, which of these metrics are non-negotiable for your grant compliance? Options: Percent of addresses served, Minimum upload/download speeds, Median latency, Take-rate within 12 months, Uptime percentage, Completion milestones by date, Affordability commitments
• Describe the reporting cadence and documentation your grant administrators will require during construction and after activation. Options: Monthly progress reports with GIS deliverables, Milestone-based draws with attestation, Quarterly performance reports post-activation, Ad hoc as requested
• What specific proof of community-wide coverage or attestation would trigger a funding draw or final grant payment?
• Assuming we committed to your metric targets in writing, what remaining concern would still block funding approval?

Are you operationally ready to move

• Point to the single operational gap, permits, easements, pole agreements, or funding draw sequencing, that would prevent you from starting construction on our proposed timeline.
• Please list the approvals and documents already in hand (select all that apply). Options: Environmental review, Right-of-way permissions, Pole attachment agreements, Municipal permits, Property easements, Funding commitment letters, No approvals or documents yet
• Identify the owner of your address-level data and gap study, and whether your team can provide access to CSV or GIS files within two weeks. Options: Owner will provide files within 2 weeks, Owner will provide files but needs more time, Data access restricted, will require approvals, No address-level data exists
• Should your data be inaccessible or unstandardized, what will it take to make it usable within 30 days?
• Does your IT or GIS team have dedicated bandwidth to support vendor integrations and mappings in the next 60 days? Options: Yes, dedicated resource assigned, Yes, but limited availability, No, would need to assign, Unknown

How residents will actually adopt

• Given your community's profile, what take-rate would you need within 12 months of activation to justify the financial model? Options: Under 30%, 30-50%, 50-70%, Over 70%, Not sure
• From experience, which resident channels tend to influence service adoption most here? Options: Word of mouth in neighborhoods, Local social media groups, City newsletters and alerts, Door-to-door outreach, Local events and town halls, Utility billing inserts
• Tell the story of a neighborhood where new services were adopted quickly or slowly, and why that happened.
• What single household concern about fiber service, price, installation disruption, contract terms, or privacy, is most common? Options: Price, Installation disruption, Contract terms, Privacy or data concerns, Other
• Choose adoption incentives that are acceptable to your community Options: No-cost installation, Discounted first 12 months, Community bulk pricing, Low-income subsidy, None preferred

If we moved forward, what would a fast path look like

• Imagine the pilot validated the assumptions this quarter, what would have to happen next for you to sign within 30 days?
• List the contractual guarantees that would move the timeline faster for you. Options: Binding construction milestones with penalties, Coverage commitment for every address, Price lock for a set number of years, Performance SLA with remedies, Grant attestation and compliance guarantees, Other
• List the people who need to be present in a decision call to close quickly, and what information each would require to sign.
• Point out the unresolved issue that would stop you from approving a contract even if all other boxes were checked. Options: Funding shortfall, Unresolved easement or permit, Political opposition, Unacceptable contract terms, Data or mapping disputes, Other
• Realistically, what's your preferred next step after this conversation? Options: Schedule a technical walkthrough, Request a formal proposal, Share data and gap files, Set a decision-maker briefing, Pause to explore alternatives

• Network & Construction Walkthrough

• Confirm the current state and its cost
• You confirm the proposed timeline, milestone definitions, and penalty language meet the grant deadlines and procurement constraints.
• Deliver a neighborhood-level Gantt with defined milestone language, acceptance criteria, and proposed delay penalties for legal and grant review.
• Walk the proposed network design
• You confirm the coverage map and address-level commitments match your requirement to serve the full community or identify approved exceptions.
• Run and deliver an adoption sensitivity analysis showing financial impact at 30%, 40%, and 50% take-rates tied to the funding draw schedule.
• Review the construction timeline with binding milestones
• Provide the latest grant deadline, compliance milestones, and any required attestation language to be embedded in the contract.
• You accept the demonstrated adoption scenarios as realistic for initial neighborhood activations or identify the minimum take-rate required for funding draw assumptions.
• Confirm and share the authoritative address list and note any addresses you expect to exclude or require separate easements.
• Confirm the community coverage commitment
• Validate resident adoption scenarios and funding impact
• Validation checkpoint

• Network & Construction Walkthrough
• Network & Construction Walkthrough Deck
• Solution Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Deliver Binding Construction Schedule with Milestones
• Secure Permits and Right-of-Way Approvals
• Construct Trunk and Distribution Fiber Infrastructure
• Deploy Fiber Drops and Premises Splicing
• Install Customer Premises Equipment and Activate Service
• Provision Network Core, OLT, and Transport Equipment
• Perform Fiber Acceptance Testing and Provide Test Reports
• Provide 24/7 Network Operations Center Monitoring
• Operate Field Support and Repair Services
• Deliver Federal/State Grant Compliance Documentation
• Publish Community Coverage Commitment and Address Map
• Execute Subscriber Service Agreements with Price-Lock Terms
• Run Community Pre-Registration and Early-Adopter Campaign
• Provide As-Built GIS Mapping and Asset Handoff

Deliver Binding Construction Schedule with Milestones

• How many construction phases do you require on the published Gantt (examples: trunk build, distribution, drops, acceptance, activation)? Options: 1-3, 4-6, 7+
• When do you need legally binding milestone dates for permit approval, make-ready completion, and first-neighborhood activation to be contractually fixed? Options: At contract signature, Within 15 days of signature, After initial survey
• Which level of schedule granularity do you expect: high-level quarterly milestones, detailed weekly Gantt with task owners, or daily field-level tasks for critical paths? Options: Quarterly milestones, Weekly Gantt with owners, Daily field tasks for critical paths
• Who in your organization will be the authorized signer for milestone acceptance and who will receive schedule change notifications?
• Do you require delay penalty provisions (liquidated damages) tied to missed binding milestones and, if so, do you have a threshold (%) or fixed dollar-per-day expectation? Options: No penalties, Fixed dollar-per-day, Percentage of milestone value

Secure Permits and Right-of-Way Approvals

• Which municipal and state permits do you expect us to secure before we start construction (examples: road-cut, highway occupancy, pole-attachment agreements)? Options: Road-cut permits, Pole-attachment permits, Highway occupancy permits, All of the above
• How many private easements or signed parcel-level right-of-way agreements will you provide as executed PDF documents prior to drop construction? Options: None, 1-50, 51-500, 500+
• Who in your jurisdiction handles permit liaison and can you provide contact name, email, and expected permit review timelines in calendar days?
• Are there franchise constraints, historic-district approvals, or HOA covenants that will alter standard pole-attachment or trenching methods for named streets? Options: Yes - list affected streets, No
• Provide the typical municipal lead times you have observed for pole-attachment approvals and road-opening permits (number of business days). Options: <30 days, 30-60 days, 60-120 days, >120 days

Construct Trunk and Distribution Fiber Infrastructure

• Estimate the route-mileage of trunk and distribution fiber by named road segments that you expect included in the scope.
• Select the preferred build method for each segment you control: aerial on existing poles, new pole attachments, directional bore to conduit, or open trench. Options: Aerial on existing poles, New poles required, Directional bore to conduit, Open trench
• Detail the minimum fiber counts and strand types you require on trunk segments (examples: 24-count single-mode, 48-count armored) and any splice location constraints.
• Identify environmental or seasonal work windows you must observe for specific corridors (examples: wet season, bird-nesting season) and list affected road names.
• Who will own punch-list remediation for trunk sheath damage and what remedy timeframe do you require after notice (calendar days)? Options: We own remediation, Provider owns remediation, Shared remediation with escalation

Deploy Fiber Drops and Premises Splicing

• List the number of premises by street that you expect served with aerial drops versus buried service drops. Options: <100, 100-500, 500-2,000, 2,000+
• Specify acceptable indoor ONT entry points and external drop handoff locations at the premises (examples: garage, utility closet, exterior pedestals). Options: Garage, Utility closet, Exterior pedestal, Other
• Who in your office approves exceptions for premises where HOA or tenant rules block standard drop placement and are you able to provide signed waivers?
• Are there addresses where you already have recorded easement refusals or anticipated refusal rates that should be excluded from drop expectations? Options: Yes - provide list, No
• How will you accept completed premises splicing: OTDR trace per drop, splice-photo packet, or signed customer acknowledgment at installation? Options: OTDR per drop, Splice photos, Customer acknowledgment, Combination

Install Customer Premises Equipment and Activate Service

• Will you require our technicians to perform ONT and Wi-Fi gateway installations or will your contracted installers perform first-party installs? Options: Provider technicians, Your contracted installers, Hybrid/We will decide per neighborhood
• Specify any constraints for ONT placement inside the premises you require (examples: within 10 feet of primary living area, within 15 ft of electric outlet, not in attic).
• Do you require an appointment SLA for customer installs (examples: next-business-day, within 5 business days, scheduled windows) and which is acceptable? Options: Next business day, Within 5 business days, Scheduled window only
• List the activation verification tests you require at turn-up for a customer: measured symmetrical speed test target, packet-loss threshold, and latency ceiling (ms).
• When should first-bill guarantees and price-lock periods commence relative to the customer activation date (examples: billing cycle after activation, immediate on activation)? Options: Immediate on activation, From next billing cycle, Other

Provision Network Core, OLT, and Transport Equipment

• State the required OLT port counts and planned oversubscription ratio per PON that you expect us to provision for your service tiers.
• Indicate the preferred transport handoff point for backhaul you require (existing carrier POP, municipal POP, or a new transport node). Options: Existing carrier POP, Municipal POP, New transport node
• Confirm ownership and operational responsibility you want for IP edge routers and BGP sessions at the handoff (provider-operated or your team-operated). Options: Provider-operated, Buyer-operated, Hybrid
• Are there specific network management systems, SNMP collectors, or telemetry formats (examples: NetFlow, sFlow, gNMI) you require for core integration? Options: NetFlow, sFlow, gNMI, Other
• Who will be the technical point of contact for provisioning VLANs, IP space, and ASN announcements and provide their contact details?

Perform Fiber Acceptance Testing and Provide Test Reports

• What OTDR reflectance and insertion loss thresholds per span and per customer drop will you accept as pass criteria for OTDR test reports?
• Provide the set of test deliverables you require for acceptance: per-address OTDR traces, splice-loss summary sheets, bidirectional IL reports, and a consolidated acceptance register. Options: All listed deliverables, Only OTDR traces and IL summary, Custom deliverable set
• Who in your organization will sign acceptance of the acceptance test package and how many calendar days will you take to review delivered OTDR and IL reports? Options: <5 days, 5-15 days, 15-30 days, >30 days
• When do you want acceptance tests scheduled relative to construction completion for a neighborhood (examples: within 3 business days, within 10 business days)? Options: Within 3 business days, Within 10 business days, Other
• List required OTDR test settings you expect (pulse widths, index of refraction value, test wavelengths 1310/1550 nm) to ensure consistent trace interpretation.

Provide 24/7 Network Operations Center Monitoring

• Specify the monitoring scope you want from the NOC: physical layer alarms only, L2/L3 service alarms, SLA measurement, and customer-impact notifications. Options: Physical layer only, L2/L3 service alarms, Full SLA monitoring
• Do you require 24/7 human-staffed NOC coverage with tiered escalation or automated alerts with on-call technician escalation? Options: 24/7 human-staffed, Automated alerts with on-call, Hybrid model
• Which incident severity definitions do you require the NOC to use for notifications (examples: Sev 1 - network down, Sev 2 - service degradation)? Options: Use provider standard, Provide buyer-defined sev levels, Custom
• Who will be the primary and secondary recipients for NOC incident notifications and provide the preferred contact methods (email, SMS, phone)?
• Are there regulatory logging or retention requirements for NOC event logs you must meet (examples: retain alarms and packet captures for X years)? Options: No retention requirement, 1 year, 3 years, Other

Operate Field Support and Repair Services

• What mean time to repair (MTTR) targets do you require for outside-plant faults by severity level (examples: 8 hours for service-affecting, 72 hours for non-critical)? Options: 8 hours, 24 hours, 72 hours, Custom
• Do you prefer provider-owned field crews for trouble tickets or third-party contractors dispatched under the buyer's oversight? Options: Provider-owned crews, Third-party contractors, Mixed model
• List the spare parts and common replacement assets you expect stocked in technician vans (examples: fusion splice kits, pre-terminated drops, fiber protector sleeves).
• Who handles escalation to permit authorities for emergency roadside repairs that require temporary traffic control and expedited permits? Options: Provider handles, Buyer handles, Joint handling
• Are you expecting SLA credits or service restoration penalties for repeated outside-plant failures and which credit model do you prefer (per-incident, monthly true-up)? Options: Per-incident credit, Monthly credit true-up, No credits

Deliver Federal/State Grant Compliance Documentation

• Which grant program documentation do you require upfront for eligibility (examples: location shapefiles, addressed-level coverage map, cost worksheets compatible with NTIA state templates)?
• Provide the specific audit artifacts you must receive post-build for grant compliance (examples: geocoded as-built shapefiles, unit-cost workbooks, time-stamped photo logs).
• Who will be the buyer-side grant point of contact to receive attestations, and what is their email for formal grant attestation delivery?
• What evidence will validate grant compliance for your auditors (examples: signed grant attestation, per-address activation log, as-built GIS shapefile)? Options: Signed attestation + GIS, Activation log + cost workbook, All listed artifacts
• Are there program-level cost-reporting templates or format constraints (CSV column schema, Excel workbook) the grant requires us to fill? Options: Standard NTIA template, State-specific template, Provide template

Publish Community Coverage Commitment and Address Map

• Do you require an address-level coverage map with geocoded points and parcel polygons published prior to signing grant attestation or is a block-level map acceptable? Options: Address-level geocoded map, Block-level map, Parcel polygon map
• Specify the minimum coverage commitment you expect: every address in the municipality, defined clusters only, or a hybrid coverage target with explicit exclusions. Options: Every address, Defined clusters only, Hybrid with exclusions
• Who approves the final published coverage map on behalf of your governing body and what is the required sign-off process?
• What defines done for coverage publication: a signed map plus GIS shapefile, plus an interactive online map with search by address? Options: Signed map + GIS shapefile, Signed map only, Interactive map + GIS
• Are there address populations you want explicitly excluded from the coverage commitment (examples: seasonal homes, PO boxes, undevelopable parcels)? Options: Yes - list types, No

Execute Subscriber Service Agreements with Price-Lock Terms

• Which price-lock duration do you require for subscriber offers (examples: 12 months, 24 months, 36 months) to include in the service agreement template? Options: 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, Custom
• Do you require standard subscriber SLA commitments to be embedded in the subscriber agreement (examples: minimum symmetrical speed guarantee, uptime %), and which metrics are mandatory? Options: Yes - speed and uptime, Yes - uptime only, No
• Specify any mandatory termination or early-exit terms you expect included for municipal adoption programs (examples: pro-rata refunds, equipment return).
• Who in your procurement or legal team will review and sign the final subscriber service agreement template and what is the expected review turnaround? Options: Procurement sign-off, Legal sign-off, Both
• Are there billing or payment providers you require integration with for recurring charges (examples: municipal billing interface, third-party payment portal)? Options: Municipal billing interface, Third-party payment portal, Provider billing only

• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Coverage Commitment Addendum
• Milestone Penalties & Delay Remedies Addendum
• Payment & Acceptance Schedule
• Grant Compliance & Attestation
• Performance Guarantee & Security Instrument
• Right-of-Way, Easement & Pole Attachment Agreement
• Change Order Procedure
• Public Sector Procurement & Compliance Rider (conditional)
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA) (conditional)

• Go-live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance and Incumbent Decommissioning Gate (around day 90)
• Quarterly Operational Review (ongoing)

• Run a resident satisfaction pulse survey for recently activated neighborhoods and publish summarized results before the next review.
• Deliver a validated data pack (raw samples, aggregation method, and dashboards) for use at the acceptance gate.
• Restate acceptance criteria and targets
• Produce a documented acceptance decision against Solution Scope targets and record pass/fail status per criterion.
• Confirm incumbent decommissioning status or agreed read-only retention, with archival/migration steps and dates recorded.
• Agree remediation items for any failed criteria with clear deliverables and resolution deadlines.
• Publish the acceptance decision record, including pass/fail outcomes by criterion and any conditional remediation plans.
• Execute the incumbent decommissioning or archiving plan and publish proof of completion or retention terms.
• Open tracked remediation tickets for each failed acceptance criterion with target close dates and verification steps.
• Adoption and coverage progress
• Ensure adoption trajectory is aligned with the 12-month take-rate target in Solution Scope and document actions where it is not.
• Confirm average network uptime and MTTR are within SLA commitments or document remediation steps for SLA exceptions.
• Prioritize and schedule closure for the top operational and enhancement backlog items for the next quarter.
• Schedule targeted field and marketing activities for neighborhoods below adoption threshold and report projected lift.
• Initiate network reliability projects for recurring incident categories and provide milestone dates.
• Re-confirm success criteria and owners
• Confirm the build and neighborhood activations completed to the published Gantt or document residual deviations.
• Identify the top 3 operational blockers and assign remediation tasks with target close dates.
• Agree the data sources and cadence for the first measurement review.
• Publish a short remediation plan listing the top 3 blockers, required actions, and target close dates.
• Collect and share the raw activation and provisioning logs for neighborhoods turned up this week.
• Confirm the speed-test and uptime data feeds that will be used for the first measurement meeting.
• Open engineering work orders for segments with median speeds below the promised threshold and provide remediation ETA.
• Present first-period adoption and performance data
• Establish whether neighborhood take-rate (%) and network uptime (%) are trending toward Solution Scope targets and document gaps needing remediation.
• Agree a prioritized list of corrective actions with target completion dates and a timeline to the acceptance gate.
• Set the data validation steps to ensure measurement integrity for the acceptance decision.
• Run targeted community outreach in neighborhoods with adoption below target and report expected incremental signups by date.
• Root-cause analysis for underperforming metrics
• Network performance and reliability
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Deployment and activation validation
• Early operational signals
• Agree corrective actions and timelines
• Support operations and incident trends
• Document pass/fail per criterion and remediation plan for fails
• Confirm readiness for acceptance gate
• Open issues and blockers
• Incumbent system wind-down review
• Enhancement and backlog grooming
• Quarter plan and next checkpoints
• Produce the documented acceptance decision and signatory capture
• Agree immediate remediation actions and owners