The Success of Lit San Leandro

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Lit San Leandro has been an outstanding success for the people and businesses of San Leandro. For those unfamiliar, in 2011, the City entered into a partnership with Pat Kennedy, the founder and former CEO of San Leandro-based OSIsoft. Kennedy had a dream of installing – at his own expense (not paid by OSIsoft) - optical fiber lines in City-owned conduit under our streets to bring high-speed broadband to San Leandro businesses. At the time, AT&T and Comcast dominated the San Leandro internet market. They did not compete.  Slow and expensive were the defining characteristics of their internet service.

 

Lit San Leandro, the name of the network created out of the partnership between Kennedy and the City, shattered AT&T and Comcast’s local duopoly. AT&T & Comcast were forced to offer deals and improve their services as hundreds of companies – 300 by 2013 – quickly switched to Lit San Leandro. Whereas persons and companies renting office space previously had to pay Comcast or AT&T for individual internet service, now landlords could link their buildings to Lit San Leandro and provide their tenants ultra-fast internet via wi-fi for no additional charge beyond the monthly rent.

 

While its focus was on business, San Leandro residents have also benefited from Lit San Leandro. At no cost, the City received access to the fiber lines. The City connected the San Leandro Unified School District schools to Lit San Leandro, plus many nonprofits including St. Leander Church, Assumption Church, and the Boys and Girls Club. All San Leandro public libraries and the Marina and Senior Community Centers are connected to Lit San Leandro.

 

What is especially gratifying is that Lit San Leandro, though wireless connection, has been extended into our residential neighborhoods. If you are one of the many San Leandrans paying under $40 a month to connect to the internet through Monkey Brains (formerly Common), you are actually using Lit San Leandro. The City rents its fiber lines in Lit San Leandro to Monkey Brains. I hope other internet providers will use Lit San Leandro to expand reasonably priced, high-speed broadband citywide.

 

I agree with those that state San Leandro today is facing economic challenges. Too many retail storefronts are vacant and blight has become an issue along our major commercial streets. Without Lit San Leandro, however, our City would be in a much worse position. 


Lit San Leandro helped create a new image of San Leandro as a city that valued innovation, assisting in retaining and attracting new businesses. And Lit San Leandro will play a key role for our City to thrive in the future. The Shoreline housing and hotel project will be connected to Lit San Leandro as will the City’s other major planned growth areas of the Downtown and Bayfair Transit Oriented Developments.

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