In the forested mountains of Plumas County, California, an unusual cooperation has been quietly advancing an important broadband infrastructure project.

At the center is Peak to Peak Communications, a local wireless infrastructure provider (and one of Connect Humanity’s earliest investees), which worked with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and the US Forest Service (USFS) to lay the groundwork for better connectivity in one of the state’s most rugged regions.

An opportunity to dig once

In 2024, PG&E launched a replacement of a five-mile stretch of aged powerline through the Plumas National Forest. The line, originally installed more than 50 years ago, needed urgent replacement to increase electrical capacity and to improve resilience in a wildfire-prone landscape. With that essential work, something else took shape.

At the urging of Jim Kossow, Peak to Peak’s founder, PG&E agreed to install a communications duct alongside its underground power line. The result was a new fiber conduit stretching five miles, reaching Peak to Peak’s communications site on Mount Hough.

“I believe that if you’re going to dig, dig once. And the PG&E project manager saw the impact of the idea and greenlit the duct install,” Kossow recalls. “PG&E saw an opportunity to do their bit for the community, and we seized the chance to better serve one of the hardest-to-reach parts of the county.”

Laying fiber for safety, service, and economic development

That conduit will soon carry a 48-strand fiber optic line, making Mount Hough the only mountaintop site in the region with direct fiber connectivity. This means faster speeds and more reliable service across Peak to Peak’s regional network and the networks of its last-mile clients serving rural homes and businesses. The fiber will connect to Frontier Communications’ transport line in Taylorsville, California — linking the mountaintop to a high-capacity internet backbone at the valley floor.

The benefits are set to ripple out across Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Counties:

• Public safety: Mount Hough routes 90% of 911 and emergency communications in Plumas County. Fiber ensures this critical system can operate with greater speed and redundancy.
• Economic development: With access to high-capacity fiber, local WISPs and mobile carriers will be able to offer faster, more reliable service — including 5G — in areas that previously relied on limited microwave connections. Businesses will gain the kind of internet speeds they need to grow, hire, and compete.
• Wildfire detection and response: High-bandwidth, buried fiber enables resilient live-streaming from wildfire detection cameras, vital for early response in a fire-prone region.
• Public access: Peak to Peak has also installed Wi-Fi at the USFS lookout tower, connecting forest staff for the first time.

These upgrades were delivered quickly and at low cost by taking advantage of infrastructure already being laid. With a Spider Plow trenching machine, the project minimized environmental impact and, despite weather-related delays, was completed in under three weeks and ahead of schedule.

“The PG&E team was very responsive and worked closely with my company during the powerline replacement,” said Kossow. “It was challenging — the weather had the greatest impact — so I was amazed how quickly they were able to complete the project.”  

A second phase will extend buried fiber another nine miles across the mountain — connecting more providers, end customers, and mountaintop communications sites along the way.

Broadband with community impact

Peak to Peak’s work doesn’t stop at fiber. They’ve become a cornerstone of regional communications:

• Emergency readiness: Peak to Peak supported real-time fire monitoring via Mills Peak camera feeds during the Gold and Bear Fires of 2024.
• Community radio: The company continues to build and donate equipment for local radio systems. These support volunteer firefighters and residents in the surrounding mountain communities.
• Recreation and safety: Radio coverage supports events like bike races like the 100 mile Lost and Found Gravel Ride and are supporting other events to return to the area after a hiatus following the devastating 2021 Dixie Fire.

A model for creative infrastructure partnerships

The collaboration is a reminder that progress doesn’t always need millions of dollars and months of negotiations. Sometimes, it simply requires asking the right questions with the right partners at the right time. In this case, what can we do while we’re already here?

Peak to Peak is now planning for a busy summer. The company is seeking permits for two new communications towers, responding to increased demand for coverage and bandwidth. They’re also exploring how to bring fiber access directly to nearby residents, businesses, and emergency services along the new cable route.

Investing in community broadband unlocks much more than faster internet. Connect Humanity’s investment in Peak to Peak has helped enable a cascade of benefits across the region, strengthening emergency response, driving economic opportunity, and supporting the everyday systems that help rural communities thrive. And as the fiber line grows, these benefits are just starting to come into view.