Soar Helps Keep California’s Middle-Mile Broadband Network Moving

From clearance to construction, one team with many specialties focused on finding the way forward.

FRESNO, Calif. – Soar Environmental Consulting, Inc. (Soar) is serving as an environmental consultant to HP Communications on the California Middle-Mile Broadband Network, a statewide, high-capacity fiber network designed to expand broadband access in rural and underserved communities.

When a fiber route crosses wetlands, sensitive habitat, federal land, cultural resource sites, or a creek bed, the question isn’t just what the environmental issue is. It’s how the crew keeps building without breaking the rules. When a constraint comes up, Soar’s team works to find a way to keep the project moving forward while staying compliant.

Soar began supporting the program in March 2025 with environmental clearance and permitting. Since then, its role has grown to include construction monitoring for biological resources, cultural resources, and stormwater. Soar now supports the project in over 50 counties from north to south across California. From the very first survey to the last day of construction, Soar works side by side with project owners and construction teams, with experts across multiple disciplines working together to keep the project environmentally cleared and on track.

In October, Soar staff joined a site visit for representatives of the California Department of Finance and the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative budget team. It was a great chance to connect with other teams on the project and learn more about the broadband huts being installed across the state. These weatherproof structures house the equipment that keeps the fiber network running along its route. Attendees watched a crane set a hut onto its foundation, one of many being installed across California.

Soar is proud to help bring this network to life, one county at a time.