Race Communications to begin linking homes to RSF Connect this summer

As construction on the Rancho Santa Fe Connect fiber optic network gets closer to being completed, service provider Race Communications is hoping all Covenant residents will opt to get “gigafied.” Race Communications has been working to engage with customers and getting more people to sign onto the Rancho Santa Fe Association’s $19 million high-speed fiber network that will deliver one gigabit service to all for $135 a month.

Race was a part of the RSF Association’s Annual Meeting on May 9 and was invited to present to the Rancho Santa Fe Public Interest Committee on May 21.

“Submitting an inquiry on the website is the important next step as the construction nears completion,” said Ally Hetland, marketing and sales manager for Race Communications of the rsfconnect.com site.

A map was recently finalized showing how the project has been divided—the Covenant’s 1,800 homes have been split into eight separate zones. The map will be posted on the website later this week. Those in the first zone who have submitted an inquiry will be contacted by Race to schedule a site survey at their home. The 60- to 90-minute survey will include Race’s field and sales engineers.

The field engineers will check for an existing conduit system, and check to see if there are special custom solutions inside the home that need to be addressed. The sales engineer will look at the home to determine where equipment needs to be and suggest a whole home managed solution to ensure proper connectivity throughout the home, Hetland said.

Those solutions may include wireless mesh units that connect to the home’s router, useful for large homes or homes with unusual layouts, more than one story or adobe walls.

Race will provide a quote if underground work needs to be completed—the homeowner can choose to use Race Communications or choose to use their own contractor (the average cost for conduit is $6.25 per linear foot).
After the survey is completed, Race will schedule time for crews to come out and install conduit and once that is done they will do the in-home installation.

“Every home here is custom, every home here is unique. It is not the fastest process, but we want to make sure we take the time to find the solution that works for you guys,” Hetland said.

Hetland said customers who have inquired can expect to hear from Race four to six weeks before the zone is ready to go live. The hope is for the first customers to be on the network in late summer or early fall so those in the first zone can expect a call in June or July.

Race expects the entire backbone construction to be complete by the end of the year and the hope is to get all zones up and running by the end of the year although it will be determined by the construction schedule.

While Hetland said the purpose of network is for connectivity and internet, Race does also offer television and a landline phone service. The landline phone is $10 a month and they have two television packages: Per a PIC member query, they do not offer NFL Sunday Ticket (that is Direct TV) but they do offer the Red Zone channel.

The landline phone comes with all standard features and is good to have in case of emergencies as there is battery back-up, Hetland said—should there be a SDG&E power outage, the back-up battery at the hub is estimated to last four days.

For more information, visit rsfconnect.com or call (800) 640-9436.