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The ambitious Aromas-San Juan Project, scheduled for completion this fall, is currently installing fiber-optic cable under the streets of San Juan Bautista. It is part of a 120-mile network that will stretch from Elkhorn Slough to the last homes on San Juan Canyon Road below Fremont Peak.
The route through town, said LCB Managing Partner Elise Brentnall, is intentionally serpentine, twisting and turning through residential neighborhoods to allow households fortunate enough to be along the path to also access Fiber-to-the-Home service at gigabit speeds.
While offering this service to San Juan residents has been a plus in the project, Brentnall said that it is a secondary benefit. Her real goal, she said, has been to bring the internet to underserved areas that big providers have overlooked or ignored as unprofitable.
“I think about the kids who can’t do their homework,” she said, “because their families can’t afford a connection or can’t get one. Reliable broadband opens the door to the digital world, the opportunity to be successful and to become the future leaders of our community.”
A collaborative effort between LCB Communications, South Valley Internet, the Rotary Club of San Juan Bautista, Balanced Access, and the Aromas–San Juan Unified School District, the network is funded by a $29.48 million state grant to provide internet access to more than 1,100 underserved households in rural areas.
“The city itself isn’t in the grant,” Brentnall said, “but we are building the backbone through it. The conduit runs from Fourth and Alameda, then through town, hitting streets like Washington, Sixth, San Antonio, Monterey, and First—and as many homes as possible.”
The project was funded in June, 2024, and a month later, the wireless portion began deployment. By Sept. 2025, the underground installation of conduit began, with it reaching San Juan at the beginning of the year.
Three methods of boring have been used for different distances so far in the project, depending on the terrain:
- Trenching (two miles) – An open, narrow trench is dug. The conduit is then laid, and the trench is backfilled.
- Plowing (one mile) – a specialized machine cuts a narrow slit into the ground and simultaneously pulls conduit or cable into the soil.
- Boring (33 miles) – A specialized machine drills an underground tunnel for the conduit, which is necessary for going under roads, sidewalks, or environmentally sensitive areas.
The boring, used throughout San Juan, is the most complex and requires specialized tools to track the borehead’s path and find any possible obstacles.
“Think of it like drilling for oil,” Brentnall said, but you’re just doing it horizontally. A ‘magic wand’ follows the bore head and tells you how deep you are, what angle you’re at. On average, we go three to four feet deep. When we went under Uvas Creek, we had to go 16 feet.”
The conduit itself is orange, the standard color for communications. Made from high-density polyethylene, it has a metal wire running its entire length, making it easier for any excavator working on the roadway to locate it before damaging it.
(It also has an identifying purple stripe unique to LCB, which Brentnall said was just a touch of the “girlie” in her.)
Within each conduit, there are either seven or 10 color-coded “micro-conduits” that will house the fiber-optic cables. Once the conduit is in place, the micro-conduits are “proofed” by blowing a BB through them to clear any debris and ensure there are no obstructions.
Following proofing, a specialized machine uses high-pressure air to blow the fiber-optic cable through the conduit. Sections of cable meet and are spliced together at “handholes,” heavy-duty enclosures embedded in the ground, which remain accessible for repairs and maintenance.
As the object of laying the conduit through San Juan Bautista is merely to pass it through to areas that otherwise lack reliable internet service, the reach of the cables through town is limited. Only homes or businesses directly in the path of the conduit, or perhaps one house deep on side streets, are eligible for a service.
Fiber, according to Brentnall, offers advantages that the alternatives do not. Wireless and satellite service, she said, are cheaper to deploy but are subject to environmental and atmospheric interference. Copper wire cables have limitations as well, including lower speeds and bandwidth and severe signal degradation over distance.
“With the fiber,” Brentnall said, “we’re future-proofing versus wireless. We’re cutting edge; we can provide multi-gigabit to a home right now. A thousand megabytes down by a couple of hundred up, which is more than what a family of four would ever need at any given time.”
Jeremiah Martinez, who has a recording studio, Team Unco, in San Juan Bautista, is already a customer of the LCB Communications associate business, South Valley Internet. But he says he is looking forward to joining up with the new fiber network as soon as he can.
“South Valley is already probably the best internet in the area,” he said, “but music production, I have to have a high-quality connection. I need a good bandwidth, so I am really looking forward to this. And if I can get it to my house, that would be even better.”
To inquire about service in San Juan Bautista, call 800-899-4125 or visit garlic.com.
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