Broadband Partnerships

The City of Chesapeake (“City”) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to identify qualified partners to leverage the City’s Chesapeake Connects (CCX) broadband infrastructure as a regional, carrier-grade communications platform. CCX consists of a high-capacity, municipally owned middle-mile fiber network designed to support: Carrier and wholesale transport services Dark fiber and conduit leasing Data center and interconnection ecosystem development Enterprise, government, and institutional connectivity Future Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) service expansion The City’s objective is to position Chesapeake as a strategic interconnection hub within the Hampton Roads region, enabling scalable, redundant, and diverse connectivity for carriers, cloud providers, enterprises, and residents. Through this RFI, the City seeks to engage entities capable of: Utilizing CCX infrastructure for transport, backhaul, and regional aggregation Leasing dark fiber and/or conduit under long-term agreements (e.g., IRU or lease) Establishing carrier-neutral Points of Presence (PoPs) and interconnection facilities Delivering retail FTTP/FTTH services, where applicable Participating in public-private partnership (P3) or investment-based models This RFI is intended to: Validate market interest from carrier-grade operators and infrastructure investors Identify partners with proven ability to deploy, monetize, and operate fiber networks at scale Inform the City’s commercial, technical, and partnership strategy for CCX