West Hollywood has officially unplugged its exclusive negotiations with Plenary Broadband Infrastructure WH LLC, shelving a once-ambitious plan to build a citywide fiber-optic network after projected costs climbed past $40 million.
The City Council voted to end its exclusive negotiations with Plenary, halting a multimillion-dollar project that city staff once hoped would deliver affordable, fiber-based broadband across West Hollywood.
The move effectively closes the book on a partnership first reported by WEHOonline, which advanced into formal negotiations last year with a projected city contribution of $25 to $28 million. That figure has now soared past $40 million, according to a staff report presented at the October 20 meeting and confirmed by city minutes.
The original plan stemmed from West Hollywood’s 2016 Fiber Network Infrastructure and Service Strategic Plan, designed to push a “municipally driven” broadband model. The partnership with Plenary was supposed to bring that goal to life without heavy upfront costs from the city. But those assumptions unraveled as construction, labor, and inflation pushed costs dramatically higher.
The city’s Information Technology Manager, Eugene Tsipis and telecommunications consultant Joanne Hovis walked the Council through the timeline and financial breakdown. What began as a zero-cost proposal evolved into a $25 million commitment in 2023 and ultimately climbed to $42 million this fall.
According to the official minutes, Councilmembers expressed frustration with the failed partnership, questioning why the city pursued a deal with a company that had no prior experience delivering fiber-to-the-home projects. Some argued West Hollywood should have worked directly with Spectrum or AT&T, which already have infrastructure in place, though much of it relies on older copper or coaxial systems.
More than $350,000 had already been spent on feasibility studies and design work before the Council voted 4–0 to let the Exclusive Negotiation Agreement expire on October 31, 2025, and directed the City Manager, David Wilson to reassess options for improving broadband.
Mayor Chelsea Lee Byers said that despite the disappointment, the city’s long-term vision remains intact. “This was an effort to ensure that the city itself, as cities across this country are doing, could make internet a utility provided through city services,” she said. “That’s still a vision worth pursuing.”
LAist noted that while there is no official count, Tsipis estimates roughly 72 percent of West Hollywood residents still lack access to fiber-based internet service, leaving many apartment-dwellers in older buildings without reliable or affordable broadband.
West Hollywood currently maintains a city-owned fiber line running the length of Santa Monica Boulevard, with public Wi-Fi and extensions already active along Melrose Avenue. Plans are also underway to expand along Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue as part of the city’s Smart City Initiative, which aims to improve connectivity, infrastructure, and equity across neighborhoods.
The collapse of the Plenary deal is a setback, but not the end of the city’s broadband ambitions. Councilmembers agreed to revisit public-private models, possibly with new partners or by pressing existing providers to step up.
For now, West Hollywood’s citywide fiber plan has gone offline, but the city’s push for digital equity hasn’t.
This clearly sounds like someone didn’t do their due diligence before promising the moon to residents. Look, a bright new shiny thing…that once again faded.
Can WEHO do something similar with the City Council and others? “An email obtained by the American-Statesman shows council staffers were asked Wednesday to attend a “refresher course” next week covering city rules for credit card use and travel. The directive came days after the Statesman published its latest investigation into questionable credit card and travel expenses by Austin City Council members — some likely made in violation of city policy.”