Cityside Fiber wants to make Irvine one of the most connected cities in the U.S.

The Irvine-based internet service provider says it’s planning to invest more than $50 million in Irvine’s high-speed network over the coming years.

The ambitious program will provide 100% fiber-optic internet access to tens of thousands of residences and businesses currently unserved, the company said earlier this month.

Thousands of Irvine homes and businesses will gain access to high-speed internet through the network expansion.

Cityside Fiber said the more than $50 million will be invested in Irvine’s infrastructure, as the company works in partnership with city officials to build comprehensive fiber-optic coverage across multiple neighborhoods.

The project is being carried out in collaboration with the city of Irvine.

Walnut, College Park

The project has already begun in the Irvine neighborhoods of Walnut and College Park, with installations planned for El Camino Real, Turtle Rock and Northwood communities before the year’s end.

Cityside will invest the money in Irvine’s infrastructure and will also support connectivity at city facilities.

“We are able to service about 25,000 homes right now in Orange County,” Cityside CEO Rod Hanson told the Business Journal on Sept. 18.

Cityside Fiber has been expanding its fiber service across Orange County over the last two years, bringing high-speed internet to six local cities, including its first Irvine neighborhood of West Irvine earlier this year.

Other OC locations the company already services include Tustin, North Tustin, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest and Dana Point, in addition to Irvine.

SoCal Expansion Seen

Hanson says the sites it services so far are primarily residential, with more businesses to be added starting in early 2026.

He says there are “a few thousand businesses that we’ve already passed—we just have not marketed services to those folks yet.”

Growth is on the horizon.

“We do intend to grow and expand throughout Southern California,” according to Hanson.
“All of our metrics for growth are on target.”

He foresees the company becoming profitable in 2026.

Hanson says the company raised a little over $100 million in 2023 and is now majority-owned by SDC Capital Partners which provided the funding and is the primary equity investor. Hanson is a minority owner.

Streets, Irvine Community

Cityside Fiber is focusing its initial development on public streets, but the initiative intends to connect as much of the Irvine community as possible.

The company, which was founded in 2021, currently has 115 employees. The company is the No. 11-ranked telecom firm in Orange County.

Cityside Fiber is a fiber-to-the-premise developer and internet service provider.

With so much emphasis on wireless, some people may be asking the question of whether fiber can survive in the new era.

“I think the question should be the other way around,” Hanson says. “Fiber will always be the backbone of the networks, including wireless networks. They rely heavily on fiber as well to connect the cell sites.”

Fiber is “definitely a foundation regardless of which technology you’re focused on” and has pretty much unlimited capacity, according to the CEO.

Fiber can be connected in one of three ways: existing overhead structure, buried cables or the utilization of existing conduits.