Mendocino Community Network

What Mendocino Community Network does

Mendocino Community Network (MCN) is a small municipal Internet Service Provider serving the Mendocino Coast region of California, including Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Westport, Elk, Gualala, Albion, Little River, Caspar, and Point Arena. Founded in 1995 and originally owned by the Mendocino Unified School District, MCN was acquired by the City of Fort Bragg on June 30, 2025, for $300,000 as part of establishing a municipally-owned broadband utility. The company employs approximately 10 staff members and operates from a single office in Mendocino.

MCN's core service portfolio spans multiple access technologies: Fiber Internet (up to 10 Gb/s, currently being deployed across Fort Bragg), Open Air fixed wireless (up to 100 Mbps and a 250 Mbps tier), Open Air X-Press (LTE-based wireless), Open Air Long Range (extended wireless for remote areas at 12-40 Mbps), and Fusion (DSL bundled with POTS voice, delivered in partnership with Sonic Telecom/Sonic.net). Adjacent services include Digital Voice (VoIP), email hosting (powered by MagicMail with spam/virus filtering), domain name registration (resold via TuCows/OpenSRS), and tiered website hosting ($5 to $19.95/month). The company also maintains legacy dialup and listserv offerings. Underlying infrastructure depends on partnerships with AT&T (DSL backbone, ISDN/LTE), Sonic.net, and other carriers.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through recurring monthly and annual subscriptions, supplemented by one-time installation/setup fees (typically $100-$175) and ancillary charges for static IPs and additional email storage. The customer base is split across residential households, local small and medium-sized businesses, and community organizations along the Mendocino Coast. The company sells and supports customers directly through its website, phone, email, and in-person at its Mendocino office, with marketing heavily dependent on community referrals, the local Chamber of Commerce, and local media (newspapers, radio, bus ads). MCN is now a division of the City of Fort Bragg's municipal government, with $10.4 million in California Public Utilities Commission Federal Funding Account grant funding supporting a broader $17.4 million broadband buildout.

Name

Mendocino Community Network

Legal name

Mendocino Community Network

Website

https://mcn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mendocino Community Network is a municipal Internet Service Provider owned by the City of Fort Bragg, California, delivering fiber, fixed wireless, LTE, and DSL connectivity plus voice, email, hosting, and domain services to residential and business customers across the Mendocino Coast.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mendocino

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Internet Services: Monthly subscription fees for Open Air Internet, Open Air X-Press, Fusion DSL, and Fiber Internet services. Recurring revenue model with monthly billing.
2. Digital Voice Phone Service: Voice telephone service bundled with internet or standalone. Part of Fusion package or add-on to Open Air services.
3. Website Hosting: Monthly hosting subscriptions at Basic ($5/month), Standard ($9.95/month), and Premium ($19.95/month) tiers.
4. Domain Name Registration: Annual domain registration fees ranging from $17.30 to $59.95 depending on TLD (.com, .net, .org, etc.).
5. Email Services: Bundled email included with internet services (250 MB storage). Additional storage available for purchase. Standalone email available for $4/month.
6. Setup/Installation Fees: One-time fees for service installation including Open Air setup ($100-$175), Open Air X-Press setup ($150), and other connection fees.
7. Static IP Addresses: Additional monthly charges for static IP addresses: 1 IP ($5-$10), 4 IPs ($10-$20), 8 IPs ($15-$30) for residential/business.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Mendocino Community Network (MCN) is a municipal Internet Service Provider delivering broadband connectivity and related digital services to the Mendocino Coast region of California. Its core offerings include Fiber Internet (up to 10 Gb/s), Open Air wireless broadband, Open Air X-Press LTE-based wireless, Open Air Long Range service for remote areas, and Fusion DSL bundles. Supplementary products encompass Digital Voice (VoIP), email hosting, domain registration, and website hosting.

Product overview

Mendocino Community Network (MCN) is a municipal Internet Service Provider owned and operated by the City of Fort Bragg, California. Originally operated for 30 years and acquired by the city in June 2025, MCN delivers a comprehensive suite of connectivity and communication services. The core offering centers on multiple internet access technologies: Fiber Internet (up to 10 Gb/s deployment in Fort Bragg), Open Air Internet (wireless up to 100 Mb/s), Open Air X-Press (LTE-based wireless), Open Air Long Range (extended wireless for remote areas), and Fusion (DSL plus phone bundle via Sonic partnership). Supplementary services include Digital Voice (VoIP), Email with spam filtering via MagicMail, Domain Name registration via TuCows/OpenSRS, and Website Hosting. Legacy offerings include dialup internet and listserv management. The company also operates a weather station and webcam as community services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fiber Internet High-speed fiber optic internet service offering speeds of up to 10 Gb/s, currently being deployed throughout the City of Fort Bragg for residential and business customers.
• Open Air Internet High-speed wireless internet service with speeds up to 50 Mb/s and up to 100 Mb/s, available in select areas of Fort Bragg using antenna-based technology.
• Open Air X-Press LTE-based wireless internet service providing reliable high-speed connectivity without requiring a phone line, available in select areas along the Mendocino coast. Includes wireless router, no contracts, no data cap.
• Open Air Long Range Extended-range wireless internet service for remote communities along the Mendocino Coast, with tiered pricing from 12Mbps/4Mbps up to 40Mbps/10Mbps.
• Fusion Bundled DSL internet and POTS voice phone service combining ADSL/ADSL2+/VDSL technology with free long distance for residential and business customers, provided in partnership with Sonic Telecom.
• Digital Voice Digital VoIP telephone service delivered through an existing internet connection, offering telephone service with number porting capabilities for residential and business customers.
• Email Service Email hosting service with bundled storage of 250MB for service customers, spam and virus filtering via MagicMail, SSL/TLS encrypted transmission, and tiered storage options up to 170GB. Standalone email available at $4/month.
• Domain Name Registration Domain name registration service supporting multiple TLDs including .com, .net, .org, .biz, .design, .fun, .graphics, .info, .me, .us, and .work, provided in partnership with TuCows/OpenSRS. Annual fees range from $17.30 to $59.95.
• Website Hosting Website hosting service with tiered plans: Basic ($5/month, 1 GB storage), Standard ($9.95/month, 5 GB storage), and Premium ($19.95/month, 15 GB storage). Includes SSL certificates, PHP, CGI-BIN, FTP access, and domain name hosting.
• Dialup Internet Legacy 56K analog modem dialup service with multiple tiers (Regular, High Use, Really High Use, Basic) and dialup access numbers for Bridgeville, Elk, Gualala, Fort Bragg, and Mendocino.
• Private Listservs Email list management service for community organizations, offering private listservs at $11.50/month with a $5 setup fee, with free availability for qualifying non-profit organizations in Mendocino County.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 years of continuous operation as a local ISP
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• City of Fort BraggflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2025City of Fort Bragg acquired MCN for $300,000 as part of establishing a municipally-owned broadband utility. Total broadband investment of $17.4 million including $10.4M Federal Funding Account grant.
• Mendocino Unified School DistrictflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 May 2025Original owner of MCN. Sale agreement reached between City of Fort Bragg and Mendocino Unified School District for the sale of MCN, closing June 30, 2025.
• AT&TcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 December 2024AT&T provides DSL infrastructure services and ISDN/LTE services for MCN's network. Partnership for providing telecommunications backbone and connectivity.
• Sonic.netcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 December 2024Sonic.net provides DSL services in partnership with MCN. Also provides voice service for Fusion customers through Sonic Telecom.
• Sonic TelecomcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 December 2024Sonic Telecom provides voice service for Fusion customers. Contractual relationship requiring Fusion customers to pay by credit card or automatic bank transfer.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sonic.net: Sonic.net is a California-based independent ISP that directly partners with MCN to provide DSL backbone and voice services for MCN's Fusion bundle. Sonic competes and cooperates with MCN in overlapping Northern California footprint, making it the closest comparable on product, technology, and customer base.
• EarthLink: EarthLink is an independent ISP providing DSL, fiber, and fixed-wireless across the US, including rural service areas. As a non-incumbent ISP competing in regional markets with similar product breadth (internet + email + hosting-adjacent services), it is a comparable peer to MCN.

Regional players

• Wave Broadband (Astound Broadband): Astound (formerly Wave) is a regional cable/broadband provider serving parts of the Pacific Northwest and West Coast; it's comparable to MCN as a non-national-coverage ISP serving coastal markets with mixed wired/wireless offerings.

Others

• Longmont Power & Communications / NextLight: NextLight is the municipally-owned fiber broadband utility of Longmont, Colorado — directly comparable to MCN's new municipal broadband utility model. Both are city-owned ISPs offering fiber services to residents and businesses.
• Chattanooga EPB Fiber Optics: EPB Fiber is the pioneering municipal fiber utility in Chattanooga, TN. It's highly comparable to MCN's municipal-ownership model and its gigabit+ fiber service, and represents the most successful example of a city-owned ISP at scale.
• Sonic Telecom: Sonic Telecom is the wholesale/CLEC arm of Sonic that provides the POTS voice service bundled into MCN's Fusion product. It is an enabling/partner entity rather than a competitor, directly comparable as a partner supporting MCN's voice offering.

Broad incumbents

• AT&T Internet: AT&T is a broad incumbent ISP and provides DSL infrastructure services and ISDN/LTE that MCN's network relies on. AT&T competes for residential and business broadband customers on the Mendocino Coast as a large national carrier.
• Comcast Xfinity: Comcast Xfinity is a large incumbent cable broadband provider with national scale; it competes in adjacent Mendocino County markets and represents the type of large-cap ISP that MCN's municipal model is positioned against.

Emerging players

• T-Mobile Home Internet: T-Mobile Home Internet uses the carrier's 5G/LTE fixed-wireless network to serve rural and suburban households — directly comparable to MCN's Open Air X-Press LTE offering in technology and target customer, but with national scale.
• Starlink (SpaceX): Starlink is a satellite-based broadband provider whose target customer — rural households underserved by fixed broadband — directly overlaps MCN's Mendocino Coast service area. It represents the most disruptive emerging alternative to MCN's fixed wireless/DSL/Fusion bundles.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mcnisp
• Facebookfacebook.com/MendocinoCommunityNetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mendocino Community Network