CPUC Awards Third Round of Grants to Local Governments To Help Close the Digital Divide
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today announced it has made its third round of awards for State broadband funds to local governments by providing $5.75 million in broadband technical assistance grants to 16 local governments to support efforts to close the digital divide. These are in addition to grants announced earlier this month.
Eight cities, one town, five different counties, and two council of governments received Local Agency Technical Assistance grants from the CPUC in November and December to support efforts to build and operate broadband networks which will provide or exceed 100 Mbps to homes and businesses in California.
Each approximately $500,000 grant will be used to reimburse local governments for the costs of network design services for unserved areas in the applicants’ jurisdictions. In a second phase, the applicants will engineer projects that will provide service to households and businesses that, upon completion, will reliably meet or exceed 100 Mbps speed, both uploading and downloading. These projects are planned to be completed within a 24-month timeline.
The Local Agency Technical Assistance grant program supports tribes and local governments – who are most knowledgeable about the state of broadband in their communities – in their efforts to expand broadband service to unserved Californians. The funds are for planning to facilitate high-speed broadband infrastructure projects and the program will distribute at least $50 million in grants, including a $5 million set-aside for tribes. It’s a key step in California’s $6 billion Broadband for All investment.
The grants awarded are:
- To the cities of Banning, Los Angeles-Bureau of Street Lighting, Manteca, San Bernardino, Santa Paula, South San Francisco, Vacaville, Ventura, and the town of Tiburon.
- To the counties of Amador, Merced, Placer, Riverside, and Siskiyou.
- To the council of governments of San Gabriel Valley and South Bay Cities.
These grants follow the second round of awards of 28 grants in October. The application window remains open for new applications.
More information and summaries of the grants: www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/internet-and-phone/broadband-implementation-for-california/local-agency-technical-assistance.
The CPUC regulates services and utilities, protects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.
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