California’s Monterey Bay Economic Partnership has announced that the state’s Public Utilities Commission has awarded $45 million in grant funding to help narrow the digital divide. As GovTech reports, the monies will be split among three regional internet providers. The Central Coast region will be the biggest beneficiary, with a large portion of the available resources directed towards serving underserved communities.
“Our region has a problem,” stated Cruzio Media Inc. COO, James Hackett. “We’ve got rural communities, farmers, low-income communities, then just a hop away we’ve got Silicon Valley, high-tech and bustling. With the Summits to the Sea project we’re working to level the playing field and give everyone a fair shot.”
Cruzio is slated to receive $5.65 million in CPUC funding to bolster its middle mile broadband outreach in the Central Coast region. Plans are for Cruzio to install open access middle mile infrastructure using fixed wireless hardware.
An award of $10.8 million will be distributed to Surfnet Communications, Inc. for its Fiber-to-the-Premises broadband installation. The last mile project is expected to deliver high-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband service to 465 economically disadvantaged locations according to GovTech.
The third provider to receive CPUC funding will be LCB Communications LLC. The $29.48 million award supports the Aromas-San Juan Project to deploy a hybrid broadband network combining Fiber-to-the-Home and Fixed Wireless Access. The targeted communities are currently underserved, and located in areas with geographic challenges.
The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership acts as the Executive Director of the Central Coast Broadband Consortium. The MBEP praised the CPUC for coordinating the effort to bring broadband to more California residents.
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