The California Public Utilities Commission has approved $48 million for eight broadband projects under the aegis of the Last Mile Federal Funding Account grant program, which is part of the state’s Broadband for All initiative.
“Due to historical underinvestment, many communities across California lack access to fast, reliable, and reasonably priced broadband service, which is now a necessity to fully participate in work, school, and daily life,” CPUC Commissioner Darcie Houck said in the announcement.
“These Federal Funding Account grants represent another step in alleviating this historical disparity by closing the digital divide and providing Broadband for All Californians.”
The California broadband grants this round include:
- $17 million for three projects in Fresno County, which aims to benefit approximately 13,000 residents.
- $15 million for three projects in Lake County, which aims to benefit approximately 7,000 residents.
- $17 million for two projects in Sonoma County, which aims to benefit approximately 2,100 residents.
To date, the Federal Funding Account has awarded more than $1 billion for projects in 51 countries. The Last-Mile program will appropriate $550 million in the state’s 2027-2028 budget.
The California broadband grants announced yesterday come on the heels of two other recent announcements.
Earlier this month, awards totaling $32.5 million were announced. The largest share of this funding — $25 million — will go to Federal Funding Account grants for last-mile broadband services in Kings County, California and will benefit approximately 5,869 residents. The next largest grant is for $3 million for a project in Ventura County that will benefit 2,377 residents.
In late December, the CPUC approved $225 million in grants for last-mile broadband connectivity. The awards will support last mile connectivity in Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Kern, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, San Diego, Shasta, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba counties. About 163,000 residents will benefit, according to the CPUC.
Additional information about California broadband, including links to state funding resources, BEAD application information, state-specific Telecompetitor coverage and more, can be found on Telecompetitor’s Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
