The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has recommended a total of $143.3 million in grants to go toward broadband deployments to locations in the state that currently lack high-speed broadband service.
AT&T was recommended for two grants totaling $18.1 million and Frontier was recommended for three grants totaling $22.9 million. Six other entities were also recommended for grants, but only two of them – Plumas Sierra Telecommunications and Nevada County Fiber – are broadband providers.
The other four recommended awardees are the Golden State Connect Authority, a joint powers authority formed by several counties; Placer County; the City of Sacramento; and the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
The proposed funding would come through the state’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program.
California PUC commissioners will vote on whether to approve the grants next month.
Proposed California Broadband Grants
The biggest proposed grants are $38.7 million for the City of Sacramento and $23.7 million for Placer County. Other awardees are slated to receive between $4 million and $14.8 million.
Most of the proposed grants are for last mile deployments, other than the Colorado River Indian Tribes project includes last mile and middle mile infrastructure.
All the last mile projects specify fiber broadband.
Most of the awardees have committed to covering some of the project costs – from as little as 7% to as much as 89%. For three of the projects, however, the proposed grants would cover 100% of project costs.
The complete list of proposed awardees is as follows:
- AT&T
- City of Sacramento
- Colorado River Indian Tribes
- Frontier
- Golden State Connect Authority
- Nevada County Fiber
- Placer County
- Plumas Sierra Telecommunications
Additional details about the proposed awards can be found in this proposed resolution. Additional information about California broadband, including links to state funding resources, state specific Telecompetitor coverage and more, can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
