Middle-Mile Network Access for California’s Tribes

California's proposed middle-mile fiber-based network could provide access to regional broadband providers and Tribes at capacity and speeds that will allow networks to scale to accommodate the needs of an entire community. The route prioritizes areas with no access to the global Internet or slow and ineffective connections, which leaves many households and community anchor institutions at a severe disadvantage – unable to take advantage of broadband-enabled services such as telehealth, remote work, and remote educational environments. A major goal of this project is to connect all Tribes in California to the global Internet at high broadband speeds through middle-mile infrastructure. However, the process by which this will take place will differ depending on the Tribe’s location -- especially whether the Tribe is adjacent to a Caltrans Right of Way. If the Tribe is not adjacent to a Caltrans Right of Way, note that fiber optic infrastructure has hundreds, if not thousands of connection points. In such cases, CENIC (Corporation for Education Network Initiative in California) will identify the most conveniently located connection point for the Tribe and help align the funds and other opportunities needed to connect at that point.