California

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved $172 million in the sixth round of grants for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program, which expands broadband internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) announced the award of $20,000 Digital Equity Leadership Grants to 36 jurisdictions in California to participate in the Local Government Best Practices Check List Project to accelerate the adoption of policies and practices to accelerate progress in closing the Digital Divide in California. The CETF Digital Equity Leadership Grants are made possible as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CETF and T‐Mobile USA in which T‐Mobile committed to specified public benefits in conjunction with its acquisition of Sprint in 2020, inclu

California will now require social media companies to moderate the spread of election-related impersonations powered by artificial intelligence, known as “deepfakes,” after Gov Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed three new laws on the subject on September 17. The three laws, including a first-of-its-kind law that imposes a new requirement on social media platforms, largely deal with banning or labeling deepfakes. Only one of the laws will

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved $91 million in fifth round grants for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program, which expands broadband internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

Race Communications secured more than $500 million in additional capital to accelerate the expansion of its fiber network across the state. This capital raise includes $375 million in equity from Oak Hill Capital, the existing majority investor, and its limited partners. The funding also features incremental debt financing from existing lender AB Private Credit Investors, who will also be participating in the equity round.

California recently lawmakers sent a nationally consequential artificial intelligence bill to Gov.

The Newsom Administration, local officials, and Arcadian Infracom announced the groundbreaking of a crucial segment of California’s Middle-Mile Broadband Network. The Capitol Route groundbreaking in Natomas celebrates California’s work in building the nation’s largest open-access, Middle-Mile Broadband Network. The groundbreaking is a milestone in a 256-mile route of new open-access broadband fiber spanning from San Jose in Silicon Valley through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Carson City, Nevada.

The California State Assembly passed a bill on August 28 that would enact the nation’s strictest regulations on artificial intelligence companies, pushing the fierce fight over how to regulate AI toward Gov.

At Dymally High School in South Los Angeles, test scores are slightly up, fights are down and teachers can better focus on instruction—and Principal Darvina Bradley credits her campus cellphone ban. This scene is one California lawmakers are hoping to replicate with their approval of statewide school cellphone restrictions. The Phone-Free Schools Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom), sailed through the Legislature and requires all public schools to devise a policy by July 1, 2026, to limit or prohibit smartphones during the school day.

A California effort to regulate artificial intelligence has divided the tech world, with some trying