California

A program that helped millions of households across the country — and 2.8 million in California — afford internet access is ending, without additional funding from Congress. The Affordable Connectivity Program began in 2021 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. California received about $1.3 billion in funding through the program that helped about 1-in-5 households in the state. The Federal Communications Commission said that current funding is projected to run out in April and households will receive benefits through the end of the month.

Internet giants Comcast and AT&T are trying to prevent Oakland from receiving $14 million to build out its capacity for high-speed internet, the latest obstacle to the city’s efforts to close longstanding gaps in online access for its residents. In objections to Oakland’s latest share of a $3.87 billion California spending package, the two companies argued to the California Public Utilities Commision (CPUC) that the neighborhoods slated for enhanced fiber-optic infrastructure already enjoy faster internet speeds. Their evidence for that assertion has been kept confidential to everyone b

In October 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed the Digital Equity Bill of Rights. This is an interesting law that guarantees that Californians have the right to, among other things:

This report presents the main findings from the 2023 Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption Survey.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is preparing to close out its Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which Congress authorized in 2021 to facilitate remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than three years after pandemic shutdowns forced employers and employees to shift toward remote work if they could, it seems that for a portion of working Californians, remote and hybrid work is here to stay. According to the November 2023 Public Policy Institute of California Statewide Survey, 14 percent of Californians say they work remotely all of the time, 21 percent are working in a mix of some work from home and some outside the home at the workplace, and 61 percent say they are working exclusively in person at the workplace.

Add California and Wisconsin to the growing list of states whose broadband funding programs have received applications seeking considerably more funding than the program has available. California’s Federal Funding Account received 484 applications requesting $4.6 billion, which is more than double the $2 billion budgeted for the program. Awards are used to fund last mile infrastructure projects.