California

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded 28 grants totaling $74,424,986.73 to 28 Tribal entities as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). Grants were made to tribes in Alaska, Arizona, California, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The results from a recent survey of 1,205 Los Angeles County likely voters demonstrate public demand for public solutions that ensure affordable, reliable, and fast internet service is available for everyone. The survey found that internet access is considered a necessity for functioning and participating in society, and there is strong support for government involvement in ensuring these needs are met.

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of California's Pre-K–12 households lacked “full digital access,” or reliable access to high-speed internet and a connected device, according to Census Bureau data. As part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) committed about $6.8 billion for schools and libraries to narrow the digital divide. As of the third and final funding window (fo

California will reverse a decision to scale down the expansion of broadband to internet-deprived low-income areas like East Oakland and South Central Los Angeles. Earlier in 2023, the state cited inflation and rising construction costs as reasons why primary broadband service expansions would be gutted, said Patrick Messac, Director for #OaklandUndivided, an internet advocacy nonprofit.

State Senator Scott Wiener (D-CA) will introduce a new artificial intelligence (AI) bill to the California legislature that targets “frontier” AI systems at the threshold of capability. The bill proposes:

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $7 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. The funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 50,000 students nationwide, including students in California, Colorado, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

California is expected to significantly scale down a multibillion-dollar plan to expand high-speed broadband networks soon. And the data the state is using to make the amendments is inaccurate, experts and advocates say, meaning lower-income areas with some of the lowest rates of internet access, like East Oakland, could lose out the most. In pockets of Alameda County, which includes East Oakland, up to 38% of residents don’t have internet access, nearly triple the 13% statewide average.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a $1.78 million grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Line Extension Program to South Valley Internet, Inc./LCB Communications. The grant will fund the Southside Road Project in San Benito County which will provide high-speed internet service at speeds of 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) for both download and upload to Southside Road Labor Camp, Hollister Migrant Housing Center, an

EveryoneOn - a national digital inclusion organization with local impact - is investing its first-ever digital advocacy grant to train community members in how to advocate for fair digital inclusion policies to close the digital divide in their communities. The grant is part of California Community Foundation’s (CCF) Digital Equity Initiative - a multi-year project that is seeding a digital equity movement in Los Angeles County (CA) to advocate for fast, reliable and affordable broadband for all Angelenos.

Cuba City Telephone Exchange Co. and Cal-Ore Communications notified the Federal Communications Commission of their decisions to withdraw from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support program. Cuba City and Cal-Ore’s letters constitute notification to the FCC that these carriers are defaulting on their obligations to meet their service milestones.