California

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.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) made $714 million in grants and loans to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers and business owners in 19 states to reliable, affordable high-speed internet.

SiFi Networks will go live with the first neighborhood in its Placentia FiberCity Project where homes and businesses will gain access to the company’s all-fiber open access network. The project, which will cost around $35 million, is privately funded by SiFi Networks and will eventually provide access to some 20,000 locations in Placentia, California.