ARTICLE
Rural and underserved areas of Santa Cruz County are about to get some relief as the California Public Utilities Commission has allocated $45 million to Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties directed to our rural and underserved areas around the Central Coast. The projects will bring new high-speed internet access to households in underserved areas around the Central Coast, with much-needed infrastructure upgrades that will also improve access for thousands of others within the next two years. It’s all part of the state’s ambitious goal of getting broadband access to 98% of state households by 2032. Our readers may recall at the height of the pandemic when schools went to a remote learning system young students in the south county would sit outside a fast food restaurant to access the internet to do their homework. These students resided in neighborhoods that had limited to no access to the internet from their homes. Cruzio, our local ISP provider, stepped forward to help those students. The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the shift to remote school and work, was cited as an example that the young south county students raised the bar of concern. Later, California lawmakers have made improving internet infrastructure a core initiative, and in 2021, state officials approved legislation to allocate $6 billion to bring equitable, affordable high-speed broadband service to all Californians by building one of the largest high-speed broadband internet projects in the nation. The CPUC and its California Advanced Services Fund have allocated funding to three separate projects. Surfnet Communications will receive $10.8 million for the Three Count Project extending high-speed fiber optic broadband services in rural areas in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Luis Obispo counties. CPUC also awarded $29.48 million to LCB Communications LLC for its project to deploy a hybrid broadband network in the Aromas-San Juan area, bringing service to 1,101 unserved locations in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties. Earlier this year, state officials also awarded $5.65 million to Cruzio for its Equal Access Summits to the Sea Project, which will expand middle-mile broadband infrastructure to 759 unserved locations in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, specifically in rural areas at higher risk of natural disasters. “About a third of those are in Santa Cruz County, and the upgraded infrastructure will bring improved access for even more residents,” said Cruzio’s chief operating officer, James Hackett. Cruzio’s middle-mile infrastructure is “open access,” which means other internet service providers (ISPs) will also be able to use it to offer speedier, more reliable services to their customers. The project is expected to be completed by October 2025. We have known for years that our rural Santa Cruz Mountains and other areas throughout Santa Cruz County do not have access to internet and higher speed data. These projects coupled with the effort of our business association partner, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership through the Central Coast Broadband Consortium have made internet and higher speed data access a priority. The Chamber is a partner with the consortium. We look forward to the success of these projects that will improve access to high-speed reliable internet services.
Rural and underserved areas of Santa Cruz County are about to get some relief as the California Public Utilities Commission has allocated $45 million to Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties directed to our rural and underserved areas around the Central Coast. The projects will bring new high-speed internet access to households in underserved areas around the Central Coast, with much-needed infrastructure upgrades that will also improve access for thousands of others within the next two years. It’s all part of the state’s ambitious goal of getting broadband access to 98% of state households by 2032.
Our readers may recall at the height of the pandemic when schools went to a remote learning system young students in the south county would sit outside a fast food restaurant to access the internet to do their homework. These students resided in neighborhoods that had limited to no access to the internet from their homes. Cruzio, our local ISP provider, stepped forward to help those students. The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the shift to remote school and work, was cited as an example that the young south county students raised the bar of concern. Later, California lawmakers have made improving internet infrastructure a core initiative, and in 2021, state officials approved legislation to allocate $6 billion to bring equitable, affordable high-speed broadband service to all Californians by building one of the largest high-speed broadband internet projects in the nation.
The CPUC and its California Advanced Services Fund have allocated funding to three separate projects. Surfnet Communications will receive $10.8 million for the Three Count Project extending high-speed fiber optic broadband services in rural areas in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Luis Obispo counties. CPUC also awarded $29.48 million to LCB Communications LLC for its project to deploy a hybrid broadband network in the Aromas-San Juan area, bringing service to 1,101 unserved locations in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties.
Earlier this year, state officials also awarded $5.65 million to Cruzio for its Equal Access Summits to the Sea Project, which will expand middle-mile broadband infrastructure to 759 unserved locations in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, specifically in rural areas at higher risk of natural disasters. “About a third of those are in Santa Cruz County, and the upgraded infrastructure will bring improved access for even more residents,” said Cruzio’s chief operating officer, James Hackett.
Cruzio’s middle-mile infrastructure is “open access,” which means other internet service providers (ISPs) will also be able to use it to offer speedier, more reliable services to their customers. The project is expected to be completed by October 2025.
We have known for years that our rural Santa Cruz Mountains and other areas throughout Santa Cruz County do not have access to internet and higher speed data. These projects coupled with the effort of our business association partner, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership through the Central Coast Broadband Consortium have made internet and higher speed data access a priority. The Chamber is a partner with the consortium. We look forward to the success of these projects that will improve access to high-speed reliable internet services.