California Proposes $143M Last Mile Broadband Awards

July 24, 2024 – The California Public Utilities Commission recommended awards of $143.3 million for the fourth round of its last-mile broadband infrastructure grant program, inviting public comment on Monday.

The $2 billion Federal Funding Account Grant Program aims to expand broadband access for underserved and unserved communities across the state. The rolling process of awards and recommendations is ongoing.

The CPUC’s Draft Resolution recommends grant awards totaling $143.3 million for 12 last-mile broadband infrastructure projects in seven California counties, aiming to connect an estimated 170,000 addresses.

The agency also recommended allocating $14.8 million to the Colorado River Indian Tribes, located in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. These proposals will be considered and approved by a vote of the CPUC’s Commissioners at a public meeting on August 22.

This marks the program's fourth round of awards and brings the total amount awarded to $343.8 million for 36 projects in 17 counties, connecting approximately 613,000 addresses. The announcement builds on the recent CPUC announcement of over $200 million in awards for 24 projects in the state.

Since June, the CPUC has been issuing public recommendations for its Last Mile Federal Funding Account awards on a rolling basis. The CPUC's Federal Funding Account received over 450 applications, with at least two applications for each county in the state. The total request for awards exceeded $4.6 billion for last-mile broadband infrastructure projects.

The application window for the award closed in September and the initial objection period closed in November, following a 28-day objection period.