Golden State Connect Authority Touting Connection to California Middle-Mile Network
The agreement with the California Department of Technology will use the state's middle-mile to connect Golden State Fiber to rural communities.
Aug. 24, 2026 — Golden State Connect Authority has taken a major step toward bringing high-speed internet to rural California, becoming the first entity to sign an agreement with the state to use the state’s new middle-mile fiber network.
The agreement, signed in July with the California Department of Technology, allows the authority to begin submitting orders to use the state’s statewide Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative network. The move will connect Golden State’s planned Golden State Fiber network to the state’s larger fiber backbone.
That connection is important because the two networks serve different purposes. California’s middle-mile network is designed to carry internet traffic across the state. Golden State Fiber will build the local, or “last-mile,” connections that carry that service the rest of the way to homes, businesses, farms, schools and other community institutions.
“Signing this agreement represents a significant milestone for Golden State Fiber and the rural communities we serve,” said Chris Lopez, chair of the Gold State authority and Monterey County supervisor. “California’s middle-mile network is a transformative investment that will support many last-mile providers across the state.”
This partnership reflects an important step toward connecting rural California communities to the State’s middle-mile broadband network,” said Mark Monroe, deputy director of the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative at the California Department of Technology.
Golden State fiber network connects to the state’s middle mile network
By connecting Golden State Fiber to the state network, Monroe said, the project will help create the foundation for reliable, high-speed broadband for rural residents, businesses, schools and other community institutions.
California’s middle-mile network is being built as an open-access system, meaning multiple internet providers and other eligible entities can use the infrastructure to extend broadband service into communities that have historically lacked reliable internet.
The authority is developing Golden State Fiber as a publicly owned, open-access network. The authority will finance, build, own, operate and maintain the fiber infrastructure, while private internet providers will be able to offer service over the network.
The agreement is the latest step in the broader rural broadband project. The authority broke ground on Golden State Fiber in Glenn County in April, beginning construction on the first of seven planned deployments in Alpine, Amador, Glenn, Imperial, Mono and Tehama counties, as well as the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
The project is backed by $110.9 million in bond financing and $185.4 million from the California Public Utilities Commission’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account. The network is expected to eventually reach more than 31,000 locations.
The connection authority said it plans to break ground on its remaining projects and begin connecting residents and businesses to high-speed broadband in early 2027.
