$1.86 billion in funding will be provided to boost high-speed internet access in California through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021. president biden.
The funding will help provide all families in California with reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet access, building on the $6 billion the state has allocated to build out its broadband infrastructure network.
“Billions of dollars are headed our way, fueling our efforts to provide all Californians, regardless of zip code, with internet access,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom.
He added that this injection of funds will help build on the work done in recent years with the Legislature to cut red tape around broadband infrastructure projects and provide high-speed Internet access to more Californians, “which will help make the digital divide a thing of the past.”
This allocation nearly doubles the amount of funding available for “last mile” broadband infrastructure in California. In 2021, the Governor signed landmark legislation allocating $6 billion to achieve broadband for all, including $2 billion for similar projects and $3.25 billion for the middle-mile network, while last year’s budget allocated an additional $550 million to the project as it progresses through construction.
Last year, California began construction on the nearly $4 billion statewide broadband “middle mile” initiative, which will be the largest broadband infrastructure backbone in the country.
Approximately one in five Californians does not have access to reliable, affordable high-speed Internet. However, once completed, funding for “last mile” efforts will support Internet connections from “middle mile” lines to homes and businesses, as well as efforts to ensure people can afford broadband service where it already exists.
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