On Wednesday, RCRC staff testified before the California Broadband Council (CBC) on the impacts of recent and ongoing changes to the statewide middle-mile design. The California Department of Technology (CDT) most recently altered the middle-mile maps on October 20th, three weeks after Federal Funding Account (FFA) applications were submitted, jeopardizing last-mile networks in rural areas dependent on the state fiber backbone for middle-mile service.
The CBC was created in 2010 to ensure coordination across state agencies in promoting broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas. In 2021 the state made an unprecedented $ 6 billion investment in broadband deployment that included establishment of the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative to create an over $3 billion state owned middle-mile network. The state middle-mile is the foundation of many proposed projects seeking funding through the $2 billion last-mile grant program, the FFA. For more information, contact Senior Policy Advocate Tracy Rhine.