California Advanced Services Fund - Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Account

Consortia Grant Account Overview

The California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Account (Consortia Grant Account), among other CASF accounts, is established by Senate Bill (SB) 1040 on September 25, 2010.  For more historical information, please see the program's history.

On October 15, 2017, the Consortia Grant Account is authorized by Assembly Bill (AB) 1665 with an additional $10 million funding, which is currently available for Consortia Grant funding through the 2019 Grant Cycle solicitation.

Funding Goal

Pursuant to AB 1665, the CASF Consortia Grant Account funds grants to facilitate the deployment of broadband services by assisting infrastructure grant applicants in the project development or grant application process.

Eligibility

An eligible Consortium may include representatives, of organizations including, but not limited to, local and regional government, public safety, elementary and secondary education, health care, libraries, postsecondary education, community-based organizations, tourism, parks and recreation, agricultural, business, workforce organizations, and air pollution control or air quality management districts. An eligible Consortium is not required to have as its lead fiscal agent an entity with a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

Applying for Grants - 2019 Consortia Grant Cycle

The CASF Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account shall be available for grants to eligible consortia to facilitate deployment of broadband services by assisting infrastructure applicants in the project development or grant application process. The CASF Consortia Grant Account funding is limited to Consortia activities directly related to and in support of CASF infrastructure applications (i.e., an infrastructure application requesting CASF funding, an infrastructure application requesting CASF and non-CASF funding).

     Grant Applications are being accepted now for the 2019 (NEW) Cycle 

• Solicitation for the California Advanced Services Fund Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Applications (applications due by May 17, 2019)

• Applications Received by the May 17, 2019 Deadline

• Application Package and Administrative Manual
  
  • Consortia Grant Admin Manual 
  • Appendix A_Consortia Grant Application Package
  • Appendix B_Consortia Grant Forms  
  • Appendix C_Consortia Grant Bi-Annual Progress Report and Payment Request Package
   

CASF Consortia

A list of CASF Consortia can be found here. Please contact the listed consortium representatives for more information. For more Consortia information, please see below. 

Consortia with Active Grant

• Broadband Consortium of the Pacific Coast
• Central Coast Broadband Consortium
• Central Sierra Connect Consortium
• East Bay Broadband Consortium
• Gold Country Broadband Consortium
• San Joaquin Valley Regional Broadband Consortium
• Southern Border Broadband Consortium

Consortia Whose Grant Period Has Ended

• Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium
• Eastern Sierra Connect Consortium
• Inland Empire Regional Broadband Consortium
• Inyo-Mono Broadband Consortium
• Los Angeles County Regional Broadband Consortium
• North Bay/North Coast Consortium
• Northeastern California Connect Consortium
• Redwood Coast Connect Broadband Consortium
• Tahoe Basin Project
• Upstate California Connect Consortium 
• San Diego Imperial Regional Broadband Consortium
• California's One Million New Internet Users Coalition

Additional Information

For more information please visit:

• Consortia Grant Administrative Manual (Version 6, Feb 2017) - for the 2016 Cycle:
  • Consortia Grant Admin Manual 
  • Quarterly Report Documents Template - for the 2016 Cycle
   

• Map of approved CASF Consortia, as of April 30, 2017
• 2018 Consortia Learning Summit
• Performance Audit of California's One Million New Internet Users (NIU) Coalition Consortia program  

General questions about the CASF Consortia Grant program can be directed to:

CASF_Consortia_Grant_Administrator@cpuc.ca.gov