CPUC Approves Funding for Digital Inclusion Projects From the California Advanced Services Fund Broadband Adoption Account
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in its ongoing commitment to help the state bridge the digital divide, today announced it has awarded $6.1 million in California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Broadband Adoption Account grants to fund 75 digital inclusion projects from 20 applicants that will serve 23,638 participants.
Broadband Adoption Account grants are awarded to three types of projects: broadband access projects that provide direct public access to computers, call center projects that assist in subscribing to low-cost internet service, and digital literacy projects that provide instruction to the public regarding computer and internet use. Eligible applicants for Broadband Adoption Account grants include local governments, senior centers, schools, public libraries, nonprofit organizations, and community-based organizations with programs to increase publicly available or after school broadband access and digital inclusion.
Examples of projects approved today by the CPUC include the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) which will continue its “Get Connected” county-wide outreach effort that encourages broadband adoption by increasing awareness of existing resources and tools, such as the Federal Communication Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, and that will be providing digital training sessions serving low-income, rural, and tribal communities. The Fresno Foundation will be providing culturally and linguistically appropriate digital skills training to 2,400 low-income residents in eight mostly rural counties throughout the state. As a way to address generational poverty in Latino communities in Marin County, the Canal Alliance will be providing English as a Second Language (ESL) digital literacy courses to 225 adult students, helping them acquire basic and more advanced digital literacy skills.
These projects will provide participants with the digital skills that are necessary for the individual to participate online and will increase broadband adoption by California residents in low-income, disadvantaged, senior, and other communities facing socioeconomic barriers to broadband adoption.
In July 2022, the CPUC received 99 Broadband Adoption Account applications requesting a total of $28.5 million in support. The CPUC continues to review the remaining Broadband Adoption Account applications and intends to act on these applications before December 31, 2022. A list of submitted projects is available here.
The CASF provides financial support in the form of competitive grants for public housing broadband infrastructure and broadband adoption projects. In addition, it provides support to rural and urban regional broadband consortia to fund activities that are intended to facilitate broadband deployment.
More information on the CASF program is available at www.cpuc.ca.gov/casf.
More information on the CPUC’s other efforts in broadband implementation for California is available at www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/internet-and-phone/broadband-implementation-for-california.
The CPUC regulates services and utilities, protects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.
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