https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/victory-californians-can-now-choose-their-broadband-destiny Skip to main content * About + Contact + Press + People + Opportunities + EFF 30th Anniversary * Issues + Free Speech + Privacy + Creativity and Innovation + Transparency + International + Security * Our Work + Deeplinks Blog + Press Releases + Events + Legal Cases + Whitepapers * Take Action + Action Center + Electronic Frontier Alliance + Volunteer * Tools + Privacy Badger + HTTPS Everywhere + Surveillance Self-Defense + Certbot + Atlas of Surveillance + Cover Your Tracks + Crocodile Hunter * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give + Membership FAQ * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give * Search form Search [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Email updates on news, actions, and events in your area. Join EFF Lists * Copyright (CC BY) * Trademark * Privacy Policy * Thanks Electronic Frontier Foundation Donate [summer-sit]Greetings from the Internet [summer-sit] Electronic Frontier Foundation * About + Contact + Press + People + Opportunities + EFF 30th Anniversary * Issues + Free Speech + Privacy + Creativity and Innovation + Transparency + International + Security * Our Work + Deeplinks Blog + Press Releases + Events + Legal Cases + Whitepapers * Take Action + Action Center + Electronic Frontier Alliance + Volunteer * Tools + Privacy Badger + HTTPS Everywhere + Surveillance Self-Defense + Certbot + Atlas of Surveillance + Cover Your Tracks + Crocodile Hunter * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give + Membership FAQ * Donate + Donate to EFF + Shop + Other Ways to Give * Search form Search [ ] Victory! Californians Can Now Choose Their Broadband Destiny DEEPLINKS BLOG By Ernesto Falcon July 20, 2021 [fcc-forbea] Victory! Californians Can Now Choose Their Broadband Destiny Share It Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Copy link [fcc-forbearance_banner-f] Years ago, we noted that despite being one of the world's largest economies, the state of California had no broadband plan for universal, affordable, high-speed access. It is clear that access that meets our needs requires fiber optic infrastructure, yet most Californians were stuck with slow broadband monopolies due to laws supported by the cable monopolies providing us with terrible service. For example, the state was literally putting obsolete copper DSL internet connections instead of building out fiber optics to rural communities under a state law large private ISPs supported in 2017. But all of that is finally coming to an end thanks to your efforts. Today, Governor Newsom signed into law one of the largest state investments in public fiber in the history of the United States. No longer will the state of California simply defer to the whims of AT&T and cable for broadband access, now every community is being given their shot to choose their broadband destiny. How Did We Get a New Law? California's new broadband infrastructure program was made possible through a combination of persistent statewide activism from all corners, political leadership by people such as Senator Lena Gonzalez, and investment funding from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress. All of these things were part of what led up to the moment when Governor Newsom introduced his multi-billion broadband budget that is being signed into law today. Make no mistake, every single time you picked up the phone or emailed to tell your legislator to vote for affordable, high-speed access to all people, it made a difference because it set the stage for today. Arguably, what pushed us to this moment was the image of kids doing homework in fast-food parking lots during the pandemic. It made it undeniable that internet access was neither universal nor adequate in speed and capacity. That moment, captured and highlighted by Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, a former member of the Sacramento Assembly, forced a reckoning with the failures of the current broadband ecosystem. Coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic also forcing schools to burn countless millions of public dollars renting out inferior mobile hotspots, Sacramento finally had enough and voted unanimously to change course. What is California's New Broadband Infrastructure Program and Why is it a Revolution? California's new broadband program approaches the problem on multiple fronts. It empowers local public entities, local private actors, and the state government itself to be the source of the solution. The state government will build open-access fiber capacity to all corners of the state. This will ensure that every community has multi-gigabit capacity available to suit their current and future broadband needs. Low-interest financing under the state's new $750 million "Loan Loss Reserve" program will enable municipalities and county governments to issue broadband bonds to finance their own fiber. An additional $2 billion is available in grants for unserved pockets of the state for private and public applicants. The combination of these three programs provides solutions that were off the table before the governor signed this law. For example, a rural community can finance a portion of their own fiber network with low-interest loans and bonds, seek grants for the most expensive unserved pockets, and connect with the state's own fiber network at affordable prices. In a major city, a small private ISP or local school district can apply for a grant to provide broadband to an unserved low-income neighborhood. Even in high-tech cities such as San Francisco, an estimated 100,000 residents lack broadband access in low-income areas, proving that access is a widespread, systemic problem, not just a rural one, that requires an all hands on deck approach. The revolution here is the fact that the law does not rely on AT&T, Frontier Communications, Comcast, and Charter to solve the digital divide. Quite simply, the program makes very little of the total $6 billion budget available to these large private ISPs who have already received so much money and still failed to deliver a solution. This is an essential first step towards reaching near universal fiber access, because it was never ever going to happen through the large private ISPs who are tethered to fast profits and short term investor expectations that prevent them from pursuing universal fiber access. What the state needed was to empower local partners in the communities themselves who will take on the long-term infrastructure challenge. If you live in California, now is the time to talk to your mayor and city council about your future broadband needs. Now is the time to talk to your local small businesses about the future the state has enabled if they need to improve their broadband connectivity. Now is the time to talk to your school district about what they can do to improve community infrastructure for local students. Maybe you yourself have the will and desire to build your own local broadband network through this law. All of these things are now possible because for the first time in state history there is a law in place that lets you decide the broadband future. Related Issues Competition Share It Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Copy link Join EFF Lists Join Our Newsletter! Email updates on news, actions, events in your area, and more. Email Address [ ] Postal Code (optional) [ ] Anti-spam question: Enter the three-letter abbreviation for Electronic Frontier Foundation: [ ] Don't fill out this field (required) [ ] [Submit] Thanks, you're awesome! Please check your email for a confirmation link. Oops something is broken right now, please try again later. Related Updates [interoperable_plum] Deeplinks Blog by Cory Doctorow | July 16, 2021 Right or Left, You Should Be Worried About Big Tech Censorship Conservatives are being censored. Claiming that "right-wing voices are being censored," Republican-led legislatures in Florida and Texas have introduced legislation to "end Big Tech censorship." They say that the dominant tech platforms block legitimate speech without ever articulating their moderation policies, that they are slow to admit their mistakes, and... 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They are asking Congress to tackle the digital... Competition Deeplinks Blog by Katharine Trendacosta | June 22, 2021 Congress Wants to Put the Brakes on Runaway Acquisitions by Big Tech The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives recently released a comprehensive series of bills designed to curb the excesses of Big Tech. One of them, the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act, addresses one of the biggest, most obvious problems among the largest tech companies: that they use... An image symbolizing the principle of interoperability. Deeplinks Blog by Bennett Cyphers, Cory Doctorow | June 21, 2021 The New ACCESS Act Is a Good Start. Here's How to Make Sure It Delivers. We've praised the ACCESS Act as "a step towards a more interoperable future." However, the bill currently before Congress is just a first step, and it's far from perfect. While we strongly agree with the authors' intent, some important changes would make sure that the ACCESS Act delivers on its... purple background with diagram of technologies working together Deeplinks Blog by Katharine Trendacosta, Bennett Cyphers, Cory Doctorow, Cindy Cohn | June 11, 2021 The ACCESS ACT Takes a Step Towards a More Interoperable Future When it comes to online services, there are a few very large companies whose gravitational effects can alter the entire tech universe. Their size, power, and diverse levers of control mean that there is no single solution that will put right that which they've thrown out of balance. One thing... An image of a house receiving fast, reliable internet from underground fiber cables. Deeplinks Blog by Jason Kelley | June 11, 2021 1000 Californians Have Asked Their Representatives To Fix Our Broken Broadband System. Have You? The California legislature has been handed what might be their easiest job this year, and they are refusing to do it. Californians far and wide have spent the pandemic either tethered to their high-speed broadband connections (if they're lucky), or desperately trying to find ways to make their internet... [california-state] Deeplinks Blog by Ernesto Falcon | June 3, 2021 California Has $7 Billion for Broadband. Sacramento May Just Sit On It It's hard to believe that when Governor Newsom identifies a total of $7 billion for California's legislature to spend on broadband access--coming from a mix of state surplus dollars and federal rescue money to invest in broadband infrastructure-- that the legislature would do nothing. An image of a house receiving fast, reliable internet from underground fiber cables. 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