broadband

Open and early application window considered for California broadband grants

4 March 2014 by Steve Blum
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At the ready.

The next round of applications for broadband infrastructure construction subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) might be accepted on a rolling first come, first served basis, as soon as this summer. That was one of the options discussed this morning by California Public Utilities Commission staff at a statewide meeting of regional broadband consortia in Sacramento.

The CPUC is working on new rules for CASF grants and loans, to allow independent ISPs and local governments to participate in the program, as approved by the state legislature last year.… More

Testing students tests broadband in California

3 March 2014 by Steve Blum
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More complicated than sending a note home to mother.

The first step in identifying broadband availability gaps in California is defining how much and where bandwidth is needed. Education is a major driver of bandwidth demand, particularly as new methods for measuring how well California’s children are being taught come into effect. That initiative – the so-called Smarter Balance Assessment – replaces pencil and paper tests with online computers. But the initial guidelines drawn up by education officials for estimating the broadband speeds necessary are too simplistic, according to California Public Utilities Commissioner Catherine Sandoval.… More

$130 million available for broadband infrastructure grants in California

2 March 2014 by Steve Blum
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We found the money.

The California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) will be topped up to the $315 million limit set by law by mid–2016, thanks to a hike in a surcharge added to phone bills that was approved last week by the California Public Utilities Commission. But much of it is already spent or earmarked, so the amount available for broadband infrastructure construction grants is likely to be $130 million, plus or minus a few million, the next time the CPUC accepts applications.… More

CPUC expands broadband subsidy eligibility, toughens requirements


It got a little harder to clear the bar today.

Local governments and independent Internet service providers can apply for broadband infrastructure construction subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), under new rules approved this morning by the California Public Utilities Commission.

There are pluses and minuses in the decision. On the whole, the commission is requiring these newly eligible application to meet requirements that are very similar to those imposed on regulated telephone companies, but without granting the same operational privileges – pole attachment and interconnection rights, for example.… More

To get a gigabit from Google, cities need processing speed

26 February 2014 by Steve Blum
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Not to Google spec either.

Google has handed a fiber-ready checklist to 34 cities in 8 states, including five in California. Not just anywhere in California, but smack in the middle of Silicon Valley. You’d think that if there was any metro area in the state that would zip through Google’s homework, it would be the likes of San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara and Palo Alto.

No need to guess, though. With Google setting a deadline of 1 May 2014 for cities to provide the information and accommodations requested, we’ll soon find out if there’s any hope for the Golden State.… More

Salinas Valley towns top regional broadband priority list

25 February 2014 by Steve Blum
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Heat map of broadband desert.

The latest rev of a regional broadband priority analysis for the Central Coast Broadband Consortium shows that Salinas Valley communities would see the greatest benefit from broadband infrastructure development, and be more likely to support viable projects.

These preliminary results add weight to the argument for building a fiber optic line through these towns and connecting them to Santa Cruz.

The top three communities by county and regionally are…

Monterey County: 1.

… More

FCC-funded rural broadband experiments have to walk the legacy telephone line


Eligible areas in the Golden State.

With the deadline for what the FCC is calling expressions of interest in its rural broadband experiments coming up fast – a week from Friday, on 7 March 2014 – the California Public Utilities Commission has put together some helpful tools for prospective applicants.

The list includes…

… More

Raise subsidy limits for social, economic impact says CPUC president

23 February 2014 by Steve Blum
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Opportunity to add value.

Limits on money from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) are not written in stone, according to CPUC president Michael Peevey. Late Friday, he proposed lifting the cap – 60% to 70%, depending on broadband availability – that commissioners previously set on CASF grants, at least for a middle mile project in the Salinas Valley proposed by Sunesys LLC, a dark fiber company.
The alternate resolution text that Peevey is asking his colleagues to approve says…

The Commission recognizes that a higher level of CASF funding may be needed for Sunesys to undertake the project.

… More

Federal judge accuses Silicon Valley of being common

22 February 2014 by Steve Blum
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One octopus looks pretty much like any other.

In trying to figure out what the next network neutral battle is going to look like, I read through the 81 page federal appeals court ruling that tossed out the Federal Communications Commission’s first stab at writing those rules. The majority decision reads like a prescription for what the FCC needs to do in order to impose net neutrality regulations, something chairman Tom Wheeler has taken to heart.… More

Google joins FCC chair in waving the muni broadband flag at incumbents

21 February 2014 by Steve Blum
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Call it motivation.

Google is stoking the fires of gigabit demand and keeping the heat on major cable and telephone companies with its announcement that it’s talking to 34 more cities about fiber-to-the-home projects. That’s completely consistent with a strategy of goading incumbents into upgrades that they’d prefer not to do. Whether it’s the also the first step in a national roll out remains to be seen.

There’s no actual promise to build, as Google makes very clear…

We hope to bring Google Fiber to every city on this list, but there are a few circumstances that might make it tough and even impossible to build our Fiber network in a city…If a city doesn’t want to proceed with us and chooses not to complete their checklist, we won’t be able to bring them Google Fiber.

… More