California Governor Newsom Announces Initial Middle-Mile Projects

November 18, 2021 --- Earlier this year the California State Legislature passed the historic “Broadband for All" legislation, which is intended to bridge the vast digital divide in California. The legislation has three components: a last-mile grant program, a loan loss fund, and a middle-mile network. On November 18th, the Governor’s Office announced the initial 18 broadband projects that will begin to comprise the middle-mile network. These initial projects span areas of need across the state, including rural, tribal, and urban communities.

CENIC’s California Middle Mile Broadband Initiative (CCMMBI) will build this critical middle-mile network needed to connect households and community anchor institutions through their last-mile providers to the global internet. CCMMBI was selected by the California Department of Technology (CDT) as the California Third Party Administrator (TPA), and is doing business as “GoldenStateNet.”

GoldenStateNet will work with partners to pursue affordable, open-access, middle-mile projects. It will build projects expeditiously, leveraging existing infrastructure and networks where possible, and building new fiber segments wherever feasible. The program prioritizes connectivity to unserved and underserved communities. Additional sites will be determined in subsequent phases of the project. Read more about this historic announcement >