Community Spotlight

Monterey Bay Economic Partnership supports community efforts to improve digital literacy

The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is supporting efforts to improve digital literacy across Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. In collaboration with Loaves, Fishes & Computers (LFC), MBEP secured CASF adoption account grants to help reduce the digital divide. This initiative provided digital literacy courses, devices like Chromebooks and tablets, and support for low-income residents. Over 500 residents were trained, and 550 devices were distributed. Workshops were held in various cities, equipping participants with essential digital skills like internet safety and web browsing. Future plans include deploying Digital Navigators to further enhance digital access in the region.

Read the full press release here.

California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) partners with DigitalLearn

Broadband for All Update

Thank you for joining the Permitting Roundtable on Tuesday, February 11  

CDT’s permitting roundtable shared valuable insights, smart practices, resources and provided a high-level overview of permitting load projections aligned with funding outlays timeline. Thank you to California Coastal Commission staff for their presentation on permit streamlining efforts in the Coastal Zone.  

Find past meeting recordings, presentations, and minute on Broadband for All: Past Events.

Second California Broadband Council Meeting

The next California Broadband Council (CBC) meeting will take place on Friday, April 25, 2025, at CoveredCA Tahoe Conference Room and on Zoom. Presenters will provide updates on the Broadband for All Action Plan implementation, Middle-Mile and Last Mile programs, Statewide Broadband Adoption efforts, and the State Digital Equity Plan (SDEP), and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) programs.

Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative Update

CDT Partners with Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting 

CDT and the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL) entered a joint build partnership to install and maintain nearly 13 miles of the Middle-Mile Broadband Network (MMBN) in Los Angeles (LA) County through a “key vein of the city.” These miles span local and county roads adjacent to State Route 110, connecting Downtown LA to the vicinity of the City of Gardena and interconnecting with the LA Lumen route at its southern tip. This is an important part of the network which will provide connectivity to some of the most unserved and underserved communities in the Los Angeles area. The Network Partners page on the MMBI website has been updated to reflect this new partnership.

Stakeholder Engagement

CDT hosted its first Q1 Stakeholder Engagement meeting of the year on January 31. The Deputy Director of California’s MMBI and MMBI’s Project Delivery Manager provided stakeholders updates on network development progress, new and expanded partnerships, and the status on encroachment permitting for its Request for Innovative Ideas (RFI2) Partners. These meetings are designed for stakeholders and partners to get project updates and provide an open venue to be able to ask questions tailored to their respective interest in MMBI. For more information about these meetings, you can contact us by sending an email to MMBI.

Installation Updates 

The installation of the MMBI network continues across the State. Nearly 3,500 miles of MMBI network is in installation through CDT’s joint build, IRU/lease partnerships and Caltrans. Here is the breakdown of updates for February 2025.

Caltrans Construction Highlights 

Caltrans continues to make progress moving from planning to installation on nearly 800 miles of the network as projects move from pre-construction to installation. Installation started this month for the following two segments of approximately:

• 4.5 miles in Sacramento County along Interstate 5 and Interstate 80.
• 10.2 miles in Alameda County along Interstate 580 adjacent to State Route 24.

Joint Build & Lease Highlights 

Lumen Technologies Joint Build & IRU Project: Installation from one of our network partners, Lumen Technologies, covers over 1,800 miles across 20 different segments in California. Installation started this month for the following four segments of approximately:

• 6 miles in San Bernardino County from West Kenwood Avenue to North Industrial Parkway.
• 180 miles along State Route 99 from Sacramento County to Fresno County.
• 116 miles along State Route 43 from Fresno County to Bakersfield County.
• 54 miles along North Industrial Parkway from San Bernardino County to El Monte in Los Angeles County.

Last Mile Program Update

Federal Funding Account Updates

California Advanced Services Fund Updates

The California Advanced Services Fund Annual Public Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Agenda and additional information will be forthcoming. The Workshop will be a webcast online.

Annual Workshop Announcement – Save the Date!

The CPUC is reviewing Broadband Adoption Account, Broadband Public Housing Account, and two Tribal Technical Assistance Grant Program applications from the January 2025 cycle.  Find out more about the CASF program here. 

Broadband Adoption Update

Low-Cost Offer Finder Tool

To find affordable broadband service and computing devices, CDT has partnered with EveryoneOn to help California residents find affordable service programs in their area by zip code.

The low-cost offer finder tool, provides access to low-cost internet services, computer equipment, and digital skills training. 

Home internet service and computing devices are critical for all individuals to reap the social and economic benefits of the digital world. The cost of both remains a barrier for many people.

Digital Equity and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Updates

Thank you for joining the February Digital Equity Stakeholder Briefing

CDT convened 148 stakeholders on February 26 to provide updates on the State Digital Equity Plan implementation and Capacity Grant Program design. The team reviewed modifications to the CalDEP grant draft guidelines based on public comments and federal guidance from the NTIA. Lastly, CDT directed stakeholders to the California Digital Equity Program (CalDEP) landing page to find important resources and links to get ready for when the application is launched later in Q1 of 2025. CDT will continually update this page and add new materials, so be sure to bookmark it and check back frequently for updates. 

CalDEP Partnership Coordination Resource

In response to public comments and other stakeholder input requesting partnership facilitation, the California Department of Technology (CDT) has created the Partner Coordination Resource to enable potential lead grant applicants and interested partner entities to find and connect with each other prior to the Cal DEP Request for Application period open to identify and form potential partnerships. The Partnership Coordination Resource is a tool that applicants may use to identify other organizations they might wish to partner with on the CalDEP application.

The Partnership Coordination Resource should not be used as a LISTSERV sign up for grant seeking. Find out more about this resource and complete the form to have your organization’s information listed in the Partnership Coordination Resource.   

To view past Stakeholder Briefings, find the meeting recordings and materials here.

Digital Equity Resource Finder

The Digital Equity (DE) Resource Finder tool has been developed with digital equity practitioner network as the initial primary user. The finder has been populated with data collected during the development of the SDEP including Digital Equity Ecosystem Mapping(DEEM) data, regional public meetings and engagement with digital equity partners. Future iterations of this tool will be developed in partnership via ongoing work efforts of SDEP implementation. Please use the DE Resource Finder, to add your organization, update your organization’s information or remove your organization. 

For any questions, please contact the team at DEEM@state.ca.gov.

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program Updates 

The CPUC published the Post-Challenge Process map for the BEAD program.

The interactive map represents the results of California’s BEAD Challenge Process submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in December 2024 and approved in January 2025. It identifies all BEAD-eligible (funding eligible) Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) in the state by FCC Location ID, incorporating adjudicated challenge determinations and enforceable commitments from internet service providers.

A provisional schedule for the BEAD subgrantee selection process has been published and applicants are encouraged to start preparing for the prequalification and solicitation window that will open on March 25. The schedule can be found on the CPUC BEAD Program webpage.

The CPUC is conducting BEAD webinars and office hours to assist potential applicants with the subgrantee selection and application process. Register here to join future sessions and review past events. Please make sure to subscribe here to receive BEAD email announcements including upcoming webinar dates.

Funding Opportunities

 Broadband for All Portal Funding Finder

The Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy tracks funding opportunities as they become available and strive to keep the Broadband for All portal up to date with information for broadband deployment, adoption and digital literacy planning and implementation. Find these opportunities here.

Upcoming Events

**Find materials from past events [here]

Date	Time	Event	Locations and Links
Wednesday, April 9, 2025	10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.	California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Annual Public Workshop	Remote Access Only: Webcast
Friday, March 28, 2025	TBD	SDEP Implementation & DECG Stakeholder Briefing (Virtual)	Zoom
Friday, April 18, 2025	10:00 – 11:30 a.m.	Middle-Mile Advisory Council Meeting (Hybrid)	Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Building – Board Chambers  700 H St.,1st Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 Zoom TBD
Friday, April 25, 2025	9:30 – 11:30 a.m.	California Broadband Council Meeting (Hybrid)	Covered CA 1601 Exposition Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95815 Zoom

Job Opportunities

 CDT is hiring across many teams to support Broadband for All. Apply using the link below.

Keep an eye on CDT Broadband job postings and CPUC job postings. Visit CalCareers  for more information and to apply for open positions.