When California unanimously passed S.B. 156 in 2021, we embarked on a multi-year, multi-billion dollar endeavor to bring affordable, 21st-century fiber to every Californian. Done correctly, this nearly $7 billion investment—further supplemented by $ 1.8 billion in federal funding—would help eliminate the digital divide in California. We are on the verge of squandering this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Last month, without public input or notice, the California Department of Technology changed its map outlining which communities get “middle mile” infrastructure, which we’ll explain in more detail below. The department reduced its plan from building 10,000 miles of fiber to 8,300 miles. In many cases, this entirely cuts off many communities with the greatest need for access. These uninformed cuts to critical infrastructure will drastically raise the cost of building high-speed, high-capacity internet networks in unserved and underserved neighborhoods. It also jeopardizes the funds these communities need to build these networks. These changes run counter to the purpose of S.B. 156 and all efforts to close the digital divide.
The Importance of Middle Mile
What is the middle mile? To understand, it helps to think of broadband infrastructure like a public road system. Local streets connect residential areas to the main streets and highways. These main streets and highways, built for higher speeds and capacity, connect people, goods, and services to one another over long distances.
In broadband, those main streets and highways are what is considered the “middle mile.” The local roads connecting to each individual home and business are the “last mile.”
Being far from your local main street or highway is an inconvenience for commuting and travel. Generally, though, there is an expectation that some local residential road will connect you to a larger road that gets you where you need to go. But for broadband, lacking a nearby middle mile connection usually means there is no adequate last mile connecting a community to the broa
[…]
Content was cut in order to protect the source.Please visit the source for the rest of the article.
Read the original article: