CETF PARTNERSHIP

Our Focus: Promoting Affordable Broadband


The CETF Partnership emerged because the benefits of high-speed internet—but also the challenges—are crystal clear. Broadband has the potential to assist county residents with everything from applying to jobs and claiming refundable tax credits to earning credentials and consulting doctors. But uneven regional development, income gaps, and other barriers continue to prevent many Californians from leveraging the transformative potential of digital platforms.

 

That’s why CSAC forged the CETF Partnership as a collaboration between CSAC and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) aimed at promoting affordable broadband. Our goal is to help ensure county residents enroll in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and counties leaders provide input on the state’s Broadband Access, Equity, and Deployment (BEAD) Plan. CSAC’s role is to leverage the Foundation to deliver ACP webinars, promote BEAD workshops, and conduct broader outreach, while CETF provides coordination and support.


Webinars: Enrolling Local Residents in Broadband Subsidies 


CSAC is leading a webinar series designed to increase enrollment in ACP, a multi-year federal program funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) that provides eligible households with $360 per year in high-speed internet subsidies, among other benefits.

 

On May 4, 2023, we kicked off the webinar series with Why ACP Matters and How Counties Can Increase Enrollment, highlighting success stories from Los Angeles County and Riverside County. We’ll be hosting three more with dates and times to be announced soon via the CSAC Bulletin, this webpage, and other channels.

 

These webinars are extremely important because California has substantial room for expanding ACP enrollment. In March 2023, the California Department of Technology (CDT) was reporting that more than 5.8 million California households are eligible and that only 1.9 million—or barely 1/3rd of eligible California households—are currently enrolled.

 

Assuming that each household is eligible for $360 in annual subsidies, that means California is collectively claiming only $684 million of more than $2 billion in available federal dollars, leaving more than $1.4 billion on the table. The more county leaders can do to enroll local residents, the easier it will be for entire communities to leverage external resources and the entire state to address a range of inequities.


Workshops: Digital Equity and BEAD Regional Planning


CETF and their partners are leading a workshop series designed to share information and gather input on California’s broadband investments, including for the BEAD plan aimed at securing and leveraging federal funds. Here’s when they’ll be in your area:

 

  • April 14 in Merced – 8:30am to 1:30pm, Merced College – register here
  • April 15 in Fresno – 8:30am to 1:30pm, Fresno City College – register here
  • April 21 in San Diego – 12 to 4:30pm, San Diego Central Library – register here
  • April 27 in Chico – 12 to 5:30pm, Masonic Family Center – register here
  • April 28 in Santa Rosa – 10am to 2:30pm, Veterans Center – register here
  • May 3 in Eureka – 11am to 4:30pm, Jefferson Community Center – register here
  • May 5 in San Jose – Santa Clara Office of Education – register here
  • May 11 in Sacramento – 8:30am to 2pm, Central Library – register here
  • May 12 in Grass Valley – 10am to 3pm, Veterans Memorial Building – register here
  • May 16 in San Bernadino – 2 to 6pm, CSU San Bernadino – register here
  • May 19 in Los Angeles – 10am to 2pm, LA Trade Tech Campus – register here
  • May 20 in Long Beach – 9am to 2:30pm, Veterans Park Social Hall – register here
  • May 24 in Santa Ana – 10am to 3pm, County Admin South Building – register here
  • May 30 in Tuolumne – 12 to 5pm, Tuolumne Resilience Center – register here
  • June 1 in Santa Maria – 11am to 4:30pm, Allan Hancock College – register here
  • June 2 in Seaside – 9am to 2:30pm, CSU Monterey Bay – register here

 

Each workshop will follow the same format and allow county leaders to engage with state officials. Here’s a sample agenda to give you a sense of what to expect:

 

  • Kick-Off: Biggest Challenges to Digital Divide
  • Broadband for All Initiative: Overview of the State’s Existing Investments
  • Lived Experiences from Covered Populations
  • Work Group Conversations: Digital Equity Barriers for 8 Covered Populations
  • Work Group Conversations: Digital Equity Barriers for 6 Outcome Areas
  • Calls to Action: Outcomes
  • Working Session “A”: Broadband Infrastructure Deployment
  • Working Session “B”: Affordability and Adoption

More Resources: Find Funds and Gain Context


Below are a few annotated links to help you search for available funding and understand the broadband universe. If you have questions or want to dig deeper, please email Brian Rutledge, our point of contact at the Foundation for the CETF Partnership, at [email protected].

 

Key Funding Opportunities

  • CSAC Grants Initiative – Counties interested in expanding or improving their ability to access external funds for broadband (or any other issue) should leverage the CSAC Grants Initiative. We offer member resources and premium services designed to help counties be more effective and strategic in pursuing grants.
  • Federal Broadband Funds Catalogue – Use this tool from the National Telecom and Information Administration (NTIA) to search for federal broadband funds.
  • State Funding Email Updates – Join an email list from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to stay in the loop on California broadband funding.

 

Key Broadband Programs

  • ACP – NTIA oversees the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which is funded by a long-term $14.2 billion federal investment authorized by IIJA (as part of a broader $42.5 billion investment in the BEAD Program). ACP provides eligible households with $360 per year in internet subsidies, among other things. Households qualify if they meet one of several criteria, including by having an income below 200% of the federal poverty guideline or participating in CalFresh, Medi-Cal, or other specified assistance programs.
  • BEAD – NTIA oversees the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is funded by a $42.5 billion federal investment authorized by IIJA (and includes $14.2 billion for ACP). BEAD makes funds available to states for broadband facility upgrades, digital equity programs, and other purposes. The goal is to expand broadband access in underserved areas. To claim California’s BEAD funding, CPUC is running a multi-year application and implementation process, including by conducting regional and local outreach. County leaders and staff can learn about and influence the process by attending the BEAD workshops listed above. For more, see this overview.
  • IIJA – The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 provides $1 trillion in federal funding (give or take several hundred million dollars, depending on how you analyze it), including $65 billion for broadband. Most of the IIJA’s broadband funding—or about 2/3rds—goes to the BEAD Program. For more on IIJA funds in California, see this overview. For more on IIJA programs run by NTIA, see this overview.

 

Key Broadband Organizations

  • CDT – The California Department of Technology (CDT) is a state control agency that has several important roles in improving broadband. These include coordinating efforts to close the digital divide via the Broadband and Digital Literacy Office, helping run the California Broadband Council, and overseeing the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative.
  • CETF – The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) is a nonprofit public benefits foundation created in 2005 by CPUC and a member of the California Broadband Council. In 2022, CETF hosted 49 events aimed at increasing ACP enrollment. CSAC’s Governance, Finance, and Administration policy committee (GF&A) helped CETF in this effort, including by hosting a webinar for county leaders. This relationship formed the foundation of the current CETF Partnership.
  • CPUC – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is a state regulatory agency that oversees water, energy, transportation and telecommunication utilities. CPUC serves several important roles in improving broadband, including by setting regulations, participating in statewide efforts to close the digital divide, and overseeing the Last Mile Federal Funding Account.
  • NTIA – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is underneath the federal Department of Commerce, focuses on improving national broadband access. NTIA manages several IIJA-funded broadband programs, among a range of other policy and administrative duties.