The county of Santa Cruz recently launched a new website dedicated to tracking broadband expansion efforts across the region.
“Our Santa Cruz County Broadband page is now LIVE! Access the page to get information on the Broadband master plan, ongoing projects in the County, and resources available for residents,” Information Services Director Tammie Weigl announced in a LinkedIn post.
The new portal also gives residents and industry access to an interactive map that showcases the region’s 19 projects. The portal notes that those projects could potentially connect as many as 4,200 residents and businesses.
Connectivity has been a priority issue in Santa Cruz County, with much of the area limited to one Internet service provider. AT&T and Comcast are the most prevalent providers, with several smaller and fixed wireless providers also offering service options.
“Of the 80,061 addresses in the county, about 4.6 percent are unserved at less than 25/3 [Mbps]. About 95.4 percent are served at 100 Mbps download/20 Mbps upload (100/20),” the county notes in its strategic plan.
“About 72 percent of the county (both households and businesses) do not have access to 100/100 Mbps speeds using fiber technologies,” the plan continued.
The new site also ties in work at the state level — the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative — which includes “all of Highway 9, Highway 17 and Highway 1 from North of Davenport to the Monterey County Border consisting of 66 miles.”
