Sutter County Nets $14M in Broadband Funding

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) awarded Comcast $13.8 million in grant funding on Thursday to expand broadband Internet access in Sutter County.

This funding is a part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program, which expands broadband internet access for underserved communities. Ten projects in Sutter, Marin, Mendocino, San Benito, Santa Cruz counties were selected for the program’s fifth round of grant funding, totaling approximately $91 million.

According to a CPUC grant award resolution, Comcast will expand broadband, low-cost internet in Sutter County by constructing a 57-mile-long fiber network, serving over 450 underserved communities in the area. The last-mile fiber project will provide up to 1,250 megabits per second symmetrical service to consumers, benefitting an estimated 1,697 residents in Yuba City and Live Oak.

The fiber network would be constructed to connect Comcast’s existing network to additional homes, businesses and community anchor institutions. Comcast estimates that approximately 55 percent of miles of the network will be installed above ground and about 45 percent will be underground.

According to CPUC, Comcast has completed the planning and preliminary engineering phases of this project, and the final engineering, design, and construction will be carried out with this grant funding.

CPUC’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account was established in 2021 and is intended to boost telecommunications growth statewide. Since the initial round of applications closed in September 2023, CPUC has received and reviewed 484 grant applications, from every county in California, totaling more than $4.6 billion in requests.

“This overwhelming response highlights the urgent need for and the opportunity to expand internet access across California,” CPUC said in a statement.

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