Video Offers Detailed Overview of Progress in State’s Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative

The state’s initiative to expand broadband connectivity throughout California is a dynamic undertaking with lots of moving parts, and for those working in telecom, technology and construction, it can be a lot to keep up with.

The California Department of Technology (CDT) posted a video update this week of its efforts, along with those of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and other state agencies, on what’s new since July. The video, available here, showcases an animated map of existing and planned broadband routes, along with short interviews with those doing the work. The cast features Amy Tong, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency (GovOps), and Liana Bailey-Crimmins, the state chief information officer and director of CDT.

It also features local government leaders and industry members speaking about the importance of middle-mile broadband to their rural areas — one of the key goals of the expansion effort. The benefits they cite include bringing Internet access to schools and students as well as businesses and individuals.

Middle-mile broadband has been described as the “interstate highways of the Internet,” as it’s designed to carry large amounts of data between and among communities where broadband service is now expensive or unavailable. Middle-mile broadband doesn’t directly connect to consumers or businesses; that function is primarily served by Internet service providers (ISPs).

The video update portrays crews trenching and pulling cables, and it highlights work being done in the Sacramento area’s 256-mile Capitol Route, “ensuring our state’s Capitol region remains at the forefront of connectivity and progress.”

Bailey-Crimmins notes in the video that California’s economy is the world’s fifth-largest, and that it’s incumbent on the state to bring Internet connectivity to rural and tribal regions to ensure equitable access.

“It should not matter where we came from,” Bailey-Crimmins says. “Some of us came from small towns. If you are urban, if you are rural, if you are suburban, California should have Internet for everyone.”

In the video, Tong also offers her take on the challenge: “California is not interested in temporary fixes, but a sustainable solution that will benefit our residents for future generations,” she says. “This project is a testament to California’s culture of innovation where government, private industry, and community organizations come together to solve complex problems.”

In the next three months, the video says, the MMBI will begin construction on more than 30 new segments, “adding about 1,500 miles of fiber, building toward more than 3,200 miles in active construction, by the end of 2024.”

For those interested in a deeper, data-driven overview of the MMBI plan, the state maintains a website that offers granular detail.

The broadband effort gained momentum in July 2021 when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 156 into law, directing the state to create “an open-access middle-mile network to bring equitable high-speed broadband service to all Californians.” The measure includes $3.25 billion for the infrastructure, with the design and work being overseen by the Middle-Mile Advisory Committee.