A locally owned wireless and fiber Internet service provider in Santa Cruz County has received millions from state authorities to extend broadband access to some of the more rural enclaves in the area.
Surfnet Communications, which services communities ranging from Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo counties, announced it is planning to implement three grants worth $4.3 million from the California Public Utilities Commission that are meant to establish or expand fiber broadband access to communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains where Internet is notoriously spotty. The Santa Cruz-based nonprofit will do so in partnership with the California Broadband Alliance, another mission-aligned nonprofit dedicated to bringing high-speed Internet to all Central Coast residents.
“We’re very excited about our new partnership with the CBA. Working together, we’re gaining momentum to provide greater access to high-speed Internet to underserved communities within our service footprint,” Ken Nye, Surfnet’s chief operating officer, said in a release. “We are committed to being the fast, reliable, local partner in the quest to build, manage and operate broadband infrastructure for rural communities in the Central Coast region.”
According to the release, Surfnet anticipates that this extra funding will help bring high-speed Internet to an estimated 1,423 additional residents in rural county regions where Internet infrastructure has historically been a challenge to build. But by harnessing its extensive knowledge of the mountainous local terrain, Surfnet plans to establish broadband infrastructure that is resilient to some of the environmental challenges of the region including wildfires, mudslides and snow.
The trio of grants come on the heels of another substantial award from the state commission in June that totaled $10 million directly to Surfnet. Similar to this latest sum, the grant is meant to bolster broadband access across rural areas in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Surfnet anticipates that the three new grants will fund broadband expansion work in the Santa Cruz Mountains by early 2026, with fiber service anticipated to launch by late 2026, according to the release.
©2024 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Santa Cruz ISP Gets $14M Grant to Extend Rural Broadband
Surfnet, a locally owned wireless and fiber Internet provider in Santa Cruz, has secured grant funding to extend broadband access to some of the rural communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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