County Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Susan Ellenberg are proposing to launch a municipally-owned internet service provider, which would aim to offer “affordable, reliable high speed broadband service” to communities in East San Jose and south Santa Clara County, areas that the supervisors consider to be under-served or entirely unserved.
In the Bay Area and California, the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the longstanding digital divide, such as access to reliable internet and technology, among students, families and businesses in low-income and rural communities.
“Today more than 73,000 Santa Clara County residents and businesses do not have internet access at the speeds necessary for reliable Zoom calls, virtual classrooms, telehealth appointments or many other online function,” according to a statement from Chavez’s office on Friday.
Chavez and Ellenberg are proposing that the county create a service provider on its own, or partner with other local governments. County officials are expected to consider making the internet service provider available to more than 680,000 residents and small businesses that reportedly only have access to high-speed internet through one provider, officials said.
County supervisors are scheduled to host a news conference on Monday outside San Antonio Elementary School, where local health officials, county school board officials, school and school district officials are expected to speak about the proposal.
The proposal will be considered at Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting.
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