Marin County was awarded $11 million to fund the construction of a broadband network to about 700 homes and businesses in Muir Beach, Tomales and Dillon Beach. Comcast received a grant of $280,643 to cover half of the cost of installing fiber-optic connections at 152 unserved residences at the Los Robles Mobile Home Park in Novato.
The grant money was allocated by the California Public Utilities Commission but came from the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act and the state's general fund. According to the terms of the grants, construction of the networks must be completed by mid- to late 2026.
"We are thrilled to see years of hard work to bridge the digital divide come to fruition with this grant," said Liza Massey, the county's chief information officer.
Broadband refers to wide-bandwidth data transmission that makes high-speed Internet service possible. It can be provided in a variety of ways, including coaxial cable, wireless internet, satellite and optical fiber.
A 2023 survey conducted by the California Department of Technology determined that 91 percent of people living in California have home Internet access, up from 88 percent in 2019.
According to Comcast's grant application, all of the unserved locations at the mobile home park are low income. All the residents there are seniors.
"This is really wonderful news," said Katie Cartwright, president of the Los Robles association.
Cartwright said some residents at Los Robles had recently switched from another Internet provider to WebPerception, which provides broadband service using wireless technology. She said the prior service had "really pitiful" Internet upload speeds.
"The more options the better," she said.
The new allocations are "last mile" grants designed to provide the funding necessary to close the gap between a state-owned "middle mile" broadband network. In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 156, which allocated $3.25 billion to create an open-access statewide broadband middle-mile network, and $2 billion for broadband last-mile infrastructure projects.
The middle-mile section of cable functions like the spinal column in the body, while the last mile more closely resembles the nerves at the tips of fingers and toes.
Massey said the state's middle-mile network was originally intended to run up and down Highway 1. The state's budget deficit caused the plan to be scaled back.
"They cut out a segment that would have run between the Muir Beach area up Highway 1 to Tomales and Dillon Beach," she said.
Nevertheless, Massey said the middle-mile network will still be extended to Muir Beach.
Bruce Vogen, a Marin County broadband systems engineer, estimates that after the new grant-funded connections are installed, there will be about 467 unserved and underserved broadband locations remaining in Marin.
In the Biden administration's $1.2 trillion 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress defined "unserved" locations as those without access to networks delivering download speeds of 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of 3 megabits per second. Locations lacking download speeds of 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 megabits per second were classified as "underserved."
Marin's remaining unserved and underserved area is located at the county's northern border along Highway 1.
Massey said the county is planning to apply to another federal grant program, the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, for the funds necessary to reach this last area. The program is also being implemented by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Marin County is partnering with EntryPoint Networks Inc., which is based in Utah, to install the fiber system in western Marin. Massey said there will be no cost to customers. Since the county will own the system, it can regulate the rates that Internet service providers charge customers.
"We are predicting the prices will be between $40 and $60 a month," Massey said. "That price, for the speed they're going to get, is pretty much unparalleled in Marin County."
Massey said the county has looked at the costs charged for Internet services across the county and found that some of the highest prices are in western Marin, where the service is the worst.
Massey said two of Marin's most economically disadvantaged communities, Marin City and San Rafael's Canal neighborhood, have access to broadband.
"Golden Gate Village has some of the best service in the county with what Comcast recently did to upgrade their network," she said, referring to the large public housing complex in Marin City.
Massey added, however, that the Golden Gate Village system uses coaxial cable, which can't compete with the speed of fiber-optic cable.
"Coaxial cable is not a long-term solution," she said.
Marin County's broadband staff, in cooperation with the Marin Housing Authority, is planning to seek a grant from the California Advanced Services Fund to bring fiber Internet service to the 28 apartment buildings and 300 residences soon to be renovated at Golden Gate Village.
Massey said Golden Gate Village's local network could be easily connected to the segment of middle-mile network that is coming to Muir Beach.
©2024 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
