Solano County, Calif., Plans for ARPA Broadband Funds

(TNS) — A plan to fund broadband Internet infrastructure with AT&T by Solano County to the tune of $1 million has stalled, as holdups through the process meant that ARPA funds for it could not be allocated before the deadline. According to county staff in the meeting, however, the ARPA funds will be funneled into other broadband projects around the county.

Chief Information Officer Tim Flannigan said the county started a study in 2022 regarding broadband access throughout the county to promote digital equity. The county was poised to work with AT&T, he said, but California Public Utilities Commission holdups meant the money could not be allocated in time.

"We're presently at risk of not being able to use those ARPA funds," he said.

However, county staff identified three other projects that the county can fund with those dollars through Comcast and two other Internet service providers. Flannigan noted that the County does not pay directly for the costs of broadband Internet construction, but rather convinces Internet Service Providers to build here.

"We are incentivizing ISPs to build in our county," he said.

AT&T still plans to do the project they originally planned if they receive the funding they need from the CPUC, Flannigan said, but the company was disappointed not to receive the funding from Solano County. Supervisor Monica Brown said she supported the project because she sees Internet access as a vital public utility like water or electricity, and that she views it as a human right.

Later, during supervisors' comments, Brown read from an anonymous letter sent to her office regarding concerns about the Association of Bay Area Governments Bay Area 2050 plan.

"North Bay counties should not have to pay an equal amount for services not coming to the region," the letter read.

Brown said it was important to let people know about the plan, and noted that the county should pay attention to it.

"Sadly I feel this is a way to extract funds from the North Bay that will be used for other endeavors," the letter read.

Brown also noted the passenger rail study completed by Solano Transit Authority and the City of Vallejo and said she would like to hear from them at a future meeting about the project.

Supervisor Wanda Williams, the ABAG Executive Board member from Solano County, said she was part of the committee overseeing the Bay Area 2050 plan and would bring back a report from their next meeting.

©2024 Times-Herald, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.