2110, 2021

New Law Aims for Digital Equity in Broadband Services

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Senate Bill (SB) 28, by state Senator Anna Caballero (SD 12), was signed into law earlier this month—and revises the DIVCA of 2006—including changes to the type of information collected by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from state franchise holders. The CPUC can use the collected data to enforce customer service requirements on cable and internet service providers (ISPs). If the service providers fail to meet their franchise license obligations, they will be shut down.

510, 2021

‘Dig Once’ Legislation Aims to Accelerate Broadband Deployment, Awaits Action by Governor

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Legislation intended to accelerate the deployment of broadband infrastructure by calling for a “Dig Once” policy has passed the Legislature and currently awaits final action by Gov. Newsom.  Assembly Bill (AB) 41 by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) proposes to follow practices used in other states to minimize the number of excavations when installing telecommunications infrastructure.

209, 2021

California Selects Nonprofit as Broadband Partner

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As part of a massive effort to improve broadband infrastructure, the state today announced it is partnering with a third-party administrator (TPA) to oversee California's middle-mile broadband initiative. CENIC California Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative, LLC will serve as the TPA to manage the development and construction of broadband networks as part of this year's state budget allocation aimed at closing the digital divide.

1605, 2021

Will California’s power grid withstand heatwaves this summer?

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The California Independent System Operator (ISO) projects electricity supply for summer 2021 to be better than last year. Although a series of policy changes and redesigns of ISO’s system has occurred, along with improved communications and coordination protocols, the power grid is still prone to be overstressed during extreme heat waves—according to the ISO’s summer outlook released this month.

3103, 2021

Broadband access hits record high, digital divide remains for disadvantaged

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A new report out this week says that while Californians are connected to the Internet at a record percentage in 2021, nearly 2 million households remain digitally-disadvantaged.  The Digital Divide has grown more acute for low-income and Latino households, seniors, and people with disabilities, according to a survey by the California Emerging Technology Fund and USC.

2603, 2021

Grants awarded to protect vulnerable communities from PSPS

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The State of California is distributing $50 million in Community Power Resiliency grants aimed to protect local and vulnerable communities from the effects of utility-initiated power shutoffs. The grants will be distributed through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).

2602, 2021

PPIC report measures California’s digital divide

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In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a record-high 84 percent of Californians are using high-speed internet at home—up 10 percent from 2017. The pandemic has shifted many, if not most, activities to online; Californians are using the internet for activities like accessing financial services, telecommuting, job hunting, distanced academic learning, or virtual job training.

1301, 2021

Broadband Action Plan Aims for Equity

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The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed, said Economist writer William Gibson. The same idea applies to broadband connectivity in California, and the state’s latest action plan aims to bring all citizens up to speed.

1312, 2020

California approves $115 million for hydrogen fueling stations

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The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved a plan on December 9 that will invest up to $115 million to increase the number of fueling stations in California that support hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Up to 111 new hydrogen fueling stations will be built in the state by 2027 under the new plan.

312, 2020

New site tracks grid outages

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The California Independent System Operator (ISO) launched a 2021 Summer Readiness webpage to help the public understand the August 2020 outages. The webpage offers quick access to data and reports as well as provides the causes and recent evaluations of the rotating power outages implemented in August.

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