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County Initiatives

Each NBNCBC member County works on uniquely tailored projects tied to local objectives to achieve broadband deployments and equity initiatives.

Marin County

  • Marin County, in partnership with EntryPoint Networks, received a grant from the Last Mile FFA in the amount of $11.06 million to build open access fiber infrastructure to the home in the coastal Marin communities of Muir Beach, Tomales, and Dillon Beach. The network will connect to the State’s Open Access Middle Mile Fiber Network.
  • Through a partnership among Marin County Information Services & Technology (IST), the Marin County Free Library (MCFL), Marin Housing Authority (MHA), and Xfinity Comcast, internet service, devices, skills training, and technical support will be provided to older adults and people with disabilities living in five subsidized housing sites in Marin County.
  • Xfinity Comcast was awarded $289,643 of Last Mile FFA funding to serve Los Robles Mobile Home Park. Their application was supported by Marin County.
  • Marin County Broadband Page: godigitalmarin.org
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Mendocino County

  • The City of Ukiah and the City of Fort Bragg were awarded a combined total of $15.9 million through the CPUC’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account to expand broadband infrastructure and improve internet access in their communities. Both projects will deploy fiber networks that connect to the statewide middle-mile infrastructure, ensuring high-speed connectivity for unserved and underserved areas.
  • The Round Valley Indian Tribe was granted approximately $35 million of Last Mile FFA funding to deploy fiber to home infrastructure on tribal lands. This investment is focused on enhancing connectivity and providing reliable internet access to the tribal community, addressing a critical need in a remote area with limited broadband options.
  • Mendocino County Broadband Page: mendocinobroadband.org

Napa County

  • Farmworkers are at the heart of the Napa Valley’s agricultural economy. The County is engaged in a project to bring fast, reliable broadband access to three County-owned farmworker centers. The project will serve 180 farmworkers, improving their quality of life by allowing online access to jobs, training, healthcare and more.
  • Through a Local Agency Technical Assistance (LATA) grant from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Napa County performed low-level designs for last-mile fiber optic deployment in nineteen priority areas in rural Napa County. Napa County is looking for partners from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) community to deploy broadband into these hard-to-reach areas. The design report and attachments are available for public viewing and download at countyofnapa.org/broadband .
  • Napa County has executed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner with Valley Internet (a local wireless broadband service provider) to apply for grants to deploy broadband in rural Napa County.
  • AT&T has been awarded a $6 million grant from the CPUCs Federal Funding Account to deploy last-mile fiber in rural areas of Napa County, including Angwin, Berryessa Estates and Berryessa Highlands.
  • Napa County held a public stakeholder meeting on August 22, 2024, to provide updates on broadband deployment, grant awards and available grant opportunities, the status of digital equity and innovations on internet-enabled technology. Approximately fifty people attended in person and online.
  • Links to Napa County permitting and construction resources:
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Sonoma County

  • Broadband Network Design: In the fall of 2022 the County of Sonoma, in partnership with Golden State Connect Authority, applied for and received a $499,554 grant from the California Public Utilities Commission’s Local Agency Technical Assistance grant program. The funding provided a refined high-level broadband network design for unincorporated areas with little or no internet service and low-level, construction-ready design for priority areas.
  • Last Mile Infrastructure Funding: The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has proposed to award $17 million from the Last Mile Federal Funding Account to WiConduit and GigabitNow for two broadband expansion projects in Sonoma County. The two open-access, fiber networks, Forestville Connect and Sonoma Coast Connect, aim to provide high-speed internet to 802 unserved locations.
  • Sonoma County Broadband Page: sonomaedc.org/current-initiatives/broadband
  • Sonoma County Permitting Department: permitsonoma.org