Hoping to leverage both a major new California broadband expansion initiative and American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, Chico, California is moving forward with its plan to deliver affordable fiber broadband to historically-underserved city residents. 

The Chico city council last year began exploring using $4.8 million of the city’s $22 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to build a citywide fiber network. After spending $250,000 to research its options, the city council voted last week to move forward with the plan.

Dual Purposes

City leaders hope the network will provide more reliable connectivity for the first responders battling historic wildfires in the region. But like many communities, Chico was also spurred to action by telecom market failure, a lack of competition among regional monopolies, and the slow speeds, spotty coverage, and high prices that routinely result. 

“All of us have had experience with the existing incumbents and what we pay for versus what we get,” said Chico's Information Systems Manager Josh Marquis. “There's a lot of areas of our region that do not have access either through affordability gaps or through service gaps.”

Much like Fort Pierce, Florida, Chico will begin by running a pilot project first targeting lower income parts of the city like the Chapman Mulberry neighborhood. There, residents will be provided inexpensive access to symmetrical fiber either through the city or a partner, made cheaper still once the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) discounts are applied. 

Hoping to leverage both a major new California broadband expansion initiative and American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, Chico, California is moving forward with its plan to deliver affordable fiber broadband to historically-underserved city residents. 

The Chico city council last year began exploring using $4.8 million of the city’s $22 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to build a citywide fiber network. After spending $250,000 to research its options, the city council voted last week to move forward with the plan.

Dual Purposes

City leaders hope the network will provide more reliable connectivity for the first responders battling historic wildfires in the region. But like many communities, Chico was also spurred to action by telecom market failure, a lack of competition among regional monopolies, and the slow speeds, spotty coverage, and high prices that routinely result. 

“All of us have had experience with the existing incumbents and what we pay for versus what we get,” said Chico's Information Systems Manager Josh Marquis. “There's a lot of areas of our region that do not have access either through affordability gaps or through service gaps.”

Much like Fort Pierce, Florida, Chico will begin by running a pilot project first targeting lower income parts of the city like the Chapman Mulberry neighborhood. There, residents will be provided inexpensive access to symmetrical fiber either through the city or a partner, made cheaper still once the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) discounts are applied. 

Hoping to leverage both a major new California broadband expansion initiative and American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, Chico, California is moving forward with its plan to deliver affordable fiber broadband to historically-underserved city residents. 

The Chico city council last year began exploring using $4.8 million of the city’s $22 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to build a citywide fiber network. After spending $250,000 to research its options, the city council voted last week to move forward with the plan.

Dual Purposes

City leaders hope the network will provide more reliable connectivity for the first responders battling historic wildfires in the region. But like many communities, Chico was also spurred to action by telecom market failure, a lack of competition among regional monopolies, and the slow speeds, spotty coverage, and high prices that routinely result. 

“All of us have had experience with the existing incumbents and what we pay for versus what we get,” said Chico's Information Systems Manager Josh Marquis. “There's a lot of areas of our region that do not have access either through affordability gaps or through service gaps.”

Much like Fort Pierce, Florida, Chico will begin by running a pilot project first targeting lower income parts of the city like the Chapman Mulberry neighborhood. There, residents will be provided inexpensive access to symmetrical fiber either through the city or a partner, made cheaper still once the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) discounts are applied. 

Hoping to leverage both a major new California broadband expansion initiative and American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, Chico, California is moving forward with its plan to deliver affordable fiber broadband to historically-underserved city residents. 

The Chico city council last year began exploring using $4.8 million of the city’s $22 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to build a citywide fiber network. After spending $250,000 to research its options, the city council voted last week to move forward with the plan.

Dual Purposes

City leaders hope the network will provide more reliable connectivity for the first responders battling historic wildfires in the region. But like many communities, Chico was also spurred to action by telecom market failure, a lack of competition among regional monopolies, and the slow speeds, spotty coverage, and high prices that routinely result. 

“All of us have had experience with the existing incumbents and what we pay for versus what we get,” said Chico's Information Systems Manager Josh Marquis. “There's a lot of areas of our region that do not have access either through affordability gaps or through service gaps.”

Much like Fort Pierce, Florida, Chico will begin by running a pilot project first targeting lower income parts of the city like the Chapman Mulberry neighborhood. There, residents will be provided inexpensive access to symmetrical fiber either through the city or a partner, made cheaper still once the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) discounts are applied. 

Hoping to leverage both a major new California broadband expansion initiative and American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, Chico, California is moving forward with its plan to deliver affordable fiber broadband to historically-underserved city residents. 

The Chico city council last year began exploring using $4.8 million of the city’s $22 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to build a citywide fiber network. After spending $250,000 to research its options, the city council voted last week to move forward with the plan.

Dual Purposes

City leaders hope the network will provide more reliable connectivity for the first responders battling historic wildfires in the region. But like many communities, Chico was also spurred to action by telecom market failure, a lack of competition among regional monopolies, and the slow speeds, spotty coverage, and high prices that routinely result. 

“All of us have had experience with the existing incumbents and what we pay for versus what we get,” said Chico's Information Systems Manager Josh Marquis. “There's a lot of areas of our region that do not have access either through affordability gaps or through service gaps.”

Much like Fort Pierce, Florida, Chico will begin by running a pilot project first targeting lower income parts of the city like the Chapman Mulberry neighborhood. There, residents will be provided inexpensive access to symmetrical fiber either through the city or a partner, made cheaper still once the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) discounts are applied. 

Hoping to leverage both a major new California broadband expansion initiative and American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, Chico, California is moving forward with its plan to deliver affordable fiber broadband to historically-underserved city residents. 

The Chico city council last year began exploring using $4.8 million of the city’s $22 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to build a citywide fiber network. After spending $250,000 to research its options, the city council voted last week to move forward with the plan.

Dual Purposes

City leaders hope the network will provide more reliable connectivity for the first responders battling historic wildfires in the region. But like many communities, Chico was also spurred to action by telecom market failure, a lack of competition among regional monopolies, and the slow speeds, spotty coverage, and high prices that routinely result. 

“All of us have had experience with the existing incumbents and what we pay for versus what we get,” said Chico's Information Systems Manager Josh Marquis. “There's a lot of areas of our region that do not have access either through affordability gaps or through service gaps.”

Much like Fort Pierce, Florida, Chico will begin by running a pilot project first targeting lower income parts of the city like the Chapman Mulberry neighborhood. There, residents will be provided inexpensive access to symmetrical fiber either through the city or a partner, made cheaper still once the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) discounts are applied. 

It can be difficult to track all of the federal funding opportunities out there these days for communities looking to improve local Internet access. Even more difficult is parsing through all the ways they can be used, and charting a path to successfully weave them together to achieve local broadband goals. To help, we published our "Community Guide to Federal Funding Opportunities" in September, followed up by a look at what the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

But Common Sense Media recently put out a Federal Broadband Funding Guide packed with useful information and well worth bookmarking for future use. It breaks down the buckets of broadband money not only in the IIJA, but from the American Rescue Plan, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the other ongoing programs like USDA ReConnect. 

The value of the guide comes from Common Sense including clear and concise descriptions of the legislation, the amount of money allocated in them, who the funds will be flowing to and in what ways, what the deadline is to use the funds, and if they can be dedicated to infrastructure, devices, affordability, or equity and inclusion projects. Check it out here, or download below.

It can be difficult to track all of the federal funding opportunities out there these days for communities looking to improve local Internet access. Even more difficult is parsing through all the ways they can be used, and charting a path to successfully weave them together to achieve local broadband goals. To help, we published our "Community Guide to Federal Funding Opportunities" in September, followed up by a look at what the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

But Common Sense Media recently put out a Federal Broadband Funding Guide packed with useful information and well worth bookmarking for future use. It breaks down the buckets of broadband money not only in the IIJA, but from the American Rescue Plan, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the other ongoing programs like USDA ReConnect. 

The value of the guide comes from Common Sense including clear and concise descriptions of the legislation, the amount of money allocated in them, who the funds will be flowing to and in what ways, what the deadline is to use the funds, and if they can be dedicated to infrastructure, devices, affordability, or equity and inclusion projects. Check it out here, or download below.

It can be difficult to track all of the federal funding opportunities out there these days for communities looking to improve local Internet access. Even more difficult is parsing through all the ways they can be used, and charting a path to successfully weave them together to achieve local broadband goals. To help, we published our "Community Guide to Federal Funding Opportunities" in September, followed up by a look at what the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

But Common Sense Media recently put out a Federal Broadband Funding Guide packed with useful information and well worth bookmarking for future use. It breaks down the buckets of broadband money not only in the IIJA, but from the American Rescue Plan, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the other ongoing programs like USDA ReConnect. 

The value of the guide comes from Common Sense including clear and concise descriptions of the legislation, the amount of money allocated in them, who the funds will be flowing to and in what ways, what the deadline is to use the funds, and if they can be dedicated to infrastructure, devices, affordability, or equity and inclusion projects. Check it out here, or download below.

It can be difficult to track all of the federal funding opportunities out there these days for communities looking to improve local Internet access. Even more difficult is parsing through all the ways they can be used, and charting a path to successfully weave them together to achieve local broadband goals. To help, we published our "Community Guide to Federal Funding Opportunities" in September, followed up by a look at what the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

But Common Sense Media recently put out a Federal Broadband Funding Guide packed with useful information and well worth bookmarking for future use. It breaks down the buckets of broadband money not only in the IIJA, but from the American Rescue Plan, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the other ongoing programs like USDA ReConnect. 

The value of the guide comes from Common Sense including clear and concise descriptions of the legislation, the amount of money allocated in them, who the funds will be flowing to and in what ways, what the deadline is to use the funds, and if they can be dedicated to infrastructure, devices, affordability, or equity and inclusion projects. Check it out here, or download below.