Obama Administration Grants Funding to Provide Fiber-Optic Services in California

The Obama administration has granted a $46.6 million fund that will aid in providing Internet, phone and broadband access to underserved or unserved areas. The funding will help in expanding the wireless broadband and fiber-optic services from Yuba City to the city of Bakersfield, through Sierra Nevada.

The grant will help rural communities to catch up with communities that have high speed internet access. The Central Valley Independent Network, a consortium of independent phone companies, will utilize the funding to develop a 1,371 mile optical fiber network in California. Nearly half of the network has already been constructed. The network will offer high-speed Internet access to nearly 18 counties of California, from Colusa County in the north to Kern County in the south.

The funding will also be used to pay for 12 wireless nodes in order to offer broadband services to Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, and other such remote Counties. It will also bolster 350 mobile phone towers in the area to provide wireless access for the people.