The California Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 26 awarded Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) $463,644 for three projects, known as “Connected Communities Hubs,” that establish free public broadband access sites in San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
The awards are part of $3.29 million in grants from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Broadband Adoption Account to support 21 projects expanding digital literacy training and public broadband access in communities across the state, says a press release from MBEP.
The Connected Communities Hubs project will launch inclusive, fully equipped broadband access hubs in rural and low-income communities, says the release. Trusted community sites such as libraries, senior centers and schools will offer reliable, free Wi-Fi and publicly available desktop computers preloaded with shortcuts to key online tools such as CalFresh, DMV services, telehealth, job search platforms and the Google suite of office tools.
Staff with bilingual language skills will be provided for general help and for assistance with enrolling in low-cost affordable internet plans.
“Broadband infrastructure is just the first step toward full digital inclusion,” said MBEP President & CEO Tahra Goraya. “Our communities also need internet access and support to gain digital skills, and this initiative will help to close those gaps.”
Together, the hubs initiatives will serve a combined 10,800 participants in high-needs areas of the tri-county region.
“These Connected Community Hubs projects meet participants where they are at—in their own communities, in ways that empower them—eliminating barriers of cost, equipment, digital literacy and language,” said partnership Associate Director, Economic Development & Digital Access Maure Gildea.
The CASF Broadband Adoption Account was established to increase publicly available or after-school broadband access and to promote digital inclusion in communities with limited broadband adoption. The program prioritizes low-income communities, seniors and communities facing socioeconomic barriers to broadband access, says the press release.
In the past three months, the partnership has secured a total of $613,619 in CASF Adoption grants to expand digital opportunities in the tri-county region.
