John Baker Regulatory Analyst California Public Utilities Commission May 22, 2014 1
California Advanced Services Fund • 0.464% surcharge on telephone bills in California • Provides funding for the capital costs of broadband infrastructure projects in unserved and underserved areas in California. • Maximum grant award (as revised in Decision 12-02-015): • 70% of total costs for projects in unserved areas • 60% of total costs for projects in underserved areas • Funds 14 (soon 17) regional consortia to assess local needs and encourage projects 2
Awarded Projects (2009-2013) Three which impact Riverside and San Bernardino counties: • Pinyon (2008) • Digital 395 (2009) • Frontier — Colorado River area (2010) 3
Pinyon Project • First Approved CASF grant • $174,000 in matching funds to Verizon • DSL to 196 customers (can reach about 300) 4
Combined coverage (includes wireless) 5
Wired Coverage only 6
Priority Areas (1/3) • Named at March Statewide Consortia Summit • Approximately 181 geographical areas • Eight in San Bernardino/Riverside counties • Draft resolution T-17443: • “ Broadband providers are encouraged to target these areas in their applications for CASF funding in order for the Commission to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households by no later than December 31, 2015.” 7
Priority Areas ( preliminary schedule) • Draft going out for 30-day comment period “soon.” Encourage you to join our e-mail service list or work through Martha to leave comments. • Will be taking applications quarterly, beginning Oct. 1, 2014. Same evaluation process and requirements as ever, but with knowledge that these areas are local priorities • Existing providers have “first dibs” on priority areas • If no projects proposed by incumbent by Oct. 1, 2014, then new providers welcome at Jan. 1, 2015 deadline. (Also, if incumbent construction isn’t finished by Jan. 1, then area will be opened up to new providers.) • Local governments also eligible to apply for area with no projects after Jan. 1 deadline. 8
Priority Areas (3/3) Also sought input from state agencies, such as: • Calif. Environmental Protection Agency • Calif. Dept. of Food and Agriculture • Calif. Office of Emergency Services, and, • Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. State OES has determined rural San Bernardino a priority area; is considering putting CalSPEED app on CHP officers’ phones to help validate speeds and test how motion affects broadband speed. 9
CalSPEED • CalSPEED app in Google Play store • Download and (There is an iOS version, but doesn’t conduct tests (both have speed test capabilities) mobile and via wireline), with results refining our maps 10
Broadband Public Housing Account (1/3) • Via AB1299 (Bradford), codified as PUC Section 281(c)(4) • Created $25 million fund for deployment and adoption in public housing – ($20 million from Infrastructure fund and $5 million from loan program) • Focus on adoption • “ Publicly Supported Housing Account” 11
Broadband Public Housing Account (2/3) • Scoping memo, asked Consortia to get word out • Meetings in San Francisco, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego in March and April • Well attended, with numerous comments • Resolution expected early June 12
Broadband Public Housing Account (3/3) Examples of potential uses: • Homework centers (right) • Computer classes • Wi-fi within housing complexes (below) (Photos taken at Mar Vista Gardens, Culver City) 13
Takeaways Priority areas Public Housing Account • Rolling applications • Proposed housing rules taken starting in October and process due out in June • Priority areas don’t guarantee acceptance of • Focusing on adoption, project, but make it more but also infrastructure likely • Will try to spend down • Incumbents can put up by end of 2015, so we or step aside need projects 14
Thank you! For Additional Information: www.cpuc.ca.gov and John Baker john.baker@cpuc.ca.gov or @jcb10 on Twitter 15
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