Broadband Solution Case Studies for Local Governments California

Broadband Solution Case Studies for Local Governments California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Robert Osborn, Communications Division Director Michael Minkus, Policy Advisor to the Director

Topics • About the commission and speakers • Broadband actions in response to COVID-19 • Broadband policy briefs & case studies 1. Adoption - Sacramento, CA 2. City-Wide Open Infrastructure Networks - UTOPIA, UT and Si. Fi Fullerton, CA 3. Public Wholesale Network - South Bay Cities, CA 2

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Speakers • Martha Guzman Aceves, Commissioner • Michael Mullaney, Advisor to President Marybel Batjer • Robert Osborn, Communications Division Director • Michael Minkus, Senior Advisor to the Communications Division Director 3

COVID-19 Broadband Info • COVID Resource and Response website: www. cpuc. ca. gov/covid • Letter from the Executive Director Regarding Providing Protections for those impacted by the pandemic (i. e. , waiving fees, stopping disconnections) as well as requesting data caps be removed. • $25 million from subsidizing wi-fi hotspots for students from the California Teleconnect Fund • $5 million for California Advanced Services Fund devices (e. g. , laptops and tablets) • Letter from President Batjer to Internet Service Providers urging them to improve affordable broadband plans. • Investigating including broadband in the California Life. Line program • The CPUC is collecting information on affordable plans offered in each school district with the Affordable Broadband Plan lookup tool • FCC pledge • Supporting orgs that help households signup for affordable broadband 4

Broadband Policy Snapshot Broadband is— • Access to infrastructure = You have access to broadband from home and work • Adoption = You are able to sign up for service and you can afford it • Digital literacy & device = You have the knowledge and equipment to use your broadband connection 5

Adoption • Income is the greatest barrier to adoption • Many of the largest providers have affordable offers • CPUC President Batjer wrote a letter to Internet Service Providers asking them to improve four areas where the plans have not met needs • Slow speeds • Narrow program eligibility • Difficult signup process, COVID-19 promotions only for full price plans, upselling, long wait times • Other barriers. No unpaid balances, not a customer in the last 90 days. • Results were mostly underwhelming 6

Adoption: Sacramento • May 21, 2020 News Release • $550, 000 in federal stimulus money to purchase 6 -months of Comcast Internet Essentials service • Service to 10, 000 qualifying households, along with 1, 000 computers • Expanded on an earlier commitment to provide broadband to Sacramento City Unified School District students 7

City-wide open infrastructure networks • UTOPIA (Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency) Fiber • Publicly owned • Built with bond financing (no state or federal subsidies) • High quality fiber to the premises network; 20 -year investments • Serves every household in a community, whereas private companies may not • Providers offer low-income Life. Line service 8

UTOPIA FIBER residential pricing example 9

UTOPIA continued • In 2004, eleven Utah cities joined to bring fiber to residences and businesses in their communities • Focused on building fiber infrastructure as a function of government: to build a public network to enable access for all and set the conditions for open competition. Competition has led to more affordable offerings. • Since 2009, UTOPIA started funding activities through project-based municipal bonds backed by subscriber revenue. • Key middle mile provider is Utah Department of Transportation 10

Fullerton • Being privately built by [Si. Fi] • Fiber will pass every home and business in the city • Network operator (Si. Fi) worked with the city to get access to all rights of way • Two internet service provider options to start (Gigabit. Now & ) 11

South Bay Cities • Request for Proposal, bids, and contract awarded for a gigabit fiber network to a 16 -city coalition • Fiber ring for city buildings; cities can individually choose whether to provide retail service. • $4. 4 m Los Angeles County Metro financing, connecting the fiber ring to traffic monitoring and data centers 12

Takeaways • Broadband is infrastructure. Cities can and should lead in building infrastructure, including broadband. Fiber optic cable is good for 20 -years or more. • Squeaky wheels. Local action and advocacy alone may not close the digital divide, but cities that don't act get nothing. • Legwork. Studies, evaluations, strategic planning, and Requests for Proposals pay dividends years into the future. • No one solution. 5 G and Space. X Starlink satellites will not address the greater broadband adoption and infrastructure needs in cities. 13

What is RDOF? Ø Auction Oct 29 Ø Nationally competitive, not grants Ø No bids, no money for CA Ø CA providers can bid for $2. 5 billion* Ø Homes and small businesses with no broadband Ø In census blocks with no minimum federal broadband eligible Ø Minimum federal broadband is 25 megabits per second download, 3 upload Ø Provides more funding for fiber Ø CPUC will support and try to provide some matching funds Ø Currently advocating to combine and align CASF rules with RDOF 14 *Based preliminary locations; estimated max CA entities win ≈$1. 6 B 14

Time To Mobilize – RDOF! • June 10 - CPUC hosts RDOF webinar by FCC • June 15 - Auction Application Tutorial • July 1 – 15 - Short-Form Application Window (FCC Form 183) - REQUIRED TO BID IN OCTOBER • October 14 - Auction Bidding Tutorial Available • October 26 - Mock Auction Begins • October 29 – Auction Begins 15

Robert Osborn CPUC Communications Division Director Robert. Osborn@cpuc. ca. gov 916 -327 -7788 Michael Minkus Policy Advisor to the Director Michael. Minkus@cpuc. ca. gov 213 372 1367 16

Fact Sheet: How is the CPUC Helping Consumers and Businesses Impacted by COVID-19? 17

Resources Public Purpose Programs • California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) • California High Cost Fund A (CHCF-A) • California High Cost Fund B (CHCF-B) • California Life. Line (ULTS) • California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) • Deaf & Disabled Telecom Program (DDTP) Federal Funding Broadband Data • public. tableau. com/profile/cpuc#!/ • Use “Housing Unit” options • www. broadbandmap. ca. gov 18