Santa Cruz County, California, is using the American Rescue Plan to bring broadband internet to thousands of rural residents.
County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty spearheaded the approval of $500,000 in ARP funds to increase the reach of a program that started at the beginning of the pandemic. Prior to ARP funding, a local ISP provider, Cruzio, began working with community donations to bridge the digital divide with a focus on ensuring children had internet access during days of school closures. The program had worked to ensure every unit of a local farmworker housing project had access to broadband internet.
With the American Rescue Plan, the county will install 20 new antennae throughout the county, expanding the reach of the program. As a result, 4,000 rural residents will have access to high-speed internet. Coonerty emphasized the importance of the investments for residents whose incomes are below the federal poverty threshold and those in the southern part of the county.
Update
Since March, Cruzio, the local ISP provider, has finished installation at seven sites that will serve disadvantaged families. An additional five sites are underway or scheduled, with eight more to come. As a result, over 100 families have already enrolled in the Equal Access Santa Cruz program, which has the goal of ultimately serving nearly 4,000 customers.
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