California\u2019s effort to connect unserved and underserved parts of the state to high-speed Internet has announced a new partnership and push into Hoopa Valley Tribe ancestral lands in Humboldt County \u2014 the first of its kind.<\/p>\n
The Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative (MMBI) project is its first tribal-state broadband joint build partnership, undertaken with Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District. The partnership will see around 23 miles of high-capacity middle-mile infrastructure built along State Route 96.<\/p>\n
Once complete, the project will allow last-mile service to approximately 1,900 homes and 3,000 residents, the California Department of Technology (CDT) said in a press release<\/a>. CDT is the lead planning and construction entity for the Middle-Mile Broadband Network in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the California Public Utilities Commission.<\/p>\n As of Aug. 1, MMBI has constructed a total of 8,155 total miles of broadband infrastructure across all 58 counties, with 4,016 miles in active construction.<\/p>\n To date, cumulative federal funding for broadband expansion<\/a> in the state\u2019s most populous counties is as follows:<\/p>\n Humboldt County, where the Hoopa Valley Tribe is located, has received $47.3 million in federal broadband funding. Click here<\/a> to see a data visualization from the California Public Utilities Commission showing federally funded broadband projects by county.<\/p>\n Ben Miller contributed to this report.<\/p>\n \n Eyragon is the Managing Editor for Industry Insider \u2014 California. He previously served as the Daily News Editor for Government Technology. He lives in Sacramento, Calif.\n <\/p>\n\n