Sacramento, California — California has nearly tripled the operational reach of its state-built Middle-Mile Broadband Network, growing from 423 miles to 1,250 miles of infrastructure now ready to connect with local internet providers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the expansion brings the network closer to becoming the largest public broadband system of its kind in the country. The Middle-Mile network is the backbone California is building to deliver fast, reliable and affordable internet to communities that lack it.
The new 1,250-mile segment forms a continuous backbone running from San Jose south along the Central Coast to Los Angeles, east to Barstow, and north through an interconnection point extending to Modoc County in the state's far northeast corner. State Chief Information Officer Chris Given said every mile brought online is a mile that grant recipients and commercial providers can build on immediately.
The milestone builds on momentum from April, when the Bishop Paiute Tribe became the network's first customer, connected along the Highway 395 segment. The initiative has now completed or begun active construction on 5,549 miles of the planned 8,100-mile system — nearly 70 percent.
The project traces to 2021, when Newsom signed Senate Bill 156 creating an open-access middle-mile network and providing $3.25 billion for the infrastructure. The California Public Utilities Commission has awarded more than $1.2 billion in last-mile grants, reaching over 2 million residents across all 58 counties.