California announces the largest public broadband network in the country

California recently launched the nation’s largest public broadband network — and its communities serve indigenous people first.

On April 2, Governor Gavin Newsom officially “opened” the new California Middle-Mile Broadband Network (MMBN), part of the province’s Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative and the promise of Broadband for All. One of the few projects funded by the $3.2 billion campaign, the California Department of Technology (CDT) also leveraged the fiber infrastructure lying in the Eastern Sierra Nevada region and created a full, high-capacity backbone for use by nearby rural communities. This effort includes other national projects aimed at filling the “missing miles” of the country’s Internet by providing fiber-optic cables, a gap that particularly affects rural and indigenous communities.

The district also introduced its first customer: the Bishop Paiute Tribe, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Bishop, California.

“Today is a historic first as a California nation is actively leading the way to provide more access and loyalty to its community,” said Secretary of State Affairs Christina Snider-Ashtari in a press release.

Through the partnership, the Bishop Paiute Tribe will serve as its own Internet Service Provider (ISP), independently manage and operate its own broadband service, including pricing and services provided to households on and off the reservation.

“A lot of work has been done on this project,” said Emma Williams, chairwoman of the Bishop Paiute Tribe. “We are thrilled that this part of the state’s middle-mile network is open so that people in our community who most need a reliable and affordable Internet connection can access everything from school work to health appointments by phone.”

It is very important that the country’s first live project connects the nation of the government. Like other rural areas across the country, indigenous communities are underserved by ISPs, reporting lower broadband subscription rates, slower download speeds, and a higher reliance on smartphones for internet access than the general population. In the original federal funding for rural broadband projects, tribal areas and organizations made up less than 3 percent.

The Biden-Harris administration has greatly increased investment in such projects, but connecting these areas takes time. To fill the gap, many nations have funded their own public Internet projects or turned to social networks, such as AT&T, for reliable Internet connections.

While California has continued to invest in projects to connect communities through storage projects, the federal government has scaled back its commitment to rural broadband connectivity under the Trump administration. To end subsidies for rural broadband and rebrand the existing Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, the Trump administration has turned its focus to private satellite Internet providers, including Starlink owned by Elon Musk.

“This is a logical step in the Middle Mile Broadband Initiative, as it means the first effective connection, but also a commitment to tribal communities,” explained Matthew Rantanen in a statement sent to Mashable. A communications veteran, Rantanen has consulted for the Tribal Advisory Group of California, serves as technical director for the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association, and is vice president of tribal relations for GoldenStateNet, a third-party administrator for CDT and MMBN. “It is very important to the Bishop Paiute Tribe, as it is a key ingredient in the success of their next phase, building fiber to the home and establishing their ISP.”

Speaking to Mashable last year, Rantanen explained that the Trump administration’s Internet priorities could jeopardize existing Middle Mile and interstate projects, many of which are already allocated federal dollars. State governments are filling the gaps, but many are facing increased pressure from Trump and his appointees, including FCC chairman Brendan Carr.