Santa Cruz-based Surfnet Communications Inc. announced Thursday that it will implement three grants totaling $4.3 million in partnership with the nonprofit California Broadband Alliance (CBA) to extend fiber broadband to communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The grants were awarded to the CBA by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
The project will bring high-speed internet to an estimated 1,423 people in rural, mountainous communities where internet infrastructure is a challenge to build. Surfnet said in a release that it “will leverage its direct experience in mountain communities to design the infrastructure project to be resilient in the unforgiving Santa Cruz Mountains environment that frequently experiences wildfire, mudslides, snow and more.”
According to the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, the work will serve an estimated 410 locations in Hutchinson and Radonich and along Mount Bache Road in an unincorporated portion of the county. The area is considered high risk for wildfire damage, according to the partnership, adding a layer of public safety benefit to the project.
These three grants represent the second round of grant funding received by Surfnet within the last three months. In June, Surfnet was awarded $10 million directly by the CPUC to extend high-speed, fiber broadband services to rural areas in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Luis Obispo counties.
“We’re very excited about our new partnership with the CBA. Working together, we’re gaining momentum to provide greater access to high-speed internet to underserved communities within our service footprint,“ said Ken Nye, Surfnet’s chief operating officer. “We are committed to being the fast, reliable, local partner in the quest to build, manage and operate broadband infrastructure for rural communities in the Central Coast region.”
Surfnet said work on the CPUC grant that was awarded in June has already begun and some customers will have service starting this fall. That work is slated to conclude by the end of 2026.
Work in the areas covered by the three new grants is expected to begin in early 2026, Surfnet said, with fiber service anticipated to begin in late 2026.
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