City Looks Ahead to Receiving Local Share of $65 Billion Nationwide Broadband Infrastructure Funding

Pasadena’s Department of Information Technology (DoIT) will present an overview of federal, state, county and local efforts to address the Digital Divide and broadband infrastructure investments to the City Council’s Municipal Services Committee on Tuesday, January 25, starting at 4 p.m.

The presentation will include recent federal and state legislation to invest billions of dollars into broadband infrastructure, county-wide efforts to address digital equity, and Pasadena’s investments and services to support the community, a preliminary report by DoIT showed.

DoIT staff will also discuss the Digital Divide, which formally defined is the economic, educational, and social inequalities between those who have computers and online access and those who do not, as well as Digital Equity, which denotes a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in society, democracy, and the economy.

The preliminary report also said an Emergency Broadband Benefit extended by the Federal Communications Commission expired on Dec. 31, 2021. Before it ended, over 3,500 Pasadena households were enrolled in the program that provided a $50 internet subsidy monthly.

A new program called Affordable Connectivity is in place, providing for a $30 monthly internet subsidy and a $100 one-time discount on the purchase of a laptop, desktop or tablet. Those interested in the program can visit www.fcc.gov/acp for more details.

In November 2021, an Infrastructure Bill which provides $65 billion for broadband infrastructure was signed into law to ensure every American has access to reliable high-speed internet. Of the available funding, $42.5 billion will go directly to states and territories to fund internet improvements. Some $2.75 billion will go to the Digital Equity Act to help states develop comprehensive plans to ensure equal access to the internet for historically underserved communities.

At the present time, no parameters stipulating how or where this funding must be utilized have been issued, the DoIT report said.

DoIT staff will also discuss available state and county programs to enhance internet connectivity especially for underserved and unserved communities.

Tuesday’s meeting of the Municipal Services Committee begins at 4 p.m. Members of the public can access the video conference via http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 and www.pasadenamedia.org.

Public comments may be submitted through www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment or by emailing vflores@cityofpasadena.net.