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Council accepts $3.806 million last‑mile federal grant to extend broadband to four Vallejo neighborhoods
Summary
Vallejo accepted a $3.806 million last‑mile broadband grant administered through the California Advanced Services Fund to extend fiber connectivity to four underserved pockets of the city: Mare Island, North Sonoma Boulevard, Porter Street to Seaport and Trailer City Park.
The Vallejo City Council voted to accept a federally supported California last‑mile broadband grant of $3,806,104 and to amend the budget to deposit the award into the city’s fiber enterprise account. The grant, administered under the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) last‑mile program and described by staff as part of the state’s SB 156 broadband push, will fund four focused projects to bring broadband connections to underserved pockets of the city.
Naveed Ashraf, the city’s chief innovation officer and IT director, told council the award covers four project areas: a Mare Island build (about $635,000, roughly 220 parcels), North Sonoma Boulevard expansion (about $1.1 million), Porter Street to Seaport (about $1.63 million, roughly 350 parcels/Multi‑dwelling units), and Trailer City Park (about $475,000 for about 230 addresses). Ashraf said the projects will use the city’s existing underground municipal fiber conduit where available and aim to deliver a minimum speed target of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload to households and multi‑dwelling units.
Council was told the award is step 1 of a two‑step acceptance process; staff said a November 2024 approval notice from CPUC started the grant timeline and that staff will return for a step‑two action on May 27 to approve a contract with SmartFiber Networks, the city’s public‑private partner for construction and operations. Staff said construction could begin once a contract is executed and the projects are bonded; they expect initial work on Mare Island to move rapidly because the city has conduit available there.
Why it matters: the grant targets digital equity by providing last‑mile connectivity to nearly 1,000 parcels and is part of a broader state effort to close gaps in broadband access. The projects will also inform the city’s bigger plans to extend municipal fiber and to use broadband as an economic development and business‑attraction tool.
