The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) was established by the visionary leadership of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and voluntary agreements by AT&T and Verizon to contribute $60 million seed capital to launch this unique organization in the nation with the sole mission and explicit focus to close the Digital Divide in California. The CPUC negotiated voluntary agreements with AT&T and Verizon in 2005 to establish CETF to lead the California effort to close the Digital Divide. CETF was created with the unanimous support of Commissioners taking a different approach than other states that required public benefit before approving two corporate consolidations. The CPUC ventured to create a public benefit corporation that would be transformative—with a disciplined FOCUS that would produce tangible, measurable RESULTS and engage a wide spectrum of PEOPLE.
