San José Fund Set for First Round of Broadband Grants

A city program to bring Internet access to low-income households in California is set to connect some 4,000 homes.  The San Jose Digital Inclusion Fund was established about a year ago as a mechanism for closing the digital divide in this largely affluent Bay Area city, part of Silicon Valley. The program is expected to generate about $24 million over 10 years. A significant portion of this funding will come from lease revenue collected from telecommunications companies as they attach 4G and 5G small cell communications infrastructure to city assets such as streetlights and city-owned buildings. Up to $10 million will come from private and public fund-raising.