Congresswomen Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, commended the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) announcement that California will receive Recovery Act funding totaling $205,147,578 for seven Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) projects in California. One such project, the Foundation for California Community Colleges, has been awarded $10,944,843 to provide outreach, training, and learning support to increase digital literacy and broadband usage. As a result, community colleges systems like the Los Rios Community College District, which serves the Sacramento community, will benefit from the fiber optic cables being laid up and down the state as a direct outcome of this grant.

The needs are great in California with 44,000 square miles of rural and remote communities still un-served and underserved in our state--an area as large as the State of Kentucky – and more than 10 million residents still not connected with broadband to the Internet – a population comparable to the State of Illinois. This investment in California is a major step forward in closing the Digital Divide in America.

“In our increasingly connected world, it is important that all Americans have access to, and a comfort with, broadband technology,” said Rep. Matsui. “I am pleased that California has been awarded these funds, and that the Los Rios College District will be among the beneficiaries. These awards will assist both urban and rural communities throughout California in bridging the digital divide and ensuring that our citizens are able to be active participants in all aspects of society“When a child cannot access the Internet, she suffers a severe disadvantage to her peers. This is one reason we specifically crafted language in the Recovery Act to fund broadband deployment to underserved areas. I’ve worked on this issue for a long time and I’m so pleased today, because these vital grants are a real victory for California’s children, our first responders, and our nation."