Families in the Southside Road area of Hollister, California, have recently gained access to high-speed fiber internet after years without reliable broadband. Many residents are migrant farmworkers living in communities such as the Hollister Migrant Housing Center, Southside Labor Camp, and Southside Mobile Park. Before this change, children had difficulty attending virtual school and parents struggled to apply for jobs or access health services.
The improvement came through a $1.77 million grant from the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Line Extension Program (LEP). The program is part of the California Advanced Services Fund and is designed to help low-income households pay for the final segment of broadband infrastructure needed to connect their homes to existing networks. This support has allowed 194 households in Southside to receive high-speed internet service.
“If we learned anything during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CPUC Analyst Ben Swearingen, “it’s that broadband is no longer a luxury. It’s foundational to economic and educational opportunity.”
A local resident, Monica Maciel Olvera, described how immediate the impact was: “Before we had internet, I couldn’t go back to school. Now I can take online classes and work toward a better future for my kids and myself.”
The new connections were made possible through collaboration between CPUC staff, South Valley Internet, and Nonprofit Balanced Access.
More information about qualifying for broadband assistance can be found on the California Advanced Services Fund webpage at https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/internet-and-phone/broadband-implementation-for-california/california-advanced-services-fund.
Programs like LEP are intended to make digital access more equitable by helping underserved communities overcome barriers to connectivity.
