May 28, 2025 – The Oakland City Council voted unanimously last week to adopt a Broadband Master Plan that will connect up to 2,500 unserved and underserved households across the city through the construction of an open-access municipal broadband network.
The plan, adopted by a vote of 8-0 on May 20, would entail pursuing public-private partnerships with internet-service providers to “deliver low-cost, high-speed service to residents and fund the maintenance of the network through fees and revenues.”
Estimated to cost $15.6 million to implement, the project will be funded primarily by a $14 million grant from the California Public Utilities Commission, with the city contributing the remaining $1.6 million. The plan outlines a fiber-first approach to broadband deployment, although wireless technologies like LTE and fixed wireless may be used in limited cases…