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CPUC CASF Broadband Infrastructure Grant — 2026 applications due Nov 2, 2026

Phone number
none – email CASF_Application_Questions@cpuc.ca.gov
Category
Tech
Auto tags
Eligibility
Telephone corporations with a CPUC CPCN, registered wireless carriers, facilities-based broadband providers, and local agencies (cities, counties, community services districts, public and municipal utility districts). The guidelines also let unserved low-income households or property owners apply
Auto Summary
The CPUC's California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account subsidizes middle-mile and last-mile broadband to unserved areas (projects must offer at least 100/20 Mbps). A Sept. 21, 2026 CPUC letter moved the 2026 application deadline from Oct. 1 to Nov. 2, 2026. Application overview webinar Oct. 13, 2026. Contact your regional broadband consortium first. Verified 2026-09-28.
Value
Varies by project (infrastructure grants)
Espanol
Subvención de Infraestructura de Banda Ancha CASF de la CPUC — solicitudes de 2026 vencen el 2 de noviembre de 2026
URL
cpuc.ca.gov/industr...re-grant
Deadline: Monday, November 2, 2026 (extended from October 1 by a CPUC letter dated September 21, 2026, to give applicants time to analyze the new eligibility data and avoid overlap with federal BEAD-funded areas).
What it is: the CASF Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account pays part of the cost of middle-mile and last-mile broadband infrastructure in unserved areas. Eligible projects must serve locations at a minimum of 100 Mbps down / 20 Mbps up.

Who can apply (CASF guidelines, D.22-11-023)

  • Entities with a CPUC Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) that qualify as a telephone corporation
  • Wireless carriers registered with the CPUC (WIR)
  • Non-telephone corporations that are facilities-based broadband providers
  • Local agencies: a city, a county (including a county service area), a community services district, a public utility district or a municipal utility district
  • The guidelines add: "Individual households or property owners shall be eligible to apply, as long as they are unserved and meet the definition of 'low-income customer.'" (For a single home, the Line Extension Program is usually the simpler route.)
Applicants that are not a local agency and do not hold a CPCN must post a letter of credit for the full grant.

Revised 2026 timeline (CPUC letter, Sept. 21, 2026)

  • Broadband availability map published: Sept. 23, 2026
  • Application deadline: Nov. 2, 2026
  • Staff post application summaries and maps: Nov. 16, 2026
  • Challenge submissions due: Dec. 7, 2026
  • 2027 cycle application deadline: Nov. 1, 2027
Application overview webinar: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, 10:30–11:30 a.m. (flyer on the CPUC page).

How to apply

  1. Talk to your regional broadband consortium first. The CPUC asks prospective applicants to do this before contacting CASF staff.
  1. Follow the Revised CASF Program Guidelines (Attachment 1 of D.22-11-023) and the application templates on the CPUC page.
  1. Email CASF_Application_Questions@cpuc.ca.gov to request an upload link, and also submit to the Public Advocates Office (Cal_Advocates-CASF-Apps@cpuc.ca.gov).
Related: California Broadband Map · CASF Adoption Account.
Sources: CPUC — CASF Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account page; CPUC letter "Extension of the 2026 CASF Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account Application Deadline to November 2, 2026" (Sept. 21, 2026, PDF linked from the CASF page); CASF Guidelines, Attachment 1 of D.22-11-023 (updated May 31, 2023) (all checked 2026-09-28). Lead from the CPUC td_ar notice (9/21).