Families living in the Southside Road area of Hollister, California, now have access to high-speed fiber internet following a $1.77 million grant from the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Line Extension Program (LEP). The new broadband connection reaches 194 households at the Hollister Migrant Housing Center, Southside Labor Camp, and Southside Mobile Park—communities that had previously lacked reliable internet.
Many residents are migrant farmworkers whose children faced difficulties accessing virtual schooling and parents struggled to apply for jobs or access health services due to limited connectivity. The LEP is part of the California Advanced Services Fund and is designed to help low-income residents afford the “last mile” of broadband infrastructure needed to connect homes to existing networks.
“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.”
Monica Maciel Olvera, a resident of Southside, described how immediate the change was for her family: “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.”
Programs like LEP are intended to address disparities by making digital resources more accessible for underserved communities. For information on qualifying for broadband assistance, residents can visit the California Advanced Services Fund webpage.
The project involved collaboration between CPUC staff, South Valley Internet, and Nonprofit Balanced Access.
