Gateway Cities Council of Governments Awarded $479,424 Local Agency Technical Assistance Grant

The Gateway Cities Council of Governments was awarded a Local Agency Technical Assistance (LATA) Grant by the California Public Utilities Commission on January 12, 2023, totaling $479,424 in funding. Member cities historically have been financially challenged to expand their digital infrastructure capacity, and this grant will lead to the design engineering of a broadband network that will achieve 100 Megabits per second upload and download speeds once constructed. The expansion of digital infrastructure which addresses the “digital divide” will give member cities the much-needed tools to improve social services, healthcare, education, business, and government resources.

“Paramount is situated in the Southeast Los Angeles Gateways Cities region, which is among the country’s more densely populated regions, yet is underserved in its broadband needs. “Securing funding to help plan for our region’s long-term broadband needs was imperative,” says Paramount Assistant City Manager Andrew Vialpando. “A comprehensive broadband plan is an important first step in the journey to bridging the digital divide and ensuring our Paramount community can remain competitive in the digital age.” Andrew Vialpando, Assistant City Manager, City of Paramount.

This grant will continue the Gateway Cities Council of Governments’ regional broadband strategy of developing redundant high-capacity fiber optic service to 26 city halls and other municipal facilities that will serve as connectivity hubs for both agencies and constituents to utilize. The overall goal is to push additional capacity into the cities, which can then be extended into neighborhoods via broadband access infrastructure. The GCCOG is also actively advocating for an undersea broadband cable to Avalon.

This project will take place in the Gateway Cities of Southern California: Artesia, Bell, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Cerritos, Commerce, Compton, Cudahy, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Huntington Park, Industry, La Mirada, Lakewood, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Signal Hill, South Gate, Vernon, and Whittier as well as in Los Angeles County communities within the First, Second, and Fourth Supervisorial Districts.

16401 Paramount Boulevard · Paramount, California 90723 · phone (562) 663-6850 • fax (562) 634-8216
www.gatewaycog.org