On April 22, 2026, Cruzio had the opportunity to speak on a panel at a California Public Utilities Commission event focused on the CASF Line Extension Program, the state grant initiative that helps bring broadband to unserved and underserved communities that the market has largely passed by. We were joined by Elise Brentnall, COO and President of South Valley Internet, who shared her team’s experience connecting the Southside project area in the same region. Two independent ISPs, two communities, one program, and a lot of common ground.
Here’s what we discussed.
Background: The San Jerardo Cooperative
The San Jerardo housing cooperative sits outside Salinas, about an hour south of Santa Cruz. It was built in the 1970s by farmworkers who converted an abandoned army labor barracks. Today it’s home to around 250 permanent residents and up to 100 seasonal workers. Nearly all are low-income. Farmworkers in California earn roughly half the state’s average wage, and for many San Jerardo families the numbers are even harder than that.
San Jerardo is also the kind of community that gets left behind on broadband. Several larger ISPs had looked at a connectivity project there before Cruzio got involved, and all of them walked away. The co-op is several miles from the nearest fiber backhaul, and the economics of a traditional build simply didn’t pencil out for carriers focused on denser, more profitable markets.
That’s exactly the gap the CASF Line Extension Program exists to fill, and exactly why Cruzio applied.
Why the LEP Program Was the Right Fit
“The LEP program is designed for communities the market has passed over,” said James Hackett, COO of Cruzio. “San Jerardo had already been turned down by larger ISPs. That’s not a failure of the community. It’s a signal that the market needs help.”
Elise Brentnall framed it similarly from SVI’s perspective. In the Southside area, her team connected over 94 housing units representing more than 500 residents, including low-income families, migrant farmworkers, individuals in transitional housing, and over 130 school-aged children. “The challenge was never identifying the need,” she said. “It was bridging the gap between existing infrastructure and actually delivering service into the community. The LEP program gave us the ability to close that gap.”
For Cruzio, the solution combined licensed fixed wireless backhaul and state-of-the-art point-to-multipoint distribution, leveraging previously CASF-funded middle-mile fiber to connect all 66 units at San Jerardo, including the child care center and community hall, at 1000 Mbps symmetrical speeds.
Three Problems We Had to Solve
When James described the project’s particular challenges on the panel, three things stood out.
1/ Backhaul distance. San Jerardo is several miles from the nearest fiber. Getting adequate backhaul is always step one of any last-mile project, and here it required a creative combination of CPUC-funded Crown Castle fiber and point-to-point licensed fixed wireless. It wasn’t a standard LEP application, but the CASF team engaged seriously with the technical approach and approved it quickly.
2/ Affordability and long-term sustainability. This is a low-income community. Farmworker families at San Jerardo have average household incomes well below the Monterey County median of $71,000. A project that connected residents for a year and then became unaffordable wasn’t worth doing. Through Cruzio’s Equal Access initiative, a partnership with the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County to bridge the digital divide across the region, we committed to providing service at no cost to residents for a minimum of five years. SVI faced a similar challenge in Southside. “We needed to make sure that whatever we built would be sustainable and affordable for residents long-term,” Brentnall said. “Economic considerations were part of the design from day one.”
3/ Urgency. Cruzio launched the San Jerardo project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children at the co-op were trying to attend school remotely on inadequate connections, falling further and further behind their classmates. “Those kids are our future community leaders,” Hackett said. “Getting them connected wasn’t a priority. It was an emergency.” SVI faced the same reality in Southside, where over 130 children in the K-12 system were among the residents with no reliable internet access.
How the LEP Grant Helped
The CASF LEP team understood what Cruzio was trying to accomplish and moved quickly. They reviewed the technical approach, supported the build throughout, and the project came in ahead of schedule and under budget. All 66 households at San Jerardo, plus the child care center and community hall, now have reliable high-speed internet at no cost to residents.
SVI’s Southside project tells a similar story. “Without the LEP program, this project would not have been feasible within a reasonable timeframe,” Brentnall said. “The return on investment required to build out the necessary infrastructure would have been too great to justify as a standalone business case.” SVI designed their network to scale up to 10 gigabits per second, ensuring the infrastructure will serve the Southside community for years to come.
The Impact
The shift from DSL-tier service to fast, reliable broadband was not incremental for San Jerardo. It was transformative. Cruzio heard from many families whose children’s educational opportunities had opened up in ways that simply weren’t possible before.
The moment that has stayed with everyone at Cruzio is a conversation with Horacio Amezquita, the long-term general manager of the cooperative and our primary community partner throughout the project. Horacio’s father was one of the original tenants, one of the farmworkers who helped transform that old army barracks into a home. Horacio has spent his life fighting for this community, battling for resources, stability, and dignity on behalf of its residents. To hear him talk about what getting connected meant to San Jerardo was a reminder of why this work matters.
In Southside, Brentnall pointed to similar before-and-after contrasts. Families that previously struggled with connectivity now have consistent access for online learning, telehealth, and staying in touch with loved ones. “This community went from completely unconnected to fully connected in a way that supports long-term needs,” she said. “That’s what the LEP program makes possible.”
James Hackett, Elise Brentnall, Commissioner Darcie Houck, and panel moderator Ben Swearingen
What We’d Tell Other ISPs and Communities
Both panelists had the same top-line message for ISPs considering an LEP application: do it, but go in prepared.
“Come in with solid documentation and a well-thought-out technical plan,” Hackett said. “The LEP team is knowledgeable and will engage seriously with your approach. And don’t be discouraged if the infrastructure challenge looks daunting. That’s exactly what the program is designed for.”
Brentnall emphasized the operational side. “Engage early on permitting and logistics,” she said. “Those elements can significantly impact timelines, and early alignment helps reduce delays.” She also stressed the value of community engagement before construction begins, making sure residents understand what’s coming and are ready to take advantage of the service from day one.
From Cruzio’s experience, one practical lesson stood out on the build itself. One of the distribution points at San Jerardo is located on a metal water tank on the property. The original mounting solution didn’t work, and the team had to pivot to high-strength magnetic mounts, which ultimately performed better anyway. The takeaway: build time into your site survey for non-standard structures, and always have a plan B ready.
About Equal Access
San Jerardo is one of several projects Cruzio has undertaken through the Equal Access initiative, a partnership between Cruzio and the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County with a simple goal: bridge the digital divide and bring true high-speed broadband to every family on the Central Coast, regardless of income level. Equal Access combines LEP grant funding with donations from individuals and businesses to build new infrastructure and subsidize service in communities that need it most. You can learn more or donate at equalaccesssantacruz.com.
Cruzio Internet has been serving Santa Cruz County since 1989. We’re 100% locally owned and operated, and connecting our community, all of it, is what we’re here for.
🎨 First Friday at CruzioWorks!🎨
