California announces nation's largest public broadband network

California has switched on the nation’s largest public broadband network, the Middle-Mile Broadband Network.

The first live connection serves the Bishop Paiute Tribe, which will operate its own internet service to improve local access.

Built from repurposed infrastructure in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, the network is aimed at underserved rural and Indigenous communities.

The launch highlights a state-led approach to closing the digital divide as federal broadband priorities shift.