California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco

_________________________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Terrie Prosper, 415.703.1366, news@cpuc.ca.gov Docket #: T- 17279

CPUC APPROVES BROADBAND GRANT

FOR AIR AND SPACE PORT PROJECT IN MOJAVE

SAN FRANCISCO, June 24, 2010 - The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today approved a matching grant of $506,199 from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to the Mojave Air and Space Port project of Race Telecommunications, Inc.

The Mojave Air and Space Port project will bring high-speed Internet access service at speeds of up to100 mbps download and 25 mbps upload to more than 231 businesses and public service agencies such as hospitals, fire and police departments, and schools in unserved and underserved areas of Mojave, Kern County.

Mojave, located 50 miles east of Bakersfield in the high desert, is a gateway to Edwards Air Force Base and home to the National Test Pilot School and Mojave Space Port. Race Telecommunications Inc., a full-service voice, video, and Internet provider in northern and southern California, will deploy long-haul fiber from its headquarters in Los Angeles to Mojave, a distance of about 100 miles, and build a regional central office, data center, optic backbone network, and one local distribution ring within Kern County.

The CPUC's CASF grant will cover 40 percent of the project's total cost of $ 1,265,247. Race Telecommunications will provide 60 percent of the project cost from its existing capital budget.

Today's grant approval for Race's Mojave Air and Space Port Project is a modification of the previously submitted and approved Race Telecommunications Last Mile Broadband grant of $9.5 million contingent upon approval of federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 80 percent funding. When the Recovery Act application was not approved, the CPUC rescinded the CASF funding. Subsequently, Race Telecommunications submitted a new CASF application for the Mojave Air and Space Port project that was approved today.

The CPUC originally established the $100 million CASF in December 2007 to provide 40 percent matching infrastructure grants to broadband providers willing to put up the matching 60 percent of funds and to serve the nearly 2,000 California communities that are currently unserved and underserved by broadband. In July 2009, the CPUC revised the funding guidelines to 10 percent matching CASF grants provided the applicant is seeking Recovery Act funding for 80 percent of its project cost.

To date, of that $100 million, $54.02 million for 37 broadband infrastructure grants have so far been approved, covering 12,741 square miles, benefiting 97,760 potential households. Today's approval brings the total to $54.53 million. This total amount of CASF funding reflects a decrease from the previous to-date total because in Resolution T-17272 (May 20, 2010) the CPUC rescinded contingent funding for seven projects denied federal Recovery Act funding.

Applications for CASF grants continue to be accepted by the CPUC. Prospective applicants may submit new CASF funding applications, either for a 40 percent CASF grant or for a 10 percent matching grant to complement the applicant's second round Recovery Act funding application.

For information on the Governor's Broadband Taskforce, please visit www.calink.ca.gov/taskforce/aboutus.asp.

For more information on communications issues, please visit www.CalPhoneInfo.com.

For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.

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