Free internet for all in Gonzales; city looks to provide basic service by 2018

UPDATE 05/22/17 5:15 p.m.: Gonzales is a small city just an hour and a half south of the tech mecca that is Silicon Valley, but the tech scene there couldn’t be more different.

“I have three kids, and sometimes I’ll ask my daughter, ‘what are you doing on your cellphone?’ And she says, ‘my homework,'” Gonzales resident Maria Elena Reyes Martinez said in Spanish.

Martinez said she can’t afford to have internet at home and her kids either use the data on their smartphones or go to the library to work.

“We don’t have reliable, fast, affordable speed like other communities do,” Gonzales City Manager Rene Mendez said.

Mendez said, today, most people see the internet as a utility, just like water and sewer.

“You need that to survive. And you need internet to survive,” Mendez said.

People in Gonzales can get internet through private providers, but not everyone can afford the service.

For the past year, the city has been working to bring the internet speed up and the cost down.

“The cabling has been laid down on the west side of the city, between Santa Cruz and Soledad. Now one of the projects the city is going to be paying for — an off ramp to get that service here,” Mendez said.

Once that off ramp is completed, the city will work with private providers to offer internet service, and it’s looking to the city budget to pay for it.

“I think it’s a good idea. I hope they are taking us into account and want to help us economically,” Martinez said. “It’s difficult to sustain our families and any way they can help is good!”

The city has paid $50,000 to hire a consultant and a team so far. The next move will be to figure out the final cost and what internal sources can pay for this project.

The city is hoping to get basic internet service to everyone in Gonzales by this time next year.

PREVIOUS STORY: The city of Gonzales is working to provide all residents with basic internet service by 2018.

“Basic broadband internet service is almost like a utility; it’s almost like something that’s needed,” City Manager Rene Mendez said. “It’s almost like water and sewer. You need that to survive. And you need internet to survive.”

City officials have been working for a year to create an off ramp from the internet cable that runs from Santa Cruz to Soledad. Once the service is established, the city will work with private providers to distribute access to the public at an affordable rate.

Mendez said the city is looking to fund the project with its own money or through tax revenue. The hope is to either subsidize or cover the costs for those who cannot afford internet.

KION’s Linda Zhang will have the details at 6 p.m.