California

Strengthening California’s defenses against emerging artificial intelligence-enabled cyber threats, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a first-in-the-nation initiative to protect state assets and critical infrastructure while advancing responsible AI innovation.

Updating California’s roadmap for protecting the state government from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announced the release of an updated strategy—known as Cal-Secure 2.0—to protect the state against new online threats, including artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cyberattacks. Building on California’s first statewide cybersecurity st

U.S. states and territories are making progress on their broadband goals this summer. A number of state-run initiatives have been launched, and several infrastructure projects are in full swing. While it's easy to have all eyes on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program—and, hypocritically, more on that later—there are countless other actions states are taking to ensure robust broadband access and universal digital adoption. From infrastructure planning to deployment to increasing awareness and resources, states are doing it all.

On the afternoon of July 17, 2026, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved California's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Final Proposal. This milestone represents months of work by the California Public Utilities Commission and our federal partners since the submission of the Final Proposal in December 2025.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved more than $74 million in California Advanced Services Fund grants to expand high-speed broadband infrastructure in underserved communities across California. The CPUC approved three CASF Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account resolutions totaling up to $74,095,939. The approved projects include:

California regulators are challenging how AT&T is retiring its legacy business data services, warning that the carrier’s handling of the shift could jeopardize critical infrastructure that public utilities depend on. In a July 14 letter, California Public Utilities Commission President John Reynolds urged AT&T to address a growing list of customer complaints.

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) has filed a motion to intervene in AT&T’s federal lawsuit against the California Public Utilities Commission and California Attorney General. TURN submitted this filing in partnership with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the Communications Workers of America (CWA). AT&T’s lawsuit aims to have the federal courts determine that California’s Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) rules do not align with federal policy.

Old copper landlines are going the way of so many other aging pieces of technology as smartphones have become the way many people surf the web, pay bills, watch movies and keep up with friends and family. But some residents of L.A. and California—particularly those who live in fire-prone areas—are determined to hold on to their traditional phones. As telecommunications giant AT&T accelerates its push to retire landline service to about 184,000 households and 15,000 businesses across the state, hundreds of Californians have voiced alarm in public comments.

AT&T's plans to shutter its power-hungry copper network in California moved ahead a step or two after the Federal Communications Commission ruled that the operator could start the conversion process for about 184,000 customers in the state. That process targets a subset of AT&T customers who are still using copper-based services in the state. Under the plan, those customers can keep their existing service until it is discontinued on or after June 1, 2027.

Copper network retirement in California has taken another litigious turn. In a suit against the Federal Communications Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is asking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a federal court in San Francisco, to determine that the FCC's new rules aimed at expediting copper network shutdowns constitutes an overreach that violates federal law and conflicts with notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements.