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Community Broadband Case Study: Tellus Venture Associates raises $12 million for Central Coast Broadband Consortium The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved a $4,975,009 grant from the California Advanced Services Fund to the Central Coast Broadband Consortium (CCBC) on Friday, 20 November 2009. Combined with $7 million in local funding, the venture has raised a total of $12 million. The business plan and funding were developed by Tellus Venture Associates, which is the principal consultant to the project. Other services provided by Tellus Venture Associates include creating the plans and budgets for the construction and operational phases, preparing the required financial documents and managing the grant application. The project is headed by Cruzio Media, Inc., which will own and operate the $55 million, 310 mile fiber optic network planned for Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties on California's central coast. CPUC's approval followed endorsements by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the region's legislators, including Congressman Sam Farr, Senator Abel Maldonado and Assemblyman Bill Monning. In March 2010, Tellus Venture Associates prepared a proposal, on behalf of Cruzio and CCBC, to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) for a $43 million grant to complete the funding of the project. This program was established by the federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. The project will create a backbone linking unserved and underserved areas to better served communities, and connecting the entire region to Tier 1 Internet facilities in Silicon Valley.