Company Profile

Company Overview

Overview of California Emerging Technology Fund

The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) is a non-profit corporation established pursuant to the requirements from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in approving the mergers of SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI. As a result, those merged companies will contribute a total of $60 million to CETF over five years. A 12-person Board of Directors governs CETF. The CETF Board of Directors has adopted a goal to leverage the impact of the $60 million seed capital by at least four-fold. CETF is collaborating with key partners such as The Children’s Partnership to achieve this objective.

The mission of CETF is to provide statewide leadership to close the Digital Divide by accelerating the deployment and adoption of broadband and other advanced communication services to underserved communities and populations. The goal is to make a substantial and measurable impact on closing the Digital Divide in California across all population demographic groups in the next five years, which requires both the availability of broadband technology as well as the ability to access and use it. High-speed Internet access is referred to generically as broadband and includes both wireline and wireless technologies; CETF is technology-neutral. CETF makes investments in programs and projects to improve Access, Applications, Affordability, Accessibility and Assistance (the 5As) for adoption of broadband technology, and is focusing on three priority consumer communities: (a) rural and remote areas that lack the broadband infrastructure; (b) urban disadvantaged neighborhoods that lack computers and affordable connections to the Internet with relevant applications; and (c) people with disabilities, a priority which will be addressed in part by promoting universal design of all technology to be accessible and by integrating accessibility into the other two priorities.


Overview of The Children’s Partnership

The Children’s Partnership is a national, non-profit child advocacy organization working to ensure that all children have the resources and the opportunities they need to grow up healthy and lead productive lives. The Children's Partnership ensures that the opportunities of digital technology benefit all children and families. The Children's Partnership develops policy and advocacy agendas to expand these demonstrated solutions to underserved communities around the country.

The Children's Partnership will continue to serve as a founding partner of School2Home and will provide ongoing leadership, guidance and communications support for the program. The Children's Partnership will pursue federal and state public policy at the direction of School2Home to support the sustainability of the School2Home program.