Comcast invests $4.5 million to bring high-speed internet to Planada

PLANADA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Logging in online will be better than before.

Local leaders took action to advocate to bring much-needed resources to students and their families in Planada - investing in high speed internet and technology in rural Merced county.

On Monday, Comcast along with school and community leaders held a groundbreaking.

After more than five years in the making, Comcast is investing $4.5 million to bring high-speed broadband services to residents and businesses in Planada.

Superintendent of the Elementary School District, Jose Gonzalez, says the district offers drone coding, gaming and robotics, and 3D printing.

But once students go home, they do not have high-speed internet to continue that work.

Gonzalez says having this access is truly transformational.

"We struggled with connectivity, we pushed out almost 800 hot spots, they are pinging off of the same tower, so even with them have access, it just wasn't producing the results that we needed for our students," Gonzalez says.

Comcast also provided laptops to 100 eighth graders - who went through not only the pandemic and the flooding.