James Hackett and Chris Frost at In-N-Out to celebrate winning $2M CPUC grant

James Hackett and Chris Frost were named Titans of Tech 2022 for their work on providing broadband to those in need during COVID. This is a spotlight on James Hackett. To hear the stories of James, Chris, and others, be sure to join us on March 2, 2022 for Titans of Tech 2022. This event is available both in person or live-streamed via Zoom.

SC Works: Welcome, James. You are officially a Titan of Tech for 2022, and we'd like to know a little bit about the work that you've been doing to get this award.

James Hackett: Thanks, Doug. The Equal Access Initiative that we started here at Cruzio is a partnership with the Community Foundation and the County Office of Education. It's really been an important project, and we got a lot out of it on a personal level and a professional level. Through partnering with those two entities, we've been able to look at a problem that we've been aware of for many years as an ISP, but the pandemic really shone a light on the issues of digital inequity that are present in our county. Even though we're a relatively prosperous county, there are areas that are really underserved. When the pandemic hit, especially when the kids had to home school, it became apparent when we had large numbers of folks who just didn't have adequate internet access that they could continue with their education. Working with our partners at the County Office of Education and bringing in Susan True and her team at the Community Foundation has been incredible. We were able to put together our technology skills at Cruzio with a community foundation who could act as a nonprofit and generate philanthropic donations, and then the County Office of Education, who could pull together the school districts, who not only had the constituents who needed the internet, they also had the real estate that we could use to build out these internet hubs that we've been doing for the past year.

“We've built 13 Internet hubs down in South County internet infrastructure capable of serving a couple of thousand households.”

Now we've built 13 internet hubs down in South County, internet infrastructure capable of serving a couple of thousand households. We've connected over 700 students to free or very low cost internet. It's really been a great example of three existing community partners coming together and really just doing what they do best, and then the results being exponentially more than they could have done alone. So we're very proud to be a part of it. And the latest injection of funding from the county coming through the American Relief Plan Act, they've allocated some of those infrastructure stimulus funds to broadband and shown enough confidence in Cruzio and Equal Access, looking at the work we'd already done, to contribute half a million dollars into that initiative so that we can continue that work. Over the next twelve months, we're going to be building another 20 of these internet access hubs to serve folks throughout the county who just don't have access to affordable internet.

SCWorks: That's really wonderful. Roughly what percentage of our tri-community is without Internet broadband?

James Hackett: So at the beginning of the pandemic, it was estimated that almost 50% of the students in the County didn't have access to internet adequate for home schooling, and 20% didn’t have any home internet at all. The latest numbers I’ve seen are more like under 10%. So we made a difference. We're a county that has relatively good internet access. But there are still pockets of the county where the infrastructure isn't there. And there are areas of the county that even if the infrastructure is there, the families who are living there just can't afford the internet access that is available or can't connect with some of the other low cost plans that are offered by some of the bigger ISPs. Sometimes they're difficult to connect to you. There's a laborious process of signing up. When you do connect, they often come with reduced speeds or capped usage. So it was really important to us that we put a product out there that was exactly the same internet we're selling at full price.

It's really important that we're always keeping in mind it's not just about building out to areas in the mountains that might not have access to fast internet, although that is important. But throughout the state, there's a much higher percentage of folks who are living in areas that are actually relatively urban and relatively well served with internet infrastructure who just can't connect to it because of issues of affordability. We wanted to be sure we were addressing both of those aspects with the Equal Access Initiative, and we hope with this new funding from the county and continued assistance from the Community Foundation, that we can continue to make a dent in that in 2022.

SCWorks: Cruzio is uniquely an independent ISP. Has Cruzio been able to serve our community in ways that the big corporate ISPs are not able?

James Hackett: We are one of the oldest and largest independent internet providers in the US. Cruzio started up in 1989 and back in the 90s there were hundreds and hundreds of independent ISPs throughout the country. Most of them either went out of the business or got swallowed up by the bigger ISPs. There's no doubt in our mind that Cruzio has thrived in no small part because we're located in Santa Cruz County and we're located in a community that values local independent businesses, shares an ethical compass with Cruzio, and values a local independent ISP that is committed to the open internet, net neutrality and privacy. We think in another community that didn't value those things, we could very well have gone the same way as so many other independents. So turning the question around first, the community has really been vital to Cruzio's success. Now, do we think Cruzio brings something to the community and an independent ISP brings something the big guys don't? 100% we do.

We're tied into our community in a way that those nationwide ISPs just can't be. They don't have the same understanding of the community. They don't have the relationships we've established over decades in the community, working with local businesses, all of the families and community members. We work with all the elected officials and staff in the cities and counties that we've developed long term relationships with over the years. We have the ability to see this is where more internet is needed. This is where there's an issue, this is where we can help. This is who we can work with in a way that bigger ISPs just don't have the ability to do that. The Equal Access Initiative is a perfect example. We've worked with the County Office of Education for years. Jason Borgen, one of last year's Titans, knew that he just had to pick up the phone and call and we would do something to help. Chris Frost, my colleague here at Cruzio, knew Susan True at the Community Foundation through his work with Shakespeare Santa Cruz that he's a big part of over the years. He picked up the phone and talked to her and she said, 100%, I'm on board. Let's do it. The partnership came together from a couple of phone calls that without us being a local independent with deep roots in the community just wouldn’t have happened. The perfect example of where having a local independent ISP is a great benefit to the community and working with partners like COE and Community Foundation, it just makes initiatives and successes like Equal Access possible.

SCWorks: Tell me about your journey. How did you get to where you are today?

James Hackett: Good question. Probably tell from the accent. I'm not a Santa Cruz native originally. I grew up in the UK. Came over here in my early 20s and I've been in Santa Cruz since 1995. But like a lot of people at Cruzio, I don't have a background in technology. I didn't go to school for anything that we're doing. I came through a customer service background, landed at Cruzio through complete luck, got a job at the front desk. Just like myself, Chris Frost and 90% of the people at Cruz started at the front desk, answering the phones, helping walk-ins. This is back when we were at 903 Pacific, where the SC Warriors offices are now. Chris and Peggy, the founders of Cruzio, put a lot of faith in me and I was promoted quickly and worked my way up to now.

It's been a great journey. We love hiring new young folks into Cruzio who are taking a non-traditional path. We’re a great local company where people who may be not with the traditional background can land, get a lot of experience, bring a lot, do a lot of good, learn a lot. And whether they stay with us, one, two, five, ten or 20 years, they contribute to what Cruzio is doing and contribute to that Santa Cruz tribe that you referred to.

SCWorks: What do you do when you're not working? What do you do to have fun? Surely you have other things going on in your life.

James Hackett: Sure, from time to time, I have a few hours away from the laptop. Last couple of years have been interesting, of course, as they have for everybody. So it's put a crimp in some of our hobbies. But yeah, I live up here in Felton. One of the things I do more than anything is just get out and hike Fall Creek, Henry Cowell. Multiple times a week I'm up in the redwoods hiking. We've got a couple of dogs so taking the dogs out, walking around, getting fresh air. That's one thing that hasn't been impacted too much by the restrictions of the last couple of years. And then when we can, we travel, mainly around California. I come from halfway across the world and I feel like there's a huge amount for me to explore still in California. So up and down the coast we often go out on weekends and day trips. Hoping to get back to that as soon as possible. We've got a lovely little house here and through connecting with a great local company and having some good breaks we’ve been able to make a life here in Santa Cruz County. We've got a lovely spot here and I like nothing better than sitting out in the garden with a good book with the dogs at my feet on a summer's afternoon. Yes, you will find me pretty happy just out there most weekends.

Spotlight: James Hackett Titan of Tech 2022