Twenty-three Alabama counties are receiving nearly $42 million in capital project fund grants for last-mile broadband projects.
The projects will cover nearly 2,350 miles across Alabama and are expected to provide broadband availability to more than 15,000 households, businesses, and community anchor institutions that currently don’t have high-speed internet access.
In February, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey awarded $148.3 million in Capital Projects Fund grants for broadband accessibility in more than two-thirds of the state’s 67 counties. Today’s grants are from the remaining funds. The Capital Projects Fund program, one of several sources of funds to expand broadband in the state, has funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
Spectrum Southeast, a Charter service, received the largest amount of funds — $19.43 million to provide high-speed internet accessibility to 3,916 unserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions in Colbert, Lauderdale, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker counties.
Other awards included (from largest to smallest):
- Innovations America (Bama Fiber): $5 million to provide high-speed internet access to 3,261 unserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions in Randolph County over a 360-mile area.
- Troy Cablevision (C Spire): $5 million to provide high-speed internet to 2,132 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Baldwin, Coffee, Crenshaw, Covington, Houston, and Pike counties covering 243 miles.
- Yellowhammer Networks: $3.63 million to provide high-speed internet over nearly 1,000 miles to provide access to 2,352 unserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions in Bibb, Chilton, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Shelby, and Sumter counties.
- Millry Telephone Co.: $2.84 million to provide 51 miles of high-speed internet accessibility to 236 unserved households and businesses in Washington County.
- Central Alabama Electric Cooperative: $2.28 million to provide high-speed broadband service over a 40-mile area in Chilton County providing access to 1,046 unserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions.
- Farmers Telecommunications Corp.: $1.93 million to provide high-speed broadband access to 380 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions over a 44-mile area in Jackson County.
- Roanoke Telephone Co.: $912,171 to supply high-speed internet accessibility over 111 miles to cover 1,118 unserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions in Randolph County.
- Mediacom: $720,905 to provide high-speed internet accessibility to 122 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in a 10-mile area of Mobile County.
- Connect Holding (Brightspeed): $209,521 to provide high-speed internet to 564 unserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions over a 70-mile area in Baldwin and Mobile counties.
“With these latest grants, Alabama takes another all-important step to supplying high-speed internet availability to more rural Alabama communities and neighborhoods,” said Govenor Ivey. “Upon completion of these projects, more children will have better learning opportunities, more businesses will have greater opportunities to compete worldwide, and emergency response departments and medical clinics will be able to offer improved services.”
Additional information about Alabama broadband, including state funding resources, awards made, and state-specific coverage, can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
