Meridiam, a sustainable infrastructure investment firm, broke ground on a transformative fiber project that will provide broadband access in the underserved Black Belt region of Alabama.
According to a news release, the firm will develop, build, finance, and manage a high-speed fiber-optic network that will extend fiber broadband to 53,000 households and businesses across more than 300 miles.
“High-speed reliable broadband is no longer nice to have,” said Selma Mayor James Perkins. “Today, it’s as important as gas, water, and electricity. In our increasingly digital society, cities without access to fiber broadband risk falling behind.
“It’s critical that the City of Selma makes fiber broadband accessible citywide by building utility-like infrastructure that serves our residents’ needs today and for generations to come.”
The fiber network is being developed and deployed at no cost to local governments or their taxpayers. Selma-based Yellowhammer Networks, a fiber-to-the-premises network developer owned and financed by Meridiam, has committed to fund 100% of the project, totaling $230 million in investment across the region.
Yellowhammer will additionally provide strategic, technical, and operational support to ensure the project’s success.
“Meridiam is dedicated to filling critical fiber infrastructure gaps and helping eliminate the divide that excludes millions of people from our digital society and compromises economic growth for all,” said Nicolas Rubio, CEO for the Americas, Meridiam. “Yellowhammer Networks is determined to make high-speed fiber broadband accessible to residents throughout Selma and the region regardless of their income levels.”
Omnipoint will serve as the open access network’s initial ISP partner, bringing new, high-quality, and affordable fiber broadband service to schools, businesses, and households across Selma, Demopolis, and the Alabama Black Belt. The network will extend to Bibb, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Sumter, and Wilcox counties.
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