Nearly $42 million in broadband expansion projects awarded to 23 Alabama counties

In the latest act of Alabama’s years-long broadband expansion effort, Governor Kay Ivey announced an almost $42 million Capital Projects Fund grant to be allocated toward 23 counties across the state.

The new funding will help to provide broadband availability to more than 15,000 households, businesses, and community anchors. Once completed, the additional “last-mile broadband” will cover 2,347 miles.

“With these latest grants, Alabama takes another all-important step to supplying high-speed internet availability to more rural Alabama communities and neighborhoods,” said Governor 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.”

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ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell also emphasized the importance of the grant for Alabamians currently without access to broadband.

“Our state and so many partners are making continued progress in providing high-speed internet access to those unserved areas in Alabama,” said Boswell. “I remain honored in the trust that Governor Ivey and the Alabama Legislature have placed in ADECA in carrying out this mission that will truly change lives for the better.”

“Last-mile” projects are the final leg of high-speed internet installation between the internet service provider and the customer, whether it be family households, businesses, or community anchor institutions like schools, fire stations, libraries, and post offices. Once installation is complete, the households, businesses, and institutions have the option to connect to the network by becoming a customer of the internet service provider.

Those awarded grants and coverage areas are:

• Central Alabama Electric Cooperative – $2.28 million to provide high-speed internet service over a 40-mile area in Chilton County providing access to 1,046 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions.
• Connect Holding (Brightspeed) – $139,968 to provide high-speed internet to 315 unserved households and businesses over a 51-mile area in Mobile County.
• Connect Holding (Brightspeed) – $69,553 to provide high-speed broadband access to 249 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions over a 19-mile area in Baldwin County.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Millry Telephone Co. – $2.84 million to provide 51 miles of high-speed internet accessibility to 236 unserved households and businesses in Washington County.
• Spectrum Southeast – $5 million to provide high-speed internet accessibility over a 110-mile area to 934 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Shelby County.
• Spectrum Southeast – $5 million to provide 105 miles of high-speed internet accessibility to 1,303 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Walker County.
• Spectrum Southeast – $4.43 million to provide high-speed internet accessibility to 662 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in a 93-mile area in Colbert and Lauderdale counties.
• Spectrum Southeast – $5 million to provide 111 miles of high-speed internet accessibility for 1,017 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in St. Clair 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.
• 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.

In February, Governor Ivey awarded $148.3 million in Capital Projects Fund grants for broadband accessibility in more than two-thirds of the state’s 67 counties. The grants being awarded are from the remaining funds.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten