On Monday, Governor Kay Ivey announced that the Trump administration has approved Alabama’s final Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program proposal, which now officially unlocks nearly $460 million in grants to bring high-speed internet to the last unserved corners of the state.

Today’s milestone is the most powerful testament to well over a decade of sustained attention from state leaders to close Alabama’s digital divide.

“This approval marks an important step forward in our work to close the digital divide in Alabama,” Governor Ivey said in a statement.

“Reliable high-speed internet is essential for economic growth, education, healthcare and everyday life. I am proud of the collaboration between our state leaders, ADECA, local communities and providers that made this plan possible. With this progress, we are ensuring that families and businesses across Alabama will have the connectivity they need to thrive in the modern economy.”

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) signed off on the plan, which funds 63 projects designed to reach approximately 92,000 currently unserved locations statewide.

With completion of those projects, Alabama will achieve full broadband coverage as defined by NTIA.

Of the 63 projects, 71% will use fiber technology, 24% will use low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology, and 5% will use hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) technology.

Awardees span a wide range of national and Alabama-based companies and cooperatives:

Amazon – $8.83 million total

• Statewide –$8.83 million to provide access to high-speed internet service to 14,728 locations throughout the state.

Ardmore Telephone Co. – $2.63 million total

• Lowndes County – $2.63 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 251 locations.

AT&T – $72.96 million total

• Autauga County – $2.62 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 366 locations.
• Bibb County – $1.54 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 154 locations.
• Clarke County – $7.79 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 779 locations.
• Cullman County – $3.67 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 368 locations.
• Dallas County – $14.45 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,487 locations.
• Jefferson County – $9.27 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,542 locations.
• Lee County – $9.93 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,132 locations.
• Montgomery County – $4.48 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 862 locations.
• Morgan County – $194,503 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 105 locations.
• Russell County – $1.12 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 639 locations.
• Shelby County – $8.17 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 817 locations.
• Talladega County – $4.68 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 468 locations.
• Walker County – $5.05 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 505 locations.

Brightspeed – $14.31 million total

• Butler County – $1.73 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 707 locations.
• Coffee County – $2.07 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 349 locations.
• Crenshaw County – $3.71 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 466 locations.
• Geneva County – $2.54 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 396 locations.
• Henry County – $1.87 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 680 locations.
• Pickens County – $2.39 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,804 locations.

Comcast – $132.36 million total

• Calhoun County – $10.30 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,231 locations.
• Colbert County – $7.71 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,042 locations.
• Etowah County – $11.61 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,194 locations.
• Houston County – $14.29 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 2,585 locations.
• Lauderdale County – $8.83 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,190 locations.
• Mobile County – $30.60 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 5,295 locations.
• St. Clair County – $16.61 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 2,172 locations.
• Tuscaloosa County – $32.41 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 3,389 locations.

Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative – $4.23 million total

• DeKalb County – $2.60 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 322 locations.
• Marshall County – $1.63 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 273 locations.

Millry Telephone Company, Inc. – $9.45 million total

• Washington County – $9.45 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,117 locations.

mStreet Fiber Alabama – $24.21 million total

• Greene County – $2.69 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 384 locations.
• Hale County – $6.37 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 872 locations.
• Marengo County – $3.75 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 511 locations.
• Perry County – $4.79 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,167 locations.
• Sumter County – $6.61 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 886 locations.

Point Broadband – $1.82 million total

• Clay County – $1.82 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,176 locations.

Premier Broadband– $46.35 million total

• Chilton County – $19.91 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 2,006 locations.
• Cleburne County – $20.55 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 2,066 locations.
• Lawrence County – $5.89 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 658 locations.

SP Broadband – $57.6 million total

• Conecuh County – $22.81 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 3,149 locations.
• Escambia County – $10.84 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,383 locations.
• Monroe County – $23.95 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 3,395 locations.

SpaceX – $7.85 million total

• Statewide – $3.91 million to provide high-speed internet service to 3,461 locations in different parts of the state.
• Bullock County – $41,250 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 48 locations.
• Chambers County – $306,000 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 378 locations.
• Choctaw County – $138,750 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 160 locations.
• Covington County – $317,250 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 406 locations.
• Jackson County – $251,250 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 260 locations.
• Pike County – $498,000 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 431 locations.
• Tallapoosa County – $761,250 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 848 locations.
• Wilcox County – $1.47 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,534 locations.
• Winston County – $198,000 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 245 locations.

Spectrum Southeast – $16.61 million

• Blount County – $6.51 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,271 locations.
• Cherokee County – $606,229 to provide access to high-speed internet service in 142 locations.
• Dale County – $9.50 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 1,093 locations.

Windsteam Alabama – $17.86 million total

• Barbour County – $6.19 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 864 locations.
• Coosa County – $2.89 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 514 locations.
• Elmore County – $5.07 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 865 locations.
• Macon County – $3.71 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 531 locations.

Zitel – $41.87 million

• Baldwin County – $29.83 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 9,984 locations.
• Randolph County – $12.04 million to provide access to high-speed internet service in 4,538 locations.

ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said the approval reflects years of deliberate groundwork.

“This approval reflects the strong partnership between Alabama, the federal government, internet providers and local communities across our state,” Boswell said.

“Under Governor Ivey’s leadership, our goal has always been clear – deliver reliable, high-speed internet to every eligible location in Alabama in the most responsible and cost-effective way possible. This plan and these projects position our state to do exactly that while ensuring these investments will support Alabama’s communities, businesses and families for generations to come.”

RELATED: Be Linked Alabama: Interactive map lights up broadband growth

The roots of Monday’s announcement stretch back to around 2010, when Republicans took control of both chambers of the Alabama Legislature for the first time in 136 years and broadband connectivity quickly emerged as a priority of the new majorities.

What followed was a massive scale-up of legislative and executive actions spanning more than a decade.

By the time BEAD funds became available, Alabama had the institutional infrastructure, partnerships and policy framework in place to move faster and more efficiently than nearly any other state in the country.

According to ADECA and Governor’s Office, that disciplined focus has paid off in how far Alabama has stretched the available dollars.

Of the original $1.4 billion allocated to Alabama, ADECA is saving more than $800 million, over 60% of the original allocation.

The 63 funded projects average less than $5,000 per location served, a figure that compares favorably to national benchmarks.

When ADECA submitted the final proposal to NTIA in September, many states’ BEAD deployments were running $4,000-$10,000 per location, with remote areas pushing averages even higher.

Alabama came in at the low end of that range, which placed the state among the highest echelon of affordability and effectiveness.

Former Alabama Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield, who was central to those efforts during his time in the Alabama Legislature, said today from his role as CEO of the Energy Institute of Alabama, that the Trump administration’s approval, and the state’s award of more than $460 million, is a “transformational milestone in our state’s broadband journey.”

“As a result of Governor Kay Ivey, the Alabama Legislature, and electric utilities and internet service providers across our state developing, prioritizing, and implementing a plan for broadband expansion that has been a model for states across the country to follow, we have secured significant levels of funding from the federal government that will impact the lives of tens of thousands of Alabamians,” Scofield said.

“This is yet another huge leap forward for our state and our mission to extend high-speed internet access to all Alabamians.”

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.