MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama’s ongoing initiative to expand broadband access across the state has now seen more than $501 million in grants awarded to internet service providers, an investment that is projected to expand access to high-speed internet to almost 127,000 households and institutions.
The latest figures on Alabama’s broadband expansion project, dubbed ‘Be Linked Alabama’ by Gov. Kay Ivey during its launch last year, were shared Monday during a meeting of the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority.
“You can see that we’re making a lot of progress,” said Maureen Neighbors, division chief for the Digital Expansion Authority.
As of Monday, Alabama has awarded grants for 195 broadband projects totaling more than $501 million. Recipients contribute close to $460 million in matching funds. In total, those 195 projects are expected to lay close to 13,000 miles in new broadband infrastructure, with a focus on Alabama’s rural areas.
That focus on rural communities was championed during the meeting by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, who had frequently sought guarantees to ensure the state’s rural areas didn’t get left behind.
“We really appreciate the work that you all are doing out there to bring broadband across the state of Alabama to give us a competitive edge,” Singleton said Monday.
While the Alabama Legislature has committed a considerable amount of state funds toward broadband expansion, the bulk of the funds – close to $2 billion – had come to the 2021 Infrastructure Bill and American Rescue Plan Act.
Kenneth Boswell, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, the agency responsible for overseeing the broadband expansion initiative, also praised state lawmakers for their efforts on the projects.
Boswell urged lawmakers to ensure projects are completed by the end of 2026, a deadline mandated by the federal government that if not adhered to, could see the loss of the federal funding.
“We are going through the process of making sure (the ISPs) know how to interface with our computer systems and things of that nature, but we have got to play by the timelines that the federal government has placed on us. All I’m asking you all is please, help us not have to send any of that money back.”
“We have the needs for the funding,” said Rep. Randall Shedd, R-Baileyton, the chair of the Digital Expansion Authority. “We sure don’t want to have to send any back.”
After the meeting, Shedd told Alabama Daily News that meeting the 2026 deadline was something lawmakers were “really focused on,” and that the potential fallout of having to return billions in federal funding was still a worry among legislators.
“The funding that we’ve already appropriated, announced and allocated, we’re concerned that it gets close to the end of the deadline and not be utilized, and then there’s not enough time to reallocate those funds, that’s what we’re worried about,” Shedd told ADN.
“There’s a lot of speculation that the federal government may extend the 2026 deadline, but we can’t count on that, so it’s just something we really have to stay focused on with our providers.”
With that said, Shedd still said he was optimistic that the broadband expansion projects would be completed on time, something he attributed to the Legislature being proactive in allocating the federal funds.
“It looks good,” he said on the prospect of projects being completed in time. “One good thing that we’ve had in Alabama is we planned early; the ADECA staff, the Legislature, we got in this earlier than some of the states did, so I think that’s going to really pay off on the deadline.”