Nearly $42 million in federal funding will support new broadband expansion projects in 23 counties, Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said Monday.
The Capital Projects Fund grants for “last-mile” connectivity will provide broadband availability to more than 15,000 homes, businesses, and community anchors such as schools, libraries and hospitals that currently lack access.
The Capital Projects Fund money comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. In 2022 and 2023 lawmakers and Ivey dedicated about $500 million of the state’s more than $2 billion in ARPA funding to broadband expansion.
“With these latest grants, Alabama takes another all-important step to supplying high-speed internet availability to more rural Alabama communities and neighborhoods,” Ivey said in a written statement. “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.”
The Alabama Department of Economics and Community Affairs is administering the grants, as well as other funding sources to expand broadband access.
“Our state and so many partners are making continued progress in providing high-speed internet access to those unserved areas in Alabama,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said.
The grants were awarded to:
- Central Alabama Electric Cooperative: $2.28 million to 1,046 unserved households, businesses andcommunity anchor institutions in Chilton County.
- Connect Holding (Brightspeed): $139,968 to reach 315 unserved households and businesses in Mobile County.
- Connect Holding (Brightspeed): $69,553 to reach 249 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Baldwin County.
- Farmers Telecommunications Corp.: $1.93 million to reach 380 unserved households, businesses andcommunity anchor institutions in Jackson County.
- Innovations America (Bama Fiber): $5 million to reach 3,261 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Randolph County.
- Mediacom: $720,905 to reach 122 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Mobile County.
- Millry Telephone Co.: $2.84 million to reach 236 unserved households and businesses in Washington County.
- Spectrum Southeast: $5 million to reach 934 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Shelby County.
- Spectrum Southeast: $5 million to reach 1,303 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Walker County.
- Spectrum Southeast: $4.43 million to reach 662 unserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in Colbert and Lauderdale counties.
- Spectrum Southeast: $5 million to reach 1,017 unserved locations in St. Clair County.
- Roanoke Telephone Co.: $912,171 to reach 1,118 unserved locations in Randolph County.
- Troy Cablevision (C Spire): $5 million to reach 2,132 unserved locations in Baldwin, Coffee, Crenshaw, Covington, Houston and Pike counties.
- Yellowhammer Networks: $3.63 million to reach 2,352 locations in Bibb, Chilton, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Shelby and Sumter counties.
In 2022, mapping showed that 13% of Alabama’s 1.65 million addresses are unserved by broadband of at least 25/3 megabits per second, the federal definition of unserved. Nineteen percent of addresses are unserved by 100/20 megabits per second, the federal definition of underserved. Only about 25% of addresses have the 100/100 megabits per second the state is asking for from grant applicants.
State leaders allocated more than $500 million to broadband expansion. Federal rules say ARPA funds have to be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.