Broadband Boost Connects Rural Areas
Broadband is increasing throughout the state, as leaders on both sides of the aisle use federal dollars to improve infrastructure.
Georgia’s broadband infrastructure is seeing dramatic improvements due to a combination of federal investment and bipartisan local leadership bringing the dollars home. The results could see Georgia enhancing its status as a technology hub, with more data centers, fiber manufacturing, fintech, cybersecurity and software firms. Improved broadband speed could boost the bottom line for agriculture and manufacturing firms in parts of Georgia where service had previously been spotty. Improved telehealth and educational opportunities could help break generational poverty that often accompanies a digital divide.
Last year, Georgia’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff announced $1.3 billion in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program to expand broadband and strengthen access to affordable, high-speed internet. At the time, around 15% of Georgians lacked reliable broadband access. The funding is distributed to various local contractors by the Georgia Technology Authority.
This investment came after Warnock, Ossoff and 100 bipartisan state leaders pushed the Biden Administration to upgrade National Broadband Maps to more accurately reflect locations in need of high-speed internet. According to Warnock, the FCC’s first iteration of the map omitted up to 220,000 Georgia addresses. The FCC has since updated the map twice, with each new version’s data improving in accuracy. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Ossoff and Warnock also helped expand the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has given some 60,000 Georgians internet access for only $35 per month.
Georgia is one of just two states where localities can earn their certifications to become Broadband Ready Communities certified through the BEAD program, by submitting applications showing they have met the program’s requirements. To get certified, the Georgia Broadband Program requires local governments to adopt a program-approved ordinance with criteria that includes a single jurisdiction as the permitting point of contact and justification if charging more than $100 in fees. Georgia has at least 49 localities certified as Broadband Ready Communities. In other words, these communities have removed obstacles to high-speed internet installation, showing providers they are ready for expansion.
The $1.3 billion supplements $820 million in funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to improve Georgians’ broadband access. Additionally, since 2022, Georgia has awarded $642 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to construct broadband internet for rural locations lacking connections. Combined with money from the Federal Communications Commission and private investment, more than $1.5 billion was given to utilities and others to provide service to nearly 77,000 locations in 28 counties. According to Gov. Brian Kemp, the utilities getting the money had committed to spend about $220 million of their own money to match the federal cash.
The COVID-19 relief funding alone gave around 209,000 homes and businesses across the state access to high-speed service. That’s in addition to nearly 180,000 locations to which the FCC awarded $326 million via its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. One area getting more widespread service is Burke County, where Comcast Corp. received $16.7 million to serve more than 6,000 homes and businesses. Comcast got nearly $67 million in FCC funding overall, the largest single recipient among 12 cable and telephone companies and electric cooperatives (EMCs) in Georgia that got funding.
In February 2022, Kemp announced nearly $408 million in preliminary awards, which when leveraged with local matches totaled $738 million, the largest broadband investment in the state’s history. Three grant programs – leveraging funding from the ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Capital Projects Fund – aimed to serve some 205,000 unserved locations.
The state’s investment is complemented by hundreds of millions of dollars in private commitments through public-private partnerships, including legislative efforts like Senate Bill 2 passed in 2019, which allowed EMCs to provide broadband service.
What a boon for rural Georgia, which comprises 90% of the state’s unserved addresses. Governments and economic developers should strategize now to optimize these investments.
