Tuesday, June 20, 2023–9:35 p.m.
-News Release-
U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) have announced a new $12.2 million grant to provide communities in northwest Georgia with high-speed, low-cost internet access through the construction of a 185-mile fiber route across eight counties between Chattanooga, Tennessee; Bremen, Georgia; and Atlanta, Georgia.
The grant comes from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program–a $1 billion program made possible by the bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provides funding for the construction or improvement of broadband infrastructure.
“In the 21st century, broadband access is not a luxury—it is essential. That is why I was proud to join Senator Ossoff in securing this critical funding to help provide high-speed and low-cost internet to communities across northwest Georgia,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “Rural Georgia is our lifeblood, and I will continue fighting to strengthen broadband access for folks in every corner of the state.”
“This broadband expansion is crucial for children who are doing schoolwork at home in the afternoons, for small businesses, and for farmers,” said Senator Ossoff. “Senator Warnock and I want to make sure every community in Georgia benefits from high-speed internet access.”
The Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure grant program will help expand and extend broadband infrastructure to reduce the cost of connecting areas that are unserved or underserved.
The proposed fiber network aims to reduce the costs of bringing the internet to homes and businesses in northwest Georgia that currently do not have access to affordable, high-speed internet.
Based upon the 2022 Georgia Broadband Map, over 28,000 Georgians stand to benefit from this latest investment in rural broadband access.
The project will take around two years to complete and can grow and adapt to future needs, and it will encourage further expansion of internet infrastructure throughout the eight-county service area.