In the State of Georgia, approximately 1 million residents are without access to broadband internet services, with roughly 70% residing in rural areas. To combat the digital divide caused by lack of access, Senator Jon Ossoff announced in January 2023 that $250 million in federal funding has been secured to help improve existing and deploy new broadband infrastructure.
The implementation of the funding, which is being allocated as part of the Capital Projects Funds, will be overseen by Senator Ossoff’s office and the state Congress to “make sure it is efficient, that it’s a good steward of tax dollars, and that it’s consistent with the intent of the law,” said Senator Ossoff.
The $250 million sum is, so far, being divided amongst 29 preliminary grant recipients and will bring connectivity to over 76,000 locations in 18 counties. A further five counties are eligible for grant funding that did not receive funding during this round; however, a second round will be opening up later this year.
The Digital Divide in Georgia
During the Covid-19 public health crisis, it became evident that too many United States citizens and businesses are lacking internet connectivity – specifically school-aged children. Early on in the pandemic, as schools around the world were closing, Georgia state officials identified nearly 140,000 households with school-aged children that did not have sufficient access to the internet, with a further 9% of the entire state population lacking any connectivity at all. And while school-aged children were of primary concern due to school closures, there were other incredibly troubling outcomes of the digital divide that Covid-19 brought to the forefront. With nearly every human interaction occurring virtually, many individuals had to forgo preventive healthcare appointments and could not access telehealth services when and if they became ill.
Although roughly 97% of the adult population of the United States owns a mobile phone, and 85% of those phones are smartphones, in areas without reliable broadband service, they may not have had the ability to connect to the various virtual services required to go about their daily tasks. Additionally, even in communities with broadband access, the influx of traffic on networks due to the extreme conditions may have made connections too slow to be productive.
As part of the American Rescue Plan Act, billions of dollars were allocated to states specifically to improve their broadband infrastructure. Funding is now being awarded to states based on the grant proposals submitted by state legislatures in conjunction with utility companies, internet service providers, and non-profit organizations.
Broadband Availability Mapping
From 2005-2007 the idea of broadband mapping grew in popularity within the federal government as projects emerged first in Kentucky and then in California. By 2008, the FCC had approved a nationwide broadband mapping project, with the intention of identifying all under and unserved communities in the country to aid in future broadband expansion planning.
With the release of so much funding for broadband infrastructure improvements, many states have embarked on their own broadband mapping projects. Like some other states, Georgia has created its own Broadband Availability Map. This has allowed the state to compare its assessment of under and un-served areas with what the Federal Government reports and make the necessary adjustment requests to ensure adequate funding and resources are provided.
A Wireless Solution in Donalsonville
Meanwhile, the town of Donalsonville, in Seminole County, which has been working on increasing its broadband availability since 2015, received a boost of $560,000 in funding. Its main broadband initiative – eDonalsonville – has been set back multiple times by hurricanes and the Covid-19 pandemic and seeks to utilize pre-existing infrastructure to increase broadband access. By using structures such as water towers and silos to mount antennas, they can expand the reach of existing signals in a more cost-efficient manner that has saved them millions of dollars. Residents of the town have experienced a noticeable increase in connectivity, though not all areas are covered, and the more rural selections of town are still without access.
Infinity Technology Solutions for Broadband Infrastructure Projects
In partnership with Nokia, Infinity Technology Solutions is the partner state governments, and private internet service providers need to maximize the funding allocated to their communications infrastructure. We have extensive experience assisting public and private entities in building fiber networks to make broadband internet access a reality for all U.S. citizens.
Contact us to learn how we can help you launch your broadband infrastructure project successfully.
