Alabama makes strides on broadband access and infrastructure in the Black Belt

Infrastructure in Alabama’s Black Belt region - and in rural Alabama in general - lags far behind the rest of the state, but some progress is being made. From roads and bridges to sewage systems to broadband internet access, there has been a shift among Alabama’s leadership in the last few years that will benefit rural areas in the long run, according to researchers at the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center. “In recent years, Alabama’s state infrastructure policy has gone from being reactive to proactive,” said Dr. Stephen Katsinas, head of the Education Policy Center, at a press briefing on infrastructure in the Black Belt this week. “I give Gov. [Kay] Ivey a lot of credit.” For years, Alabama’s Black Belt - the poorest region in the state and one of the poorest in the nation - trailed in infrastructure. There are whole counties where 0 percent of residents had broadband internet access as recently as 2020, according to the Education Policy Center. Yet some of that is now starting to change. Gov Ivey (R-AL) used $17 million from the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Fund to help expand rural broadband access during the pandemic, and signed the Connect Alabama Act of 2021, both of which have already started to help.