Georgia

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $313 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in 18 states to reliable high-speed internet.

The Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence released nearly two dozen recommendations on how Georgia should deal with the rapidly growing, widespread technology. The nine-member bipartisan committee unanimously passed the 185-page report at its final meeting at the Capitol on December 3.

The Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) announced the rollout of a $1.3 billion grant program to support the continued expansion of high-speed internet access to Georgians and further close the digital divide. These funds will be available through the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program with grants administered and deployed by GTA and the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. Applications for the competitive grant program open, December 2, 2024. 

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Georgia and Indiana, allowing them to request access to more than $37 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

Georgia: $22,455,639

More than a million residents in the southeastern U.S. started the week without fixed broadband and plenty more without cell phone service after Hurricane Helene brought never-before-seen levels of flooding to the valleys of Appalachia. Some operators on the extent of the damage and anticipated timelines for recovery:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Carolina’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. This approval enables Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Carolina to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. This action allows states to request:  

Whitfield County (GA) Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen said no resident within the county should be “left behind” concerning broadband internet access. Speaking at a community listening session, Jensen and county consultant Jake Bearden heard from members of the public about internet access and broadband projects. Whitfield County was awarded $30,000 in grant funding in March from Connect Humanity’s Appalachian Digital Accelerator initiative. Bearden said the meeting was the “first step in making sure that all of Whitfield County has equal access to (broadband).” Jensen said the

LiveOak Fiber, which operates fiber broadband networks in Georgia and Florida, has secured $250 million from J.P. Morgan to fund its fiber network expansion in the southeastern United States. The quarter billion investment will be used to expand LiveOak’s 100% fiber broadband network in Florida, Georgia, and beyond. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Brunswick, Georgia, LiveOak Fiber has grown quickly.

Spectrum announced the launch of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 2,000 homes and small businesses in Newton County (GA). Spectrum’s newly constructed fiber-optic network buildout is part of the company’s approximately $5 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund-related investment in unserved rural communities, partly offset by $1.2 billion in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) RDOF auction. Spectrum's RDOF expansion will provide broadband access to 1.3 million customer locations across 24 states in the coming years.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson will travel to OFS’s headquarters in Norcross (GA) with Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) to celebrate the announcement of new jobs and increased domestic production of optical fiber and fiber optic cable thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. As a result of the Build America, Buy America Act and the Internet for All programs, OFS has announced it will create 100 jobs, including union jobs, and expand its US production of fiber for use in connecting locations across the US to reliab