Alabama cable providers seek investment of $13M in rural broadband expansion
Alabama cable providers plan to invest more than $13 million to bring broadband telecommunications services to rural Alabama citizens who do not yet have high speed internet services. The investment would be incentivized through $4.67 million in grant funding from the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Fund (ABAF), a state fund established in 2018 to help extend broadband services to rural Alabamians who do not yet have them. ABAF grants fund up to 35% of project costs to extend broadband technology, enabling the full $13 million cable provider broadband investment. For the current ABAF grant cycle, the 18 grants applied for by Alabama cable providers cover nearly 8,000 rural Alabama homes and businesses, including 35 community anchor locations such as rural hospitals and libraries. The grants seek to serve the highest number of unserved homes, businesses and community anchor points (such as hospitals and libraries) for the least cost and best level of service. Projects including the highest broadband speeds are emphasized in the evaluation process. “Alabama’s cable companies have been providing broadband to rural consumers since the late 1990s and we continue efforts to expand broadband in rural areas,” said Michelle Roth, executive director of the Alabama Cable and Broadband Association. “The projects in these grant applications extend high speed internet services to rural Alabamians who currently have no access to them.” The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), which administers the grant program, may rule out applications which they feel do not meet the grant standards of extending broadband to unserved parts of the state. In addition, Roth said grant guidelines also allow for challenges to applications by existing providers. “We are for a fair and open process that does not use taxpayer dollars to duplicate service to customers who already have access to broadband service,” Roth explained. “In light of the current public health concerns that are forcing our students online for their education, we’ve all got to make sure we first roll out new broadband service to rural customers who don’t already have it.”
Seven communities awarded Broadband Accessibility Fund Grants by Kay Ivey
Governor Kay Ivey announced in a statement on Tuesday that seven communities were awarded the first Broadband Accessibility Fund Grants totaling $1.1 million. She said “These grants may only represent one step in terms of providing high-speed internet opportunities to rural Alabama, but it is a monumental leap for a program that has the ability to positively impact the lives of so many people,” Gov. Ivey said. “By supplying these services to rural Alabama, we are also providing these areas the ability to step up in education, health care and economic development.” In order to qualify for these funds, a community must be unincorporated or have a population of 25,000 people or fewer. The grant cannot exceed more than 20 percent of the total cost of the project. The Alabama Broadband Accessibility Fund is administrated by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. In Ivey’s statement, ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said “Providing broadband services to Alabama’s rural communities is in many ways the equivalent of providing those same areas with electricity in early 20th Century,” He continued “ADECA and Gov. Ivey share the goal of supplying this essential service to every part of Alabama.” The Alabama Broadband Accessibility Act, which became law in March 2018, authorized the grant program, to remedy the number of people in Alabama with no or limited access to high-speed internet. As of March 2018, nearly 850,000 people are without high-speed internet, more than 1 million have access only to one wired internet provider, and more than 275,000 had no wired providers available. Providers have been expanding access as well. In December of last year, AT&T brought fixed wireless internet to rural parts of 39 counties that previously did not have internet access. “In today’s digital economy, access to reliable broadband service is critical. My colleagues and I are working hard to create an environment that supports private investment and enhanced broadband access for all Alabamians. I applaud AT&T’s continued investment and am pleased Fixed Wireless Internet is now available in parts of 39 Alabama counties,” said Alabama 4th District U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt, “With the use of multiple technologies across Alabama, we will close the access gaps that exist in some of our rural communities.” Expanding internet access has been a bipartisan effort. In December of last year, Democrat Senator Doug Jones encouraged rural entities to apply for broadband loans and grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Jones said, “Today, more than ever, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Students rely on connectivity for their education, hospitals and health care providers use telehealth capabilities to reach rural communities, and small businesses need the internet to thrive. It provides economic opportunity, strengthens our communities and connects our workforce throughout Alabama and the nation. This USDA funding is a great opportunity to close the broadband gaps that exist in Alabama and I encourage any eligible entity in the state to apply.” Grants awarded and coverage areas are: Millry Telephone Co. Inc. of Millry – $938,306 for coverage in incorporated areas of Gilbertown and Toxey and some unincorporated areas in Choctaw County. Marcus Cable Associates of Birmingham – $11,022 for coverage in the East Wood Point area in Moulton. Marcus Cables Associates of Birmingham – $11,063 for coverage in the Emerald Ridge area in Chelsea. Charter Communications – $29,567 for coverage in Glen Ridge in southwest Tuscaloosa County. Charter Communications – $6,017 for coverage in Grace Haven subdivision in Boaz. Charter Communications – $8,415 for coverage in the Vickey Lane area in Boaz. Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative Inc. – $74,586 for coverage in the Pea Ridge community near Henagar.
OPS broadband may soon move beyond the Gig City of Opelika
When Opelika, Ala. found its residents at a economic and educational disadvantage not having full-access to high speed internet and cable, the city tried to attract service providers to fill their needs, but ultimately failed. That’s when the city decided to fill the void itself and built a municipal fiber optic network, providing 1 gigabit per second internet speed to Opelika Power Service (OPS) customers. Branding itself “Alabama’s first Gig City,” Opelika invested about $43 million in the network offering customers “triple play” — telephone, television and Internet. But despite the 425 miles of fiber running throughout the city the service begins and ends in Opelika. At least one Alabama Senator hopes to change that. For the third year in a row, Auburn-Republican state Sen. Tom Whatley has introduced legislation in the state Senate that would allow OPS to expand its high speed internet service outside of Opelika to constituents in into underserved neighborhoods in North and South Auburn. Under current law, municipal service providers like OPS are unable to expand beyond their municipal jurisdiction. Whatley’s bills would remove coverage area restrictions for public providers of municipal telecommunication services and allow those providers more leeway in providing broadband service to rural areas of Alabama. Providers are already supplying these areas with cable and phone service, but Whatley’s bill would open up avenues for providing high speed internet service. For Whatley, the decision to introduce the bills is all about his constituents. “I 100-percent support private industry to supply these services, but private companies have made business decisions not to serve parts of my district,” Whatley told Alabama Today. “When that happens, I’m not going to tell those areas that they need to accept it. They need to do what they need to do to get serviced. The Opelika Internet Bill would allow that.” Whatley continued, “Right now, parts of my district are at an educational and economic disadvantage because they don’t have access to high speed internet. Companies aren’t as interested in doing business in the area because there’s no digital footprint. And when you look at education, it’s not fair for kids who need the internet to do homework and their parents are having to take them to library every night or spend data overages on their cellphones to allow kids to do research.” Alabama Republicans and Gov. Robert Bentley have made it a priority to provide Alabama’s rural areas with high-speed Internet service, a move they believe will make great strides in lowering the unemployment rate and, thereby, the state’s poverty rate. Currently, only 44 percent of Alabamians outside of major cities have access to broadband Internet service, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Whatley’s bill is intended improve Internet access by creating new providers, which will directly correlate to increased economic development. SB 228, along with two other telecommunications bills Whatley has introduced SB 151 and SB 192, will go before the Alabama Senate Transportation and Energy Committee on Wednesday, April 5.
Johnny Kampis: Could scandal derail Robert Bentley’s Alabama broadband plans?
The scene has been repeated ad nauseam over the past two weeks: Gov. Robert Bentley makes a scheduled stop to discuss a new industry or an economic development plan and, instead of questions about the issue at hand, he is peppered with queries about his alleged affair with a former staffer. Take an exchange in Franklin County two weeks ago. Bentley visited to tout his plan to use federal tax dollars (with a 10 percent state match) to build a broadband network across the state, primarily to aid rural areas that have limited or no broadband access.The firestorm created by the controversy has raised questions about Bentley’s ability to lead, throwing his entire agenda into question. Bentley tried to keep a brief media exchange that followed his meeting with Franklin County leaders focused on broadband, to little avail. After saying he had no plans to resign, Bentley asked, “Who else has a question about broadband?” In response, he got, “Governor, this isn’t a question related to broadband, but …” To which Bentley tersely replied, “Let’s take broadband.” The conversation meandered more toward scandal than broadband as the questions continued, as the video below shows: Bill Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama, told Watchdog.org on Monday that Bentley has gotten pushback from lawmakers in the past — see the governor’s tax increase plan in 2015, for example — but this scandal has taken the rhetoric to a new level. “I think that further weakens his position, and that’s bad for the citizens of Alabama because he can’t provide the leadership we need in order for our state to make progress,” Stewart said. Last week, both chambers of the Alabama Legislature — the House by a 71-24 vote, and the Senate by a 22-10 vote — chose to override Bentley’s budget veto. The governor argued the budget should include another $85 million for Medicaid. Read more. • • • Johnny Kampis is a content editor at Watchdog.org, and is helping to start the organization’s Alabama Watchdog bureau in his home state. Johnny previously worked in the newspaper industry and as a freelance writer, and has been published in The New York Times, Time.com, FoxNews.com and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across the state
Can you guess how many AL counties have more registered voters than adult residents? Find out more about a possible new electricity-natural gas utility coming to the Yellowhammer state. What’s happening to AL’s first charter school? And more inside today’s business roundup of headlines from across the state: Alabama Newscenter: Southern Company/AGL Resources deal would create leading U.S. joint electricity-natural gas utility Southern Company and AGL Resources have agreed to a $12 billion deal that would make the natural gas giant a new Southern operating company and puts the electricity company into the growing natural gas business. Alabama Power is a Southern Company subsidiary with 1.4 million customers, 78,000 miles of power lines and 13,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity. Southern Company also owns Southern Power, which owns 3,175 megawatts of natural gas generating capacity in Alabama.The boards of directors of both companies said today they have a definitive merger agreement to create America’s leading U.S. electric and gas utility company. If finalized, AGL Resources will become a new wholly-owned subsidiary of Southern Company. In Alabama, AGL Resources owns a liquefied natural gas facility in Trussville that delivers about 60,000 gallons per day, its first such facility dedicated solely to the merchant market. Southern Company with AGL Resources under its umbrella would create a new electric and natural gas utility with approximately 9 million utility customers in nine states. It is Southern Company’s largest deal to diversify its utility holdings. “As America’s leader in developing the full portfolio of energy resources, we believe the addition of AGL Resources to our business will better position Southern Company to play offense in supporting America’s energy future through additional natural gas infrastructure,” Southern Company CEO Thomas A. Fanning said. “For some time, we have expressed our desire to explore opportunities to participate in natural gas infrastructure development.” Under the terms of the agreement, AGL Resources’ shareholders would receive $66 in cash for each share of common stock, a 36.3 percent increase in this month’s average trading price. Southern Company expects an increase in earnings the first year after the acquisition closes. The new company would become the second-largest utility company in the U.S. with: 11 regulated electric and natural gas distribution companies; 9 million customers with a projected regulated rate base of about $50 billion; Nearly 200,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines and more than 80,000 miles of gas pipelines; Generating capacity of about 46,000 megawatts. “With AGL Resources’ experienced team operating premier natural gas utilities and their investments in several major infrastructure projects, this is a natural fit for both companies,” Fanning said. “Moreover, this transaction is expected to position Southern Company to enhance earnings growth while maintaining a strong balance sheet and improving cost-effectiveness.” The Southern Company system is known for regularly outperforming industry peers in reliability, with prices below the national average and the highest customer satisfaction among peer utilities as measured by the Customer Value Benchmark survey. Alabama Power regularly tops such rankings along with other Southern Company operating companies Georgia Power, Mississippi Power and Gulf Power. “AGL Resources’ management team and board of directors wholeheartedly support this transaction, and we believe it will provide new opportunities and enhanced value for our shareholders, customers and employees,” AGL Resources CEO John W. Somerhalder II said. “Importantly, both companies are committed to safely delivering clean, reliable, affordable energy while providing customers with world-class service. The respective models of Southern Company and AGL Resources focus on the fundamental values of safety, operational excellence and environmental stewardship.” Fanning said Southern Company and AGL Resources share a focus on community involvement. “We believe this combination will also advance our customer-focused business model,” he said. “AGL Resources and Southern Company have long been leading corporate citizens and the combined company will further our support of all of the communities we serve.” Somerhalder agreed. “We’ve found a strong partner in Southern Company with its complementary businesses, excellent reputation and shared values,” he said. “They have committed to continuing our tradition of community and philanthropic support and exceptional service to customers. We look forward to working with Southern Company to complete the transaction as expeditiously as possible and ensure a smooth transition.” Birmingham Business Journal: Registered voters outnumber eligible adults in 10 Alabama counties The Public Interest Legal Foundation – a nonpartisan, nonprofit, public-interest law firm that specializes in civil litigation affecting elections, voting and other political processes – recently notified 10 Alabama counties that they have more registered voters than people in the voting age population. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill confirmed the numbers listed by the group and said that all 10 had more registered voters than people over 18 years of age, according to a report from AL.com. The counties are Lowndes, Perry, Greene, Macon, Wilcox, Marengo, Hale, Washington, Conecuh and Choctaw. Merrill said all 10 counties have seen population decreases since 2010 and some people that previously left the counties still remain registered to vote in their districts. Former Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett’s office last year released numbers showing that four Alabama counties had more registered voters than voting age population. The 10 Alabama counties listed by the foundation are among 141 nationwide, according to data from the foundation. Only four other states had more counties on the foundation’s list than Alabama – Michigan (24), Kentucky (18), Illinois (17) and Indiana (11). Here are the continues by number of registered voters and those over the age of 18. Choctaw County, 10,765 registered voters, 10,582 adults Conecuh County, 10,102 registered voters, 9,957 adults Greene County, 7,230 registered voters, 6,561 adults Hale County, 12,042 registered voters, 11,641 adults Lowndes County, 10,230 registered voters, 8,135 adults Macon County, 17,700 registered voters, 15,865 adults Marengo County, 16,108 registered voters, 15,485 adults Perry County, 8,521 registered voters, 7,621 adults Washington County, 13,382 registered voters, 13,048 adults Wilcox County, 9,059 registered voters, 8,341 adults Birmingham Business Journal: Alabama delays first charter school opening until 2017 The first meeting of the Alabama Charter School Commission on Thursday resulted in
FCC provides funding for expanded broadband in Alabama
An Arkansas-based company is getting more than $500,000 annually in federal funds to expand high-speed internet service in rural Alabama. The Federal Communications Commission says Windstream Communications Inc. will offer broadband service and support to nearly 3,800 customers in rural parts of the state. The company will receive $511,000 in what’s described as annual, continuing support. Additional service is expected in nine counties in central Alabama. Officials say the money comes from a program that provides support to extend service into areas that wouldn’t otherwise have high-speed Internet. Nationwide, Windstream has accepted nearly $175 million in federal funds to expand high-speed service. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
