Internet providers say it's not economically feasible for them to expand broadband into extremely rural areas where there are few potential customers, but Congress may be stepping up to help.
The recently approved American Rescue Plan, which primarily provided COVID-relief funds, also included about $8 billion for rural broadband improvements in Georgia. Meanwhile, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which could be voted on in the U.S. House as early as next week, includes $42 billion nationally for broadband.
"There's now been appropriated enough money to fix the rural broadband problem in America, between the American Rescue Plan and the infrastructure bill," said Paul Chambers, regional director of external affairs for AT&T.
The need for broadband improvements in rural parts of the state has been an issue for many years, but it was made worse in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic had parents working from home and students going to school from home.
Chambers said AT&T and other internet providers can't afford to buy equipment and run lines into rural areas where there may only be a handful of potential customers without a subsidy or other incentive from government.
"The rural areas where maybe you've got a rural road that may be five miles long but only have two homes on it, so the economics from a private sector standpoint don't make sense to spend a lot of money, not just running the fiber, but the electronics you have to deploy and change out every four or five years," Chamber said. "It's very expensive infrastructure."
He said the incentives that providers are asking for are like those offered in economic development deals, where corporations are given tax credits or free land in exchange for building a manufacturing plant.
Chambers made his remarks during a presentation last week to the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
