Peach Tree Times

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is delivering an historic $1.3 billion investment to expand high-speed internet across Georgia.

Sen. Ossoff is delivering $1.3 billion through the bipartisan infrastructure law to expand broadband internet across the state, helping more Georgia families access reliable internet service for education, health care, jobs, and more.

This new investment comes after Sen. Ossoff and a bipartisan coalition of nearly 100 local leaders successfully pushed the Biden Administration to upgrade National Broadband Maps to moreaccurately reflect locations in Georgia that are in need of high-speed internet access — leading to this historic announcement today.

“Since taking office, Sen. Warnock and I made expanding high-speed internet in Georgia a top priority,” Sen. Ossoff said. “Through the bipartisan infrastructure law, we are now delivering an unprecedented investment in broadband access for families and businesses across the state of Georgia. I thank President Biden and Secretary Raimondo for supporting our efforts to expand high-speed internet in Georgia.”

These new resources, which Sen. Ossoff secured by bringing Republicans and Democrats together in Congress, will fund both planning and implementation services to expand broadband access statewide.

The $1.3 billion investment will be administered and deployed through the State of Georgia with a particular goal of bringing broadband internet to rural and underserved communities that are lacking this essential connectivity.

The National Broadband Map is the main resource for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to identify individual communities in need of broadband access. However, the FCC’s first iteration of the map failed to identify many locations in Georgia that lack this important capability.

Sen. Ossoff’s advocacy on behalf of Georgians led to a significant improvement in Georgia’s broadband availability map, putting the state in the top 10 for most added broadband service locations and increasing its allocation today. 

This important update to Georgia’s map helped ensure the state can properly allocate resources from the bipartisan infrastructure law to communities most in need of high-speed internet access. 

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock also helped expand the Affordable Connectivity Program to help more Georgians access affordable internet services for only $35 per month. This program has already helped more than 600,000 Georgians add internet services to their households.

Last year, Sens. Ossoff and Warnock also delivered an additional $250 million expansion of high-speed internet for businesses and families across Georgia through the American Rescue Plan. 

Original Source can be found here.