Innovative public/private partnership goes online in Oldham County, delivering multi-gig fiber speeds to residences and businesses in previously unserved areas
Key Takeaways:
- AT&T launches public/private partnership in Oldham County, Kentucky, to serve residents with fiber optic broadband.
- The $33 million project is the result of joint efforts between the local government and AT&T.
- Approximately 20,000 new customer locations will have access to state-of-the-art broadband with speeds up to five gigabits-per-second.
- Over 1.8 million strand-miles of fiber optics have been laid in Kentucky, reaching more than 350,000 customer locations.
Business, state, county, and community leaders joined AT&T* today to announce the availability of AT&T Fiber® as part of a $33 million county-wide network deployment in Oldham County.
The announcement followed a roundtable discussion about the importance of bringing reliable, high-speed internet to connect people where they live and work, including rural areas.
Launched last year, this public-private partnership is an example of AT&T’s work with local governments looking to expand broadband access and narrow the digital divide in their communities and involves building broadband connections to more than 20,000 households and businesses over two years. Upon completion of the project, every home and small business in the county will have access to AT&T Fiber, a state-of-the-art service with available speeds up to 5 gigabits per second.1
“We realized early on that to keep the county in the forefront of technology, we needed to eliminate the digital divide in Oldham, which meant connecting every home and business with high-speed fiber,” said Judge Executive David Voegele. “We chose to partner with AT&T because not only did they have the capability and expertise to do the job, but they share our commitment to connecting the community.”
To help meet the demands for reliable, high-speed connections today – and in the future – we’re investing in our fiber network. With more than 1.8 million strand miles of fiber optics in Kentucky, AT&T Fiber is now available to over 350,000 customer locations around the state.
“Today’s news underscores our commitment to working with state and local leaders to introduce ultra-fast, reliable and secure internet connectivity to new homes and businesses in Oldham County,” said Erin Scarborough, President of Broadband and Connectivity Initiatives at AT&T. “Fiber is designed for today’s demands and tomorrow’s. Our investments are helping improve internet access throughout Kentucky whether it’s enabling remote learning for students and adults or providing access to telemedicine to improve health outcomes.”
“This project shows the potential and the power of public/private collaborations in working to eliminate the digital divide and connect communities,” said Carlos E. Sanchez, president, AT&T Kentucky. “We appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this project and are excited as we continue working to deliver fiber everywhere in the County.”
The new fiber network is capable of delivering speeds up to 5 Gbps on both upload and download. The faster speeds and capacity mean customers can now connect to data intensive online tools and applications, deploy precision agriculture technologies and access vital education resources from devices connected to the AT&T provided Wi-Fi network in their homes and businesses.
Residents can learn more about AT&T Fiber at att.com/fiber to order service in the communities that are activated today, and can stay up to date when service will be available at their address through our Notify Me service by visiting att.com/notifyme. AT&T will also keep the community updated as progress on the network continues.
Affordable internet service is available for limited-income households as part of AT&T’s commitment to help close the digital divide. Access from AT&T offers low-cost broadband options, including free internet for eligible households when combined with benefits from the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
About AT&T in Kentucky
In Kentucky, AT&T invested nearly $725 million in our wireless and wireline network infrastructure from 2020-2022 to connect more people to greater possibility. This included nearly $250 million in the Louisville metro region, more than $90 million in the Lexington area, and nearly $15 million in the Richmond area.
Continuing the expansion of our 5G network in Kentucky – giving residents, businesses and visitors a big boost in their wireless connectivity – last year we added over 20 new wireless sites in 20 counties, as well as over 50 new small cells in 4 counties. All together, we completed over 400 wireless projects – including carrier additions, tower modifications, in-building systems, and site expansions.
With FirstNet, we’re helping connect first responders in nearly 200 communities across the state and have rolled out Band 14 on more than 800 sites across Kentucky to provide public safety with truly dedicated coverage and capacity when they need it.
Becoming the Best Broadband Provider
Our fiber expansion in Oldham County is all part of our mission to be the best connectivity provider in America, whether you’re at home, work or on the move. Becoming the best connectivity provider also means serving the critical mission of America’s first responders. FirstNet®, Built with AT&T is the only purpose-built, nationwide wireless broadband communications platform dedicated to the public safety community.
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