Alabama Power celebrates progress in expanding fiber broadband access
From left, Jeff Peoples of Alabama Power; Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, and Scott Moore, senior vice president of Power Delivery for Alabama Power, celebrate the expansion of fiber broadband in Alabama at the company's General Services Complex in Calera. (Wynter Byrd / Alabama NewsCenter)
The power to bring electricity to Alabama started with water more than a century ago. By using that resource, power companies and cooperatives electrified the state and created growth. The next transformational step is fiber, which leaders say is the future of connectivity and a tool for continued economic growth in Alabama.
Alabama Power is supporting efforts to connect unserved and underserved areas of the state through a partnership with the Fiber Utility Network, a corporation formed by eight rural electric cooperatives to fund middle-mile broadband. Use of Alabama Power’s fiber assets that are already available and working to ensure a resilient power grid will help bring broadband access to about 345 cities with fewer than 25,000 people.
Alabama Power leaders, Gov. Kay Ivey mark major advances in fiber broadband from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Earlier this month, more than 300 people from 30 departments across Alabama Power and parent Southern Company gathered at Alabama Power’s General Services Complex in Calera to celebrate efforts to advance technology and enhance reliability through fiber deployment and partnerships with electric co-ops.
The event featured remarks from Gov. Kay Ivey; Jeff Peoples, Alabama Power executive vice president of Customer and Employee Services; and Scott Moore, the company’s senior vice president of Power Delivery, who all noted the team’s transformative work.
“Alabama Power is a proud infrastructure partner in the middle-mile broadband effort, and we’re very excited to have Governor Ivey here with us to celebrate the progress we’ve helped achieve,” said Peoples.
How Alabama Power is helping to close the digital divide in Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Recently, Ivey awarded an $82.45 million grant to the Fiber Utility Network to provide high-speed internet access across Alabama.
“Alabama Power is a driving force in Alabama’s economic engine, and it’s people like you who don’t just keep our lights on, but who have readied us for a 21st-century economy and workforce,” Ivey said.
“Together we are at the cornerstone of the 3,000-mile middle-mile Fiber Utility Network that will provide connectivity opportunities to almost all of Alabama’s 67 counties,” Ivey added. “This is a critical step in ensuring that all Alabamians have the resources they need, not to just survive, but to achieve.”
As the economy becomes more dependent on information, leaders say the need for high-speed internet is more important than ever. Students need it to assist in schoolwork and attend online classes, businesses rely on it to ensure continued operations, and rural patients can conduct health visits without traveling to bigger cities. Building a better-connected Alabama will attract new businesses, create jobs and retain young professionals to help communities thrive, Ivey said.
“We want to be at the forefront of making a difference for our customers and delivering dependable service,” Moore said. “We have strength around our fiber infrastructure that not many other states can say they have. We want to continue to impact areas of growth for our state that fiber brings to the table.”
The Fiber Utility Network has more than 3,000 miles of fiber in Alabama, with more than a third consisting of fiber from Alabama Power infrastructure.
To learn more about Alabama Power’s deployment of fiber for reliability, and its capability for helping bridge the digital divide, click here.
