Communities in Alabama’s Black Belt region will soon receive help to enhance broadband access and digital skills among their residents.

The University of West Alabama (UWA) has been awarded a $1.65 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The grant is part of NTIA’s Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program, an initiative aimed at closing the digital divide in minority communities across the U.S. by providing funds to drive digital skills education and workforce development programs.

The program awarded funds to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tribal colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions. As a designated minority-serving institution, UWA will use the grant to train residents about digital skills and increase broadband access for residents of Sumter and Greene counties. The goal is to spark new investment in the area, create and cultivate jobs, support existing industry and promote economic development in the region.

“It is evident, now more than ever, that rural communities are struggling to meet the digital access needs of residents and businesses. UWA is committed to leading the charge to solve this issue for our region,” said Allison Brantley, UWA’s executive director of Economic Development. Brantley led a team of community partners in writing the grant and developing the initiative.

The team that successfully secured a federal grant to help expand broadband access in Black Belt communities: from left, Tina Jones, Rodney Granec and Allison Brantley, UWA, and Diane Brooker of Alabama Power. (contributed)

UWA will serve as the anchor institution, working with nine communities to provide digital access points for citizens and local governments while also deploying a mobile training unit to educate stakeholders about the essential use of digital technologies. Additionally, UWA faculty, staff and students will receive advanced training in the use of digital technologies to build capacity across the region and provide opportunities for experiential learning at UWA.

“UWA’s mission is to be an agent of positive change for the region. Collaborating with community partners is the best way we can help our citizens and be effective in closing the digital divide,” said Tina Jones, UWA vice president of Economic and Workforce Development.

“It’s been great working with the counties and business partners like Alabama Power to submit this grant. I feel certain that having this collaboration in place was key to us being awarded the CMC grant,” Jones said.

Diane Brooker, Alabama Power Western Division Community Relations manager, served on the grant development team.

“Finding ways to improve growth in our communities and addressing the inequity of access to resources is critically important to Alabama Power, and we work daily with our communities to solve these issues,” Brooker said. “Offering opportunities to increase digital skills will not only help boost economic and community development in these areas, but it will also enhance the overall quality of life for our residents.”

As in many other communities, the pandemic shed light on broadband infrastructure issues and the lack of access to adequate resources. Leaders in Sumter and Greene counties said the CMC grant program will help address many issues that limit growth in the region, while also removing cost barriers for internet access and digital education.

“Without adequate education about digital resources and access to internet, our communities will continue to lack quality education and healthcare, as well as the opportunity to recruit new business, spur job creation and experience overall economic growth,” said Sumter County Commissioner Marcus Campbell. “The announcement of this grant could not have come at a better time for our communities, and we are very fortunate to have an institution like UWA take the lead on this important initiative.”

UWA is working on the initial phases of the project. Rodney Granec, director of UWA’s Office of Sponsored Programs and Research, said the project timeline spans the next 23 months.

“At this time, the grants committee is meeting with the city councils of each of the anchor communities to determine resource distribution and to develop a more detailed timeline of activities,” Granec said.

To learn more about the NTIA’s Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, visit https://ntia.gov/category/connecting-minority-communities-pilot-program. To learn more about Alabama Power’s deployment of fiber to improve grid reliability and support efforts to bridge the digital divide in Alabama communities, click here.