BEDFORD – In Lawrence County, AT&T has been selected to build AT&T Fiber to more than 1,200 customer locations in a project valued at more than $4.3 million.
Lawrence County will invest more than $2.3 million and AT&T will invest $2 million in the project that will provide fiber to unincorporated portions of the county between Bedford and Mitchell. The network is expected to be complete in 2 years, after the final agreement between the county commissioners and AT&T was executed Tuesday, September 26 during the Lawrence County Commissioners’ meeting.
“With this project, we’re taking yet another important step toward closing the digital divide for our families, businesses, and farms,” said Lawrence County Commissioner President Dustin Gabhart. “Once constructed, this new AT&T Fiber will help many of our rural and low-income families who don’t currently have the internet access they need to work and learn.”
“It’s been my focus as a lawmaker to improve broadband access in rural communities. My previous work to pass the next level connections program into law in the Indiana State Senate illustrates that commitment,” said Congresswoman Erin Houchin. “As a new Member of Congress, I’ll keep fighting to ensure unserved areas have access to reliable broadband internet. I applaud AT&T for continuing its efforts toward this goal. Their recent investment in Lawrence County will connect rural communities between Bedford and Mitchell to the global economy.”
Plans call for residents and businesses to have access to superfast internet – delivering up to 5 gig speeds with symmetrical upload and download speeds. Consistently fast speeds and increased bandwidth mean customers can connect multiple devices stream multiple entertainment sources, quickly upload content to social media, and experience ultra-low lag for pro-level gaming – all at the same time.
Extensive planning and engineering work for this project will begin immediately. The network buildout is expected to be complete by late September 2025.
“It’s exciting to be part of a project that will bring transformative change to even more residents in Lawrence County,” said AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards. “Through this collaboration, we’ll be narrowing the digital divide and helping people realize the internet’s social and economic benefits. We’re proud of this work and appreciate the county continuing to put their faith in us.”
This is the second public-private project announced this year between the company and Lawrence County. AT&T was also selected by the county in May to build AT&T Fiber to more than 2,300 customer locations in northwestern portions of the county in a project valued at $3.6 million. This is in addition to the 700 Lawrence County locations that are planned as part of AT&T’s participation in the State’s Next Level Connections broadband grant program.
AT&T is also currently working with Vanderburgh County, the City of Boonville, the City of Martinsville, and Delaware County on public-private collaborations to bring AT&T Fiber to those communities.
AT&T is working to roll out AT&T Fiber through public-private partnerships in communities across the country and to further help close the digital divide by encouraging adoption and offering affordable internet solutions.
AT&T is committed to connecting more Americans to reliable, high-speed broadband internet in several ways, including expanding and upgrading our network and participating in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP provides eligible households with a benefit of up to $30 a month (up to $75 a month on qualifying Tribal lands to reduce the cost of broadband service and can be applied to AT&T Fiber, where available. Or use it toward Access from AT&T, offering speeds up to 100Mbps for $0 after the ACP benefit is applied. After confirming ACP eligibility, those who qualify can go to att.com/getacp or call us at 866-986-0963 to sign up for service. Have your ACP application ID handy.
Residents and businesses can learn more about AT&T Fiber at att.com/fiber and can sign up to be notified when service will be available at their address at att.com/notifyme.
