BEDFORD — Lawrence County announced Tuesday a nearly $2.6 million public-private project with AT&T to expand AT&T Fiber to an estimated 530 customer locations in rural areas of the county.
AT&T will invest more than $1.6 million, and Lawrence County will invest $950,000 in a project to provide fiber services to residential and business addresses in rural areas of west central Lawrence County.
“We’re excited to announce our third project with AT&T to continue to expand broadband throughout our county for our families, businesses, and farmers,” said Lawrence County Commissioner Rodney Fish. “We know how crucial fast connectivity is to all aspects of daily life. AT&T has proven to be a great provider to work with, and we look forward to more high-speed broadband being deployed in rural Lawrence County.”
Extensive planning and engineering work for this project will begin in the second quarter of 2024. After the final agreement between county commissioners and AT&T was executed Tuesday, the network buildout is expected to be complete within two years.
“We’re so appreciative that Lawrence County has trusted us with another project to expand AT&T Fiber in the county,” said AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards. “We believe Indiana communities, both small and large, deserve high-speed fiber connectivity. We have other projects in the county already underway, and we’re excited to bring even more high-speed broadband and all its benefits to rural Lawrence County.”
This is the third public-private project announced between AT&T and Lawrence County over the past year. The county selected AT&T in May 2023 to build AT&T Fiber to more than 2,300 customer locations in northwestern portions of the county, a project valued at $3.6 million. The county also selected the company in September 2023 to build AT&T Fiber to more than 1,200 additional customer locations, a project valued at more than $4.3 million.
This is in addition to the 700 Lawrence County locations planned as part of AT&T’s participation in the State of Indiana’s Next Level Connections broadband grant program.
Plans call for residents and businesses to access 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. AT&T Fiber is also multi-gig capable the day it is installed, which means it can handle the demands of today and those well into our hyperconnected future.
AT&T has extensive experience deploying fiber optics across Indiana. More than 590,000 locations in the state now have access to AT&T Fiber – an increase of 140,000 locations over the last two years. AT&T recently completed its public-private fiber builds in Vanderburgh County and Boonville. In addition to Lawrence County, AT&T is working with the City of Martinsville and Delaware County on public-private partnerships to bring AT&T Fiber to those communities. AT&T is also collaborating with the State of Indiana through the state’s Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program to build fiber networks in parts of nine counties.
Residents and businesses can learn more about AT&T Fiber at att.com/fiber and sign up to be notified when service is available at their address at att.com/notifyme.
