The Gateway Corridor Overlay District in Lumpkin County will be the first to receive a Broadband Ready Community Site designation. The designation comes after Lumpkin County’s initial Broadband Ready Community certification in August of 2020.
With Carroll County being mostly rural and several miles between homes, it has been cost-prohibitive for broadband companies to invest in the area. Many times, the younger citizens faced hardship in doing remote schoolwork during the pandemic. County employees, private business employees, and parents had connectivity issues and had difficulty in doing their jobs.
Dawson County maintains the rural aspects in much of its north pasts, while the GA-400 corridor serves as its southern commercial hub. However, the unserved or underserved areas that do not have access to reliable internet service challenge the county residents. Such areas lack a wireline connection that reliably delivers minimum speeds of 25 Mbps downloads and 3 Mbps uploads.
Dade County has been announced as Broadband Ready by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The designation recognizes a city/and or county whose local government has completed the application and demonstrated compliance with the adoption of a local comprehensive plan inclusive of the deployment of broadband services and a Broadband Model Ordinance.
Over the last few years, Turner County has faced many challenges ranging from tornadoes in 2017 to Hurricane Michael in 2018. The county has experienced its share of adversity, and with COVID-19, it was noted that there needed to be a system to link the communities together. With over 300 miles of roads and 12 or more miles between each community, the challenges of establishing internet access have been daunting to the county.
Similar to small towns across Georgia, the City of Byron was not immune from the struggles of COVID-19, and as an interstate town, travel reductions greatly impacted local revenues and job prospects. Broadband access, another issue highlighted by the pandemic, became a necessity for many individuals to stay employed given the changes within the rapid service sector.
Similar to small towns across Georgia, the City of Byron was not immune from the struggles of COVID-19, and as an interstate town, travel reductions greatly impacted local revenues and job prospects. Broadband access, another issue highlighted by the pandemic, became a necessity for many individuals to stay employed given the changes within the rapid service sector.
According to the data from the Georgia Broadband Mapping Initiative, 3% of Paulding County residential and business locations are underserved. These 1,738 locations are primarily in the southwest and western Paulding County. With the pandemic, significant IT shortfalls have been divulged for many Paulding residents with the most concerning matter being students’ inability to progress in their schoolwork.
Haralson County has been announced as Broadband Ready by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The designation recognizes a city/and or county whose local government has completed the application and demonstrated compliance with the adoption of a local comprehensive plan inclusive of the deployment of broadband services and a Broadband Model Ordinance.
Jefferson County has been home to international business and industry as well as being a large agriculture sector. Though the farming community has been vital to the county, the lack of high-speed internet has not only affected the equipment used for farming but also the quality of life for Jefferson’s residents.