The effort to connect all of Macon County to the internet made big strides last month when construction began on the South Macon backbone, a fiber project that will bring online access to some of the least connected parts of the county.
A broadband backbone is a system of fiber from which other local sources of broadband connectivity can extend. Crews are busy laying underground conduits and adding fiber to communications poles down nearly five miles of Georgia Road between Addington Bridge Road and Brown Road. It won’t look like much to commuters passing by, but it’s vital groundwork for providing connectivity to neighboring homes and businesses.
“As you drive along 441 and see communication contractors burying orange and blue conduit or stringing fiber along poles, you might think of this as the first part of an iceberg sticking out of the water,” reads a release from broadband expansion non-profit Little T Broadband. “That part you cannot see represents several years of hard work to plan, develop relationships and agreements, secure funding, order materials, and finally to kick off construction.”
The backbone is the first phase of the project and once it reaches Scaly Mountain, broadband provider BalsamWest will begin providing 1GB internet speeds to the community centers in both Scaly Mountain and Otto, as well as to the Sky Valley-Scaly Mountain Volunteer Fire and Rescue facility. Little T is working with a grant from the Western Regional Commission to fund the installation of public hotspots at these sites as well, so the entire communities will have a public space with free high-speed wireless internet. Backbone construction is due for completion in January, and while inclement weather could cause delays, Jeff Lee of Little T said it’s been smooth sailing so far.
“Things have actually been moving ahead of schedule, so we’re very excited about that,” Lee said. “It’s been a long time coming, so we’re happy to see it getting off the ground.”
The project is a collaboration between the county government, BalsamWest, Little T and a host of other civic organizations determined to improve internet access in the area. Jason Maples of BalsamWest said the backbone progress is representative of a grand team effort that should have a major impact on improving quality of life in the southern parts of the county within a matter of months.
“This project is a fantastic story on how public, private and non-profit partnerships can come together to help our community and begin to make meaningful strides at solving its broadband poverty problem,” Maples said.
For more information, call Little T Broadband at 404-915-5663 or BalsamWest at 888-225-7266.