Madison County, Alabama – NHTC and its Board of Directors are excited to announce a partnership with the Madison County Commission and District 3 Commissioner Craig Hill to bring high-speed broadband internet service via a world-class fiber network to the underserved Killingsworth Cove community in Gurley, Alabama.
“Access to reliable high-speed internet is as crucial as access to power and water in today’s connected environment,” says NHTC General Manager, Daniel Martin. “Madison County District 3 Commissioner Craig Hill approached NHTC regarding a need for reliable, high-speed internet service in this underserved community and NHTC worked in conjunction with Madison County District 3 and the Madison County Commission to secure ARPA funding to help assist NHTC in extending their fiber network to Killingsworth Cove.”
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law on March 11, 2021, and established the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Program. The program is intended to provide support in responding to the impacts of COVID-19 on communities, residents, and businesses. ARPA specifically provides funds to support broadband infrastructure projects. The state of Alabama recently ratified an amendment to its constitution allowing counties to provide funds to support broadband providers with the goal of improving broadband access across the state. NHTC has been awarded funding to assist in the project via ARPA funds.
The official FCC broadband definition is a minimum of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (soon to increase to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload). The Killingsworth Cove community is currently underserved in terms of broadband internet service as residents in this area are not receiving the current minimum of 25/3 Mbps.
NHTC will offer the same speeds to the Killingsworth Cove community that is offered to current service areas: 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps) symmetrical (download and upload) fiber broadband and 2,500 Mbps (2.5 Gbps) symmetrical fiber broadband. NHTC internet usage is unlimited with no data caps and no speed throttling.
In addition to ARPA funding, NHTC is contributing over $1 million of its own funds to complete this project. The importance of access to reliable, high-speed broadband has become increasingly apparent, particularly over the last few years. “While the funding that NHTC is receiving is instrumental in completing this project, NHTC will be investing their own private funds to make this project a reality. NHTC’s goal is to deliver reliable fiber internet service to as many adjacent unserved and underserved areas as possible. No one should be without access to reliable high-speed internet and NHTC is prepared to do its part to try and help bridge the gap as much as possible.” says Martin.
NHTC values the relationship that it has with Madison County District 3 and Commissioner Craig Hill and appreciates the opportunity to work with Commissioner Hill and his team to bring our advanced fiber network to the Killingsworth Cove community. NHTC looks forward to continuing this partnership for years to come and appreciates everything that Commissioner Hill and Madison County District 3 do for our communities.
About NHTC: Established in 1951, NHTC is a 100% fiber-to-the-premise broadband provider offering speeds up to 2.5 Gbps. NHTC serves roughly 6,000 homes and businesses across approximately 190 square miles in northeast Marshall and southeast Madison counties. NHTC has received several certifications including: ‘Gig-Capable Provider’ certification for the ability to offer Internet speeds up to 2.5 Gbps and ‘All-Fiber Service Provider’ for offering fiber-to-the-premise to 100% of their service territory. NHTC has also been certified as a Smart Rural Community Provider by NTCA for offering a state-of-the-art fiber network to the local communities. These certifications exemplify NHTC’s ongoing efforts to deliver the most technologically advanced communications services to our communities.