Local leaders in Oldham County, Kentucky say their community is evolving from a rural area to a high-quality business destination. But one of the most important pieces of infrastructure they could think of was absent… high-speed fiber internet connectivity. So, in 2022 they embarked on a 2-year public-private project with AT&T, to connect all the county’s businesses, households, and families to AT&T Fiber. And today, they celebrated reaching the finish line.
“Today marks a significant step forward in our work to close the digital divide in Oldham County,” said David Voegele, Oldham County Judge Executive. “With the completion of this project, the homes and businesses in the county now have access to high-speed fiber internet – which will be game-changing for keeping all of our residents connected in today’s digital world. We are grateful for AT&T’s work to deliver this project on time and their shared commitment to connecting our community.”
“We’re so pleased to have been a part of this important project to deliver connectivity to Oldham County,” said Carlos E. Sanchez, President, AT&T Kentucky. “Kentucky communities both small and large deserve this kind of fiber connectivity, and we’re excited to continue to work with communities across the Commonwealth to make that happen.”
This public-private project is an example of AT&T’s work with local governments looking to expand broadband access. Oldham County officials used federal funds made available by the American Rescue Plan Act to bring fiber broadband to their area. Under the agreement signed in March 2022, Oldham County contributed $8.5 million in public funds to the project and AT&T covered the remaining $25.1 million.
To mark the project completion milestone, AT&T also provided free refurbished laptops to Oldham County families, part of the company’s nationwide commitment to help bridge the digital divide.
AT&T Kentucky presented the Oldham County nonprofit, HighPoint Charitable Services, with 100 refurbished laptop computers from Human-I-T. HighPoint is distributing those devices to families and individuals they serve.
Local small businesses joined in the project completion celebration, saying the occasion marked the day when high-speed broadband connectivity went from being a privilege, to a priority. They’re excited to be located in the first Kentucky county to complete a public-private fiber connectivity project, but say they’ll be equally happy if theirs is not the last.
