The Northwest Georgia Regional Commission serves 15 counties and nearly 1 million people. They received a grant to build a fiber optic backbone that provided high-speed internet to rural areas, but many residents still lack access. The commission formed a Rural Broadband Advisory Committee of county representatives to address this issue. They are conducting a regional broadband needs assessment to identify unserved areas, determine the costs to provide service, and apply for state and federal funds to close connectivity gaps in these rural communities. The goal is to partner with internet providers and make the entire region "broadband ready."

1. Northwest Georgia Rural
Broadband Advisory Committee
Northwest Georgia Regional Commission
Lloyd Frasier, Executive Director
NADO Annual Training Conference, October 2018

2. Northwest Georgia Regional Commission
• 15 Counties, 49 Cities
• Population 906,841 (2018 est.)
• NWGRC Council: 50
members- local elected officials,
private sector, Governor, Lt.
Governor, Speaker of the House
appointees
• Regional leadership to meet
emerging needs

3. Broadband Service and Speed
 FCC 2018 Broadband Report: “High-quality” telecommunications capability
that allow users to “originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics,
and video services”
 25 Mbps download /3 Mbps upload speed for fixed terrestrial broadband
 FCC 2018 Broadband Report: “92.3% of all Americans have access to fixed
terrestrial broadband at 25 Mbps/ 3 Mbps…Nonetheless, 24 million
Americans still lack fixed broadband of 25 Mbps/ 3 Mbps (FCC, 2018).”
 In rural areas, 68.6% have access to both fixed and cell-based services;
only 61% have access to fixed broadband in rural areas.
 USDA: Modern, reliable, high-speed internet service in rural America

4. Appalachian Valley
Fiber Network
 2010: $21 M Dept. of
Commerce BTOP grant
 Fiber backbone to 12+
Counties, 1 Gig/second
 Constructed 182 new
miles, leased 287
 Served 185 anchor
institutions (16 K-12
schools; 46 public safety;
58 govt. offices, technical
colleges, hospitals)
 Partnership: Parker
Systems (provider),
NWGRC, other providers,
local governments,
development authorities

5. Rural Broadband Advisory Committee
 Made up of 15 County Councilmembers
 Chair: H. Allen Poole, ACCG past president, rural Haralson County
 Monitor current state and federal legislation
 Connections with state and federal agencies
 Identified needs: Regional broadband assessment
Broadband Advisory Committee; 10/03/18. Photo credit Ethan Calhoun.

6. Rural Broadband Needs are Increasing
 Technology is available but connectivity is limited
 Education: Schools issue tablets but students lack internet at
home; parents bring them back to the school in the evening to
use the school’s network
• Healthcare: Mobile healthcare
providers find that indigent patients
don’t have internet to connect with
the doctor

7. Rural Connectivity Needs
 Economic Development: Rural prospects are eliminated based
on broadband maps, home values decline due to lack of
broadband
 Public Safety: Providers can’t connect to data networks,
response times are longer in rural areas without coverage

8. Regional Broadband Needs Assessment
 Application for 2018 Appalachian Regional Commission funds
 Work with Georgia’s Broadband Ready Community program
 The study would:
1. Survey resident-reported availability of
broadband, and speeds if available
2. Partner with Schools, Chambers of
Commerce, Cities and Counties to
publicize the survey for full response
3. Map resident-reported service and speed
data to show current areas of need

9. Questions to be Answered
 Where are the unserved areas and areas with low speeds?
 What is the cost of bringing high speed internet to unserved
areas?
 What does a provider need to provide service to that
unserved area?

10. Expected Results
1. Counties partner with providers to map unserved areas
and identify the technology needed to serve those areas
2. Identify the cost gap between what providers can build
with expected user fees and full cost of the infrastructure
3. Apply for State
and Federal funds
to fill in gaps
as Broadband
Ready Community
AFVN installation Rockmart 01/14/12.

11. Contact Information:
Lloyd Frasier
Executive Director
lfrasier@nwgrc.org
(706) 295-6485
Northwest Georgia Regional Commission
PO Box 1798 503 West Waugh St.
Rome, Georgia 30162- 1798 Dalton, Georgia 30720
www.nwgrc.org