Students from the Haleyville schools, and other area school students attended a special program Thursday, December 5 at the Tombigbee Electric Cooperative Warehouse in Hamilton to hear the announcement of an award of $29,495,232 as a 50% loan-grant combination in the first round of the U.S. Department of Agriculture”s (USDA) ReConnect Pilot Program.

The company will use the awarded funds to develop an All-Dielectric Self Supporting (ADSS) fiber network and extend Freedom Fiber, the company’s ultra-high-speed fiber-optic service, to 1,100 square-miles of unserved areas of Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Franklin, Winston and Walker counties in Northwest Alabama. This investment is anticipated to reach 2,152 households, 20 farms, 15 businesses, 10 critical community facilities, five educational facilities, and one health care facility. Increased broadband will improve education, economic development, safety and quality of life.

Freedom Fiber is currently connected in Hamilton and Winfield, with construction underway in Haleyville, Hackleburg, Sulligent, and Vernon. If you have not signed up for Freedom Fiber, you can do so by clicking on this link: www.freedomfiber.com