Georgia Elects for Broadband

In the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial race, then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R-GA) highlighted, "With 25 percent of rural residents without access to high-speed internet, bringing this access to all of Georgia is a fundamental component of our plan to strengthen rural Georgia." In a plan he called A New Day for Rural Georgia, Kemp committed to improving healthcare, education, and economic growth facilitated by access to broadband. Also in 2018, the Georgia state legislature enacted the Achieving Connectivity Everywhere (ACE) Act promoting broadband deployment in areas not currently served at a minimum broadband speed of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3). The Georgia Broadband Deployment Initiative (GBDI) was launched as a result. GBDI coordinates activities with five state agencies—Department of Community Affairs, Department of Transportation, Department of Economic Development, Georgia Technology Authority, and State Properties Commission—as well as a Stakeholder Advisory Council consisting of representation from private telecommunications and cable providers, local government, and electricity cooperatives. Additional legislation authorized electric membership cooperatives and telephone cooperatives to provide broadband services, and streamlined broadband deployment in the public right-of-way. The state also required communities to submit comprehensive plans, including broadband, to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs every five years