Federal funds coming to Georgia to expand broadband near Augusta, Athens

Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock on Thursday announced separately that the state will receive $250 million from the American Rescue Plan for broadband expansion.

The federal money will be distributed by the state to a number of counties, including areas surrounding Augusta and Athens.

"This is vital for small businesses, for farmers, for schools and families, for kids doing schoolwork in the afternoons at home, for all of us for our state's prosperity, to move toward universal access to high-speed internet," Ossoff said during a press conference.

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Ossoff said the money would go from the federal Treasury Department to the state, which would distribute the funds to broadband providers to actually build out infrastructure. The Governor's Office of Budget and Planning has a website for providers looking to apply for funding.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced the program over the summer, and opened up the site for applications, but the federal funding for the program has now been finally approved.

Warnock also worked on securing the funding, according to a news release from his office.

“Broadband expansion is crucial to keeping Georgia’s economy moving forward,” he noted in the release.

The counties that are eligible to apply include Banks, Jackson, Madison, Oglethorpe, Burke, Glascock and Jefferson.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Rural broadband in Georgia gets $250 million in federal funding