Bamberg County breaks ground on much anticipated high-speed internet project
BAMBERG, SC. (WJBF) – High Speed Internet will soon be available to more people in Bamberg County.
County and city leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony at Bamberg County Airport for the much-anticipated Broadband Expansion Project.
They were also joined by several leaders from around the state and nation.
Some of which included USDA Field Staff Branch Chief Shannon LeGree, a representative from the office of Senator Lindsey Graham, and a representative for Congressman James Clyburn.
District 1 Councilman Phil Myers, District 2 Councilwoman Sharon Hammond, District 3 Councilman Larry Haynes, District 4 Councilman Spencer Donaldson, and District 6 Councilman Evert Comer Jr. were all in attendance.
The county was awarded a $12 Million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year, after grant applications were denied several times.
“Over the last 6 years, we’ve applied to different sources of course at least 10 different times, and the county of course was turned down. There was a lot of competition out there during that time. But when one door closed, another door opened up,” said County Administrator Joey Preston.
William Metts and Metts Engineering Group will connect the internet between Whetstones Cross Roads and Highway 321 by building a 100-gigabyte backbone network.
“We’ll be putting electronics in every customer’s home, running a fiber into the home, and then we’ll set up a Wi-Fi router for this project,” said Metts. “The customer will have access to a full gig, but the project is an enterprise component of the government, so it will be self-sufficient and no tax dollars required to operate.”
According to Metts, the project will install 210 miles of fiber across those areas, with a central office located in downtown Bamberg.
The project will be set up with rain topology, that way a single fiber cut will not affect overall service.
It will pass through 2,250 homes, 254 businesses, and 60 farms–benefitting more than 5,000 people.
ALSO ON WJBF: Big advancements at WellStar MCG Health and Augusta Regional Airport
Metts says the full installation will be at no charge to customers.
Mayor Nancy Foster says this will be a big boost for schools in the area, after past struggles for students with internet access.
“The main thing we experienced with COVID was our young people couldn’t get to school–they had a computer, the school gave them a computer–but they had no internet, so they couldn’t study. So this is just going to be awesome,” said Foster.
She says this will also be a big boost for the city–which is four months removed from being hit by an EF-2 tornado.
“It will enhance our existing industry and businesses–but think to have this on the resume for new industry and businesses coming in, to know they’re going to have access to high-speed broadband. It’s just going to mean an awful lot to the children, the businesses and the industries–so we’re truly excited,” said Foster.
“Of course, the tornado came right down main street, and affected all of those buildings and businesses that are there. This will actually help the city of Bamberg rebuild, because with high-speed internet with Broadband, it will complement the downtown and bring more businesses to downtown Bamberg,” said Preston.
Metts expects funds to be released in the next 3-6 months.
From there, the timeline for the project extends to 2029–but Metts is hoping everything will be installed by the end of 2026.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
