Bishop Announces Broadband Funding in Rural Southwest Georgia

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) today announced that Flint Cable TV of Reynolds, Ga., was awarded a $4,095,913 loan and $4,095,913 grant by the Department of Agriculture for a broadband infrastructure project to improve economic and educational opportunities to rural Southwest Georgia communities. Funding for the projects is being provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or Stimulus bill, which was signed into law in February of 2009.

“I am pleased that the Department of Agriculture has awarded this funding to Flint Cable TV, the first Southwest Georgia company to receive Stimulus funding for a rural broadband project,” Bishop said. “Broadband will help rural communities participate in our recovering economy, while modernizing rural education and health care. It will create economic opportunities for rural Georgia businesses to take advantage of technology to help them remain profitable and competitive.”

The broadband funding awarded to Flint Cable TV will provide a Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) network to homes in underserved areas of rural central Georgia. This HFC network will use the latest DOCSIS 3.0 cable standard, enabling channel bonding and speeds up to 100Mbps.

Flint Cable TV is the second Georgia company, and first company in Southwest Georgia, to receive Stimulus funding for rural broadband.