Federal, state and local leaders will gather Thursday afternoon at Tombigbee Electric Cooperative’s headquarters to celebrate a milestone nearly nine years in the making: the completion of more than 4,200 miles of fiber delivering reliable, high-speed internet to homes and businesses across eight rural Northwest Alabama counties.
The Freedom Fiber-branded network was built by Tombigbee’s broadband subsidiary, Tombigbee Communications
The event will run from 1:00-3:30 p.m. at 3196 County Highway 55 in Hamilton.
Confirmed and expected guests include a slate of state officials, including Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville), Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman), Reps. Bryan Brinyark (R-Tuscaloosa), Tracy Estes (R-Winfield), Jamie Kiel (R-Russellville) and former State Rep. Randall Shedd.
As well as state executives and members of Alabama’s federal delegation, including Agriculture & Industries Commissioner Rick Pate, Secretary of State Wes Allen, representatives from Governor Kay Ivey’s office, U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Katie Britt (R-Montgomery), as well as U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville).
The Tombigbee project extends gigabit fiber access across a swath of rural communities.
Covering Marion, Lamar, Fayette and Franklin counties, most areas west of Smith Lake in Winston County, and select pockets of Walker, Cullman and Tuscaloosa counties — all locations that, a decade ago, had little to no prospect of modern connectivity.
The cooperative credits a “first-mile to last-mile” approach: leveraging the statewide Alabama Fiber Network for transport, building its own middle-mile backbone, and finishing the last mile to homes and businesses. AFN, a coalition of electric co-ops and partners that now reaches most Alabama counties, was created to speed affordable broadband to unserved areas.
The milestone also caps many years of public-private coordination. In 2018-2019, Tombigbee won federal USDA ReConnect support to jump-start rural fiber construction.
In an op-ed yesterday, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt reflected on Tombigbee’s role in launching the program from the Hamilton warehouse that will host Thursday’s celebration.
“Standing in that Hamilton warehouse six years ago, I said that broadband is the electricity of the 21st century. Today, we are closer than ever to ensuring that every home, school, and business in Alabama has access to that vital lifeline,” Aderholt wrote.
“The progress is real — and the best is yet to come.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
