The Georgia Senate unanimously passed a bill Friday designed to give rural Georgians access to fast, reliable, affordable internet service.
Senate Bill 402 sponsored by Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) promotes public, private partnerships to build out the state’s broadband network.
The Achieving Connectivity Everywhere, or ACE, Act creates a statewide broadband deployment plan that will be coordinated by the Georgia Technology Authority. It promotes broadband expansion through a series of measures including tax breaks and state grants. The bill also allows the use of public right of ways along interstate highways and state roads to deploy broadband services.
From listening sessions to legislation
ACE is the result of more than a year of study by a joint House and Senate committee. Committee members, including Habersham County’s State Senator John Wilkinson (R-Toccoa), visited communities across Georgia. They held public hearings and worked to identify the state’s most pressing broadband needs. They also conducted an online broadband survey.
The information gathered by the committee was processed and used to draft legislation last year. The bill was introduced during the 2017 legislative session but was not voted on.
Wilkinson calls reliable rural broadband his “top legislative priority.” Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle also made it a major policy issue in his bid for governor.
“Affordable, high-speed internet connects all Georgians – regardless of where they live – to the most dynamic marketplaces. The ACE Act will connect our rural communities to an untapped universe of resources and opportunities, enabling them to achieve record levels of productivity,” Cagle said in a news release announcing the bill’s passage. “Thanks to this forward-looking broadband infrastructure plan, our rural families, small businesses, students, and health care providers will compete for and win the most rewarding and advanced opportunities in the world.”
Gooch chaired the joint committee on rural broadband.
“As someone who lives in a rural area, I was proud to partner with Lt. Governor Cagle to deliver this much needed broadband infrastructure package,” Gooch says. “Hospitals, schools, and local businesses anchor our rural communities, and the ACE Act will ensure our institutions and citizens have a sustainable future filled with opportunity and a higher quality of life.”
Broadband Ready Communities
ACE aims to extend and improve reliable, affordable internet to unserved and underserved areas of Georgia.
Under the plan, local governments may apply to be certified as Broadband Ready Communities. Communities that receive that designation will be given priority for state grant funding. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has until July 1, 2019, to develop a state grant program.
Broadband providers may apply for state grants for capital expenses and must contribute an amount equal to or more than the grant. In addition to grants, the bill offers tax breaks to encourage capital investment. ACE eliminates the sales tax on broadband equipment purchased for certified Broadband Ready Communities.
Local governments will now be required to include broadband services in their comprehensive plans.
The legislation defines ‘broadband services’ as internet access capable of downstream speeds of, not less than, 25 mbps and upload speeds of at least 3 mbps.
