BATON ROUGE, La. (press release) — AT&T announced on Nov. 18 that it has been selected to expand AT&T Fiber to more than 20,000 residential and business locations in Louisiana as part of a public-private project. The project is contingent upon a final contract between AT&T and the state.
The state of Louisiana plans to invest nearly $55 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding through the state’s GUMBO 2.0 program, and AT&T will invest more than $150 million to provide fiber to these locations and additional households and businesses in the project area. The BEAD funded project is expected to be complete in 4-years.
“This groundbreaking investment through the BEAD program is a major step forward for Louisiana,” said Governor Jeff Landry in a press release. “Expanding access to broadband is essential for economic growth, better educational opportunities, and improved healthcare access. Louisiana is proud to lead the way as the first state to make this announcement, and I look forward to seeing how this project will benefit our communities for years to come.”
This historic announcement marks the first BEAD awards in the nation and underscores the critical importance of public-private projects in closing the digital divide. Louisiana’s position as the first state to award these funds highlights the state’s leadership in addressing broadband challenges.
“I want to thank Governor Landry and the Louisiana Legislature for their leadership and forward-thinking policies that have created an environment where projects like these can succeed,” said AT&T Louisiana President David Aubrey. “This first-of-its-kind BEAD award is a testament to what we can achieve when the public and private sectors work together to address one of the most critical challenges of our time – bridging the digital divide. I’m proud that AT&T is leading the way with this historic project in Louisiana, and we look forward to bringing the benefits of fiber broadband to families and businesses across the country through collaborations like this.”
Planning and engineering work for this project will begin in earnest upon execution of the contract. Residents and businesses can learn more about AT&T Fiber at fiber.att.com and can sign up to be notified when service will be available at their address at att.com/notifyme.
AT&T Fiber is the fastest internet in the nation, according to the Ookla® Speedtest Connectivity Report.1 AT&T Fiber delivers speeds of up to 5-Gigs2 paired with network reliability for everyday needs. Customers can connect multiple devices, stream multiple entertainment sources, quickly upload content to social media and experience ultra-low lag for pro-level gaming – all at the same time.
AT&T is working to roll out AT&T Fiber through public-private collaborations in communities across the country and to help close the digital divide. In Louisiana, more than 660,000 locations have access to AT&T Fiber today. Additionally, AT&T has previously been awarded over $16 million to expand fiber internet to nearly 34,000 locations in Louisiana, including projects in the city of Monroe and in Beauregard, Bienville, Calcasieu, East Feliciana, Morehouse, Plaquemines, Richland, St Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Union, West Baton Rouge, Washington and Webster Parishes.
From 2019-2023, AT&T invested nearly $2.1 billion in wireless and wireline networks in Louisiana. That investment has increased reliability, coverage and overall performance for residents and businesses.
