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By Fred Guarino

The Lowndes Signal

Dr. Aaron D. McCall, managing director of Get Wired Alabama, is seeking feedback to “help in bringing the most progressive high speed telecommunications service to South Central Alabama and in particular to the Black Belt Region of the state.”

McCall said, “I am happy to report to you that after some 6.5 long hard and sometimes discouraging years with many ups and down we are finally ready to start network development and construction.”

He also said, “The South Central Alabama Broadband Cooperative District (SCABC) is pleased to invite you to be a part of this most historical event taking place in the near future in your area.”

He said Get Wired Alabama is a 17-county community owned and privately operated next generation high speed broadband telecommunications network designed to bring state of the art telecommunications services to the underserved and unserved areas of South Central Alabama and particularly to the Black Belt Region.

McCall asks the public to take a moment to check out the updated site http://getwiredalabama.servicezones.net/ and take a survey that will help determine where to start construction first.

He said, “We will start where we get the most interest.”

The SCABC was originally formed to own and manage a broadband communications infrastructure designed to bridge the digital divide in South Central Alabama.

The original project was to construct 2,200 miles of fiber-optic broadband network in Butler, Crenshaw, Conecuh, Dallas, Escambia, Lowndes, Macon and Wilcox counties and was to be funded by a $59 million in federal grant money and $27 million in matching funds.

While funding to grant recipient Trillion Communications was terminated in October of 2012, the SCABC has continued efforts to move a broadband project forward.

The SCABC announced on May 6, 2014 the launch of a national education awareness campaign called “Get Wired Alabama.”