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A Brief History
2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010
2005: Local initiative looks for solutions
SGRITA began in the spring of 2005 as a downtown façade renovation project in Arlington, Georgia. After completion of a renovation project, the Arlington Downtown Development Authority (ADDA) began to receive inquires from area business leaders about how they could participate in the changes taking place in the community.
As a good Development Authority, the question was turned around; “what could the ADDA do to help their business?” Each business leader replied that access to broadband internet service was their number one problem.
In March 2005 an informal small group of business leaders and farmers facilitated by the ADDA began the process of finding a solution to their connectivity issues. The goal was to build what one local farmer called “New roads into the south”. The group soon found the OneGeorgia Authority had recently introduced the Broadband Rural Initiative to Develop Georgia’s Economy (BRIDGE) Fund. By May 2005 a working plan was established to pursue funds based on the BRIDGE Fund requirements.
OneGeorgia offered increased funding for regional projects that included three or more County participants. Arlington is a rural town of 1,600 with the Calhoun-Early County line running through the middle of the community. Naturally these two Counties were first to join the initiative with Baker County joining nearly simultaneously. The project very quickly expanded to include Mitchell and Miller County.
2006: Validate the need and solution
By June 2006 the ADDA, with Resolutions of Support and local matching funds from the five County Board of Commissioners, the ADDA presented to OneGeorgia Authority a grant application for planning services and technical assistance. In July 2006 an $88,600 OneGeorgia BRIDGE grant was awarded to the ADDA. Immediately work began with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to find a solution for our region.
Beginning in August 2006, community meetings were held throughout the region with final assessments and recommendations presented in late October 2006. This study established that the project was technically feasible, fiscally viable and most importantly, economically vital for the region.
We found that lack of access to broadband internet service was a systemic problem across the region and for all business sectors. However, we quickly recognized the most urgent need was with our schools. Our schools systems, not just a building but the whole school systems from the administration office to the high schools, were dependent on a bandwidth that would be considered regular residential service in large cities. Worse, the incumbent providers could not or would not provide a solution. A poignant example of the problem was with the students taking many of the State and Federal required online tests. It was a normal circumstance for students in the middle of test to have the system crash because of bandwidth issues. The students were having to start over or return the next day to complete their tests. Now add to this problem that a large portion of the students have no access to internet in their homes. Our students are truly being left behind.
Work now began to address how to build infrastructure to bring broadband service to the un-served and underserved regions of the South Georgia. The need for proper regional governance required a change in the lead entity. Legislation was introduced in the January 2007 legislative session to create the South Georgia Regional Information Technology Authority (SGRITA). The team remained the same as SGRITA became a legal entity effective July 1, 2007.
A general idea of how to proceed was drawn from our earlier community meetings and subsequent meetings with other area key organizations such as the school systems, health departments, hospitals, public safety, farmers, agri-businesses and others. In short the process would include two phases. Phase I represents the construction of a core backhaul ring and administration of service to the area school systems. The schools represented immediate need and revenue that would be required as SGRITA worked on Phase II; the extension of retail broadband service into the un-served and underserved regions of our five Counties.
In April 2007 a second application was presented in the name of SGRITA to OneGeorgia for BRIDGE funds to build the broadband network. In October 2007 SGRITA was awarded $2,700,000 in OneGeorgia BRIDGE Funds to bring to reality our goal of broadband service to un-served and underserved regions of South Georgia.
Between November 2007 and January 2008 the SGRITA Board issued RFP’s and agreed on an oversight consultant and project manager to oversee the design and construction of the project. With this team in place the real work could begin to build the infrastructure that would serve as the backbone of SGRITA’s network and to connect the school systems.
Finally in May 2008 the first contracts were issued to begin construction. A very aggressive agenda was placed on the contractors to begin from scratch and to have the back bone completed and service ready for the schools in less than four months.
In August 2008, three years since the idea of SGRITA was first formed by local business and farm leaders, SGRITA hired its first employees with the placement of our Network Operations Manager and Executive Director. This in-house team began to consolidate information from the consultants and vendors and to work with the initial core users to transition from theory to an operating network.
With the hard work of all involved, the schools began to move their internet service to SGRITA in September 2008. Phase 1 was then considered complete with the schools migration to SGRITA. Now our schools' connectivity speeds are ranked in the top 1% in the world.
It’s one thing to build a core backhaul network with only a handful of clients; it’s another thing altogether to find a way to provide ubiquitous broadband internet service to thousands of people and businesses over nearly 2,000 square miles of rural Southwest Georgia. Remember our mission is to extend broadband internet service to the un-served and underserved throughout our five Counties. If it was easy, someone else would have built the network.
Many ideas and plans were presented for a solution to rural broadband distribution. All had benefits and deficiencies and the SGRITA Board had to make tough decision that would best serve our community. A core requirement has remained since the beginning of the project, to provide a defined broadband signal to all our citizens, not just those that were easy to serve.
After a year and half of waiting, the South Georgia Regional Information Technology Authority, SGRITA has been awarded a $13,327,030 50% loan and 50% grant package through USDA Rural Utility Services as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Broadband Infrastructure Program. These funds are matched with SGRITA’s cash for a total project valued at $14,400,000. Awarded in August 2010, our closing documents are schedule to be completed in December 2010. We are again moving forward to bring world class broadband Internet service to our rural citizens!
At the completion of our Phase 1 core backhaul network in September 2008, SGRITA had the ability to invest roughly $1,000,000 in Phase 2 to extend service to rural homes and businesses. Proposals to complete the network were reviewed over the next several months. From these proposals it was determined that our budget would allow us to only serve less than 20% of the citizens in our five Counties. Decades would be required to fully complete the project. However during this time information of upcoming federal funding for rural broadband started circulating through federal agencies and the Internet industry. All this concluded in February 2009 with Congress passing the ARRA “stimulus” program.
So, a few months after completing Phase 1, a hard decision had to be made; spend what little funds we had left to extend very limited service or use those same funds as matching to pursue ARRA funding in order to fully complete our project.
This once in a generation funding opportunity through the ARRA program was to good an offer to refuse. Specific to the Act was the largest investment ever in rural broadband infrastructure. So with the opening for applications in August 2009, SGRITA submitted our funding application to pursue ARRA funding along with nearly every other broadband group in the country.
You will see as we move forward this was a very good decision.
These funds will allow SGRITA to fully complete our broadband network to extend world class broadband service throughout Baker, Calhoun, Early, Miller and Mitchell Counties in rural Southwest Georgia. This includes first ever major fiber construction into the region plus last mile licensed 700MHz 4G wireless deployment to remote rural homes, businesses and farms. Our plans are not to just catch up with the country but rather have our region lead the world in broadband Internet access. Approximately 53,000 people stand to benefit, as do roughly 2,272 businesses and 246 community institutions. In addition to the direct jobs this project will support upfront, it will provide a foundation for economic growth and job creation for decades to come.
Why so long?
The ARRA Program was introduced to jump start projects across the country that were “shovel ready”. SGRITA was literally in mid-deployment so was as shovel ready as anyone. No one, not even Congress expected the funding agencies to take neraly two years to distribute the "shovel ready" stimulus funding. However, with the mandated deadline only a month away, RUS finally began funding applications.
We had literally stopped mid-deployment in order to preserve our matching funds. Only necessary expenses were allowed while we waited on a funding decision. If we were declined, we’d go back to our original plan. If funded, we would do it all.
With the announcement of our funding the process begins of working with USDA to draw down funds. This will be a lengthy process unto itself. We will complete necessary paperwork in December 2010 and expect to start drawing down funds for construction in the first quarter of 2011.
With the launch of this website we are now offering service to the general public. Service will be rolled out over the years to include all of our area in a sustainable manner to insure we serve everyone equally and with the highest standard of service.