Key Takeaways:
- Fifty Vanderburgh County students and families are receiving free refurbished laptops as part of AT&T’s nationwide commitment to help bridge the digital divide.
- · AT&T also announced that 11,000 new customer locations now have access to fiber-powered broadband in unincorporated Vanderburgh County as part of its public-private project to expand broadband access and help close the digital divide.
- · The project will connect more than 20,000 households and businesses across the county and is on track to be completed by November 2023.
Fifty Vanderburgh County students and families are receiving free refurbished laptops as part of AT&T’s nationwide commitment to help bridge the digital divide.
AT&T is working with Compudopt to provide Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC), and the EVSC Foundation with laptops and other digital literacy resources. The laptops, funded by an AT&T donation to Compudopt, were given to Vanderburgh County area residents to fully participate in our digital world.
This effort is an element of the AT&T Connected Learning initiative, which is part of our companywide, $2 billion commitment from 2021- 2023 to help address the digital divide through internet accessibility, affordability and safe adoption.
Recipients of the laptops were identified by EVSC and EVSC Foundation staff. The EVSC Foundation serves the local school corporation by expanding the public education experience – for students, and for those who lead them.
In Evansville, it’s estimated that more than 4,500 K-12 students1 don’t have access to the internet, computers or skills needed at home to benefit from the online world, an issue known as the digital divide.
“We know that the families who are receiving laptops today will find them invaluable as they learn and work, and communicate with their teachers and loved ones,” said EVSC Foundation President, Ely Sena-Martin. “To be able to put this necessary tool directly in their hands is incredible and we have AT&T to thank for it.”
Delivering Fiber-Powered Broadband to Vanderburgh County
Also today, AT&T announced that 11,000 new customer locations now have access to fiber-powered broadband in unincorporated Vanderburgh County as part of its public-private project to expand broadband access and help close the digital divide. The project will connect more than 20,000 households and businesses across the county and is on track to be completed by November 2023.
“AT&T is easily on target to meet its November deadline,” said Vanderburgh County Commissioner Cheryl Musgrave. “They have worked closely with us on this project every step of the way and the collaboration has already resulted in thousands of fast, reliable internet connections for our farmers, families, public safety and businesses.”
“There are few better days than this – when we’re not only providing computers to families who truly need them, but also bringing high-speed AT&T Fiber to more and more of rural Vanderburgh County,” said AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards. “We’re past the halfway point of our build plans for this project with the county and are excited to keep the momentum going for the people of this community.”
AT&T has extensive experience deploying fiber-optics across Indiana. In fact, more than 540,000 locations in the state have access to AT&T Fiber today. AT&T is also currently working with the City of Martinsville, City of Boonville, Lawrence County and Delaware County on public-private partnerships to bring AT&T Fiber to those communities. In addition, AT&T is collaborating with the State of Indiana through the state’s Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program to build fiber networks in parts of nine counties.
The Vanderburgh County project, valued at $39 million, was made possible because of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The ARP’s $25 billion investment aims to help provide every American with access to affordable, high-speed internet and connectivity.
Residents and businesses can learn more about AT&T Fiber at att.com/fiber and can sign up to be notified when service will be available at their address at att.com/notifyme.
AT&T is committed to connecting more Americans to reliable, high-speed broadband internet in several ways, including expanding and upgrading our network and participating in the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP provides eligible households with a benefit of up to $30 a month (up to $75 a month on qualifying Tribal lands) to reduce the cost of broadband service and can be applied to AT&T Fiber, where available. Or use it toward Access from AT&T, offering speeds up to 100Mbps for $0 after the ACP benefit is applied. After confirming ACP eligibility, those who qualify can go to att.com/getacp or call us at 866-986-0963 to sign up for service. Have your ACP application ID handy.
About AT&T in Indiana
From 2020-2022, AT&T invested more than $1.1 billion in its wireless and wireline networks in Indiana to expand coverage and improve connectivity in more communities. That investment has increased reliability, coverage and overall performance for residents and businesses. It’s also improved critical communications services for Indiana’s first responders using the FirstNet network.
Delivering a Better Internet Experience
We aim to be America’s best broadband provider powered by the most reliable 5G network2 and America's favorite for fiber internet3 so you have a seamless experience from a single provider. Becoming the provider of choice also means serving the critical mission of America’s first responders. FirstNet®, Built with AT&T is the only purpose-built, nationwide wireless broadband communications platform dedicated to the public safety community.
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