Letters: Infrastructure funding for rural broadband has helped our company and our community
Our very own Chris Disher, expresses his thanks to Senator Bill Cassidy for aiding in legislation that has made broadband expansion possible in Acadiana in a recent letter to the editor of the Advocate Newspaper.
I’m writing to express my sincere thanks to U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy for his leadership in successfully passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which has provided critical funding to rural internet service providers in Louisiana.
Several years ago, my business partner and I struggled to find reliable and fast internet service for our homes in south Louisiana and decided to take matters into our own hands. With the help of nearly $20 million in IIJA funding allocated by the Louisiana Office of Broadband Connectivity and Development, our company, Cajun Broadband, installed 90,000 feet of fiber infrastructure to previously underserved homes and businesses in St. Martin Parish in late 2022. This project was the first successfully completed Granting Underserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) project in the state. Since that time, we have continued implementing projects that will ultimately provide an additional 900,000 feet of GUMBO-awarded fiber infrastructure that will service over 8,000 homes and businesses in Vermilion, St. Mary, Iberia, St. Martin, Assumption and Jefferson Davis parishes.
Allocating IIJA funding to projects like ours across Louisiana will be transformational for many communities, helping to level the playing field for students and small businesses in rural areas and allowing them to access resources that might otherwise be unavailable. As a Louisiana native and longtime resident, I'm excited to see other IIJA-funded plans come to fruition. Projects that will strengthen our state’s electric grid, preserve coastlines, address issues with roads and bridges, modernize airports, and invest in clean energy infrastructure will all help create jobs, support economic opportunities and keep our communities safe and resilient.
I’m grateful to Cassidy for getting this important piece of legislation across the finish line and securing investments that will help keep Louisiana connected and prosperous.
Sincerely,
Chris Disher