AT&T Provides 100 Laptops to Organizations that Assist Lawrence County Families to Help Close the Digital Divide

Company Also Announces Construction Has Begun on Public-Private AT&T Fiber Projects to Bring High-Speed Internet to Nearly 5,000 Customers in Lawrence County 

Bedford, Ind., July 22, 2024 – As part of its efforts to bridge the digital divide, AT&T* announced the donation of 100 refurbished laptops to pre-selected organizations that assist Lawrence County families today and provided an update on its projects to build AT&T Fiber in the county. 

AT&T and Human-I-T are providing 100 laptops to the Lawrence County Economic Growth Council to distribute to organizations that assist local families in need. The computers, funded by an AT&T contribution, will made available to recipients as needed.  

The company also announced today that construction has begun on one of four public-private projects totaling more than $12 million that will bring AT&T Fiber to nearly 5,000 customers in Lawrence County over the next two years. 

“We’re so appreciative of AT&T’s efforts to not only bring high-speed broadband to Lawrence County, but to also provide laptops to families who don’t have their own devices at home to access the internet,” said Lawrence County Commissioner Rodney Fish. “In today’s digital world, fast connectivity is crucial to all aspects of daily life. AT&T has been a great provider to work with, and we’re excited that construction has begun to bring AT&T Fiber to our communities.” 

Over the past 14 months, Lawrence County has selected AT&T to bring high-speed broadband to rural portions of the county in three different public-private projects. In March, the county announced a nearly $2.6 million project with AT&T to expand AT&T Fiber to an estimated 530 customer locations. In May 2023, AT&T was selected by the county to build AT&T Fiber to over 2,300 customer locations in northwestern portions of the county as part of a $3.6 million project. The company was also selected by the county in September 2023 to build AT&T Fiber to more than 1,200 customer locations in a project valued at more than $4.3 million.

This is in addition to the 700 Lawrence County locations that are planned as part of AT&T’s participation in the State of Indiana’s Next Level Connections broadband grant program.

“We’re proud to work with Lawrence County to help close the digital equity gap for rural residents through fiber availability and device donations,” said AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards. “We believe Indiana communities large and small deserve high-speed fiber connectivity. We’re excited that construction has begun in the county, and we can’t wait to bring high-speed broadband and all its benefits to rural Lawrence County.” 

“As the co-author of legislation that created Indiana’s broadband grant program, I’m pleased it’s being put to use to connect Hoosiers in Lawrence County,” said State Senator Eric Koch. “AT&T is helping connect thousands of locations here over the next two years.” 

Plans call for residents and businesses to have access to superfast internet – delivering up to 5-Gig speeds with symmetrical upload and download speeds. Consistently fast speeds and increased bandwidth mean 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 Fiber is also multi-gig capable the day it is installed, which means it can handle the demands of today, and those well into our hyperconnected future.

AT&T has extensive experience deploying fiber-optics across Indiana. More than 590,000 locations in the state now have access to AT&T Fiber – an increase of 140,000 locations over the last two years. AT&T recently completed its public-private fiber builds in Vanderburgh County and Boonville. In addition to Lawrence County, AT&T is currently working with the City of Martinsville and Delaware County on public-private partnerships to bring AT&T Fiber to those communities. AT&T is also 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. 

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.

The laptop distribution is part of the AT&T Connected Learning® initiative, AT&T’s companywide commitment to help address the digital divide through internet accessibility, affordability and safe adoption. 

About AT&T in Indiana
From 2019-2023, AT&T invested nearly $1.9 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.

FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks and service marks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. 

*About AT&T
We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends, and neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater possibility. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn more at investors.att.com.

For more information, contact:
Phil Hayes
AT&T Corporate Communications
Phone: +1 (312)241-6085
Email: phil.hayes@att.com