LAKE PARK — High-speed wireless Internet is now available to residents in rural Lowndes County as a part of the Connect America Fund.  

A ribbon-cutting event was held in Lake Park Friday for this newly available AT&T Internet service. 

Instead of delivering a wired connection to each home, cell towers wirelessly provide a minimum of 10 megabits-per-second speed to homes within the range of service, said Daniel Hayes, head of public affairs for AT&T Georgia. 

“This is one of the first sites in the country that’s being activated with this service,” Hayes said. 

During the past three years, AT&T has invested more than $5 billion in Georgia’s networks, he said. 

State Sen. Ellis Black attended the event and has advocated for meeting the Internet needs of Lowndes County residents.

“Our residents and business owners in rural Lowndes County have made their voices heard and my colleagues and I are working hard to create an environment where we will see more announcements like this — more announcements that infrastructure is being deployed to extend access to high-speed Internet to families across our community,” Black said. 

State Rep. John Corbett was unable to attend the event, but he has also noted the importance of this high-speed internet deployment. 

“Access to high-speed Internet is vital in today’s economy and I am glad to see yet another opportunity for Lowndes County residents to gain access to the kind of connectivity they need,” Corbett said in a statement. 

Bill Leahy, president of AT&T Georgia, said this type of service will help meet the high-speed Internet needs of rural Georgia residents. 

“The more than 19,000 men and women who work for AT&T and call Georgia home are working every day to turn our investments into the high-speed connectivity that Georgia’s residents and businesses demand,” Leahy said. “Through this innovative service, we are further closing the remaining connectivity gap in rural Georgia.”

Access to this fixed, wireless internet service is available in select rural areas in the U.S. only. The service includes 160GB of data per month and requires installation of an AT&T outdoor antenna and an indoor Residential Gateway, according to AT&T. 

Kimberly Cannon is an Intern Reporter with The Valdosta Daily Times. Her extension is 1376.