According to the Anniston Star, based in Anniston, Ala., rural sections of northeast Alabama “could soon have access to faster Internet connections as a result of the installation of fiber optic cables.”

The project calls for installing more than 180 miles of fiber optic cable in northeast Alabama and Georgia, connecting 144,000 households and 8,300 businesses.

The Star reported that the Appalachian Valley Fiber Network and JKM Consulting recently got grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to install fiber optic cables in and around Calhoun County and parts of Talladega National Forest. The Appalachian Valley Fiber Network is a partnership between private and public entities in Georgia and northeast Alabama.

Mary Humphries of the Shoal Creek Ranger District in Talladega National Forest said, “it’s going to bring broadband to several rural communities.” And, of course, the importance of broadband access is probably more pronounced in rural areas, so this is good news indeed for the area. Work starts in a couple months.

The project, called Broadband for the East Alabama Region, received $6.2 million in grant money. JKM Consulting wrote the grant with help from the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission, the Star reported, adding that the Internet connections will first come to schools, hospitals, fire stations, businesses and other institutions, and later to homes.

Other parts of the world aren’t quite so efficient. TMC (News - Alert) recently reported that Zimbabwe faces unexpected logistical challenges that have held back work on the fiber optic cable linking Harare and Beitbridge through Bulawayo to the undersea cable in South Africa which was supposed to be completed in December last year.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) Minister Nelson Chamisa quoted by the state media New Ziana on Tuesday said that workers laying the cable had now reached Bulawayo.

"Our contractor ran into a number of logistical problems that hindered progress. All that has been resolved now and we expect to reach Beitbridge by mid-year," he said.

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