Saturday Status: Back To The Broadband Future

     The White House announced---in August of 2010---that an $111-Million grant had been approved to build a high-speed internet network for Alabama's Black Belt. 
     A $59-Million check would get the broadband project built and operating.
     It could have had a massive economic impact on the poorest region in the poor state of Alabama.
     The lead company in the project was Trillion Communications, a Bessemer, Alabama, firm that spent some of the money on materials...fiber optic cable, for example, but in the end, failed to keep to the promised schedule and were fired.
     I'm writing about it now because the grant money is apparently still available, and now the South Central Alabama Broadband Commission is starting again. 
     After the previous failure, you have to think the sales pitch for commission membership would be tough. But they have a $59-Million calling-card, and that will get anyone's attention. You won't read much about the earlier failure on the SCABC website.

     But there is a video from a 2011 meeting in which Trillion President Ralph Brown talks about the company.
     They also have a link to an old Trillion Communications fact sheet about the grant that makes a lot of promises, few of which were realized.

     One of those hurt by the debacle was Lowndes County, which sold $3.5 Million in bonds to buy the Hayneville Plaza building for use as headquarters for the project.  In 2011, there were complaints that the rent generated by the building was not what was promised when the county bought it..
      Yet Lowndes County is listed as a partner in the new project.
      And there's this: Charlie King, Jr. is not only chair of the SCAB Commission, he's also chair of the Lowndes County Commission. 

[Saturday Status is a regular feature of TimLennox.com]