Reviewed by: Pat Byington
New Alabama ISP bringing high-speed Internet to underserved communities
Reading time: 3 minutes
In the digital age, it’s easy to take internet access for granted. Beyond social media, online shopping and the latest adorable cat video, the Internet is crucial for communication, essential services, education, news and much, much more.
Sadly, over a million Alabamians—nearly a fifth of the state’s population—lack access to reliable, high-speed internet.
Today, a new Alabama-based high-speed internet provider—Halo Fiber, Inc.—announced its ambitious plans to bring state-of-the-art internet to underserved communities across the state.
Solving Alabama’s internet access problem, one household at a time
Providing equitable access to high-speed internet service has been a passion project for Halo Fiber co-founder and CEO Brian Snider for over a decade.
“Ten years ago, myself and other members of the Halo team worked on an initiative that identified infrastructure gaps across the entire state. We found that was a big gap in middle mile connectivity—especially in Alabama’s Black Belt where there was almost no high speed infrastructure”
Brian Snider, Co-Founder and CEO, Halo Fiber, Inc.
When it comes to Internet service infrastructure, there are three broad categories:
- Long-haul communication connects cities to other large hubs across large distances.
- Middle-mile networks bridge the gap between cities and the local network plant in an area.
- Last-mile infrastructure delivers the telecommunications service to the end user.
In recent years, the State of Alabama invested over $324M of federal ARPA funds in middle-mile infrastructure. Of that, $264M is being used to build over 5,000 miles of middle-mile infrastructure—reaching all 67 Alabama counties—in the Alabama Fiber Network (AFN).
The AFN works with last-mile Communication Service Providers—like Halo Fiber—to bring connectivity to users.
“[Halo Fiber] is solely focused on last-mile infrastructure; but we can’t do that without partnerships with the AFN and other groups building those middle-mile networks.
Now is the perfect time to bridge that gap in Alabama’s Internet infrastructure. It will take time, but we’re chipping away at it one house at a time.”
Brian Snider, Co-Founder and CEO, Halo Fiber, Inc.
How Halo Fiber is tackling Alabama’s Internet access problem
“Our goal with [Halo Fiber] is not only bringing better connectivity to homes and businesses across Alabama, but educating our customers so they can improve their daily lives. High-quality Internet can help them get better jobs, better access to healthcare, stay up to date on technology and a whole of other benefits.”
Brian Snider, Co-Founder and CEO, Halo Fiber, Inc.
Backed by a team with over 150 years of broadband experience, Halo Fiber is raising private funding and seeking grants to develop its network of last-mile infrastructure in Alabama. According to a press release, the team plans to unveil its first all-fiber neighborhoods in 2025.
“[Lack of high-speed Internet access] is a need that has been identified across the entire state, and Halo Fiber is proud to be the one to finish that last mile.
To Halo Fiber, this mission is bigger than just Internet service. We want to change people’s lives and how they use the Internet to connect in positive ways.”
Brian Snider, Co-Founder and CEO, Halo Fiber, Inc.
For more information about Halo Fiber’s mission and upcoming projects, check out the company’s website www.halofiber.net.
Excited to see Halo Fiber bring high-speed Internet access to underserved communities across Alabama? Tag us @thebamabuzz to let us know!
