COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — As of today, Columbus is more connected than ever. In South Columbus alone, 12,500 fiber optic cables have been recently installed, part of 25,000 recently put into the area by AT&T.

According to local officials attending the ribbon cutting ceremony to announce the feat on Nov. 13 at the Frank D. Chester Recreation Center, the increased connectivity will positively impact the community for years to come.

“I’m really proud of this company for investing in this part of the community, helping bridge the digital divide and bring the fastest internet to families in South Columbus,” said Mayor Skip Henderson.

With the increased fibers in the area, Henderson explained, the local community will start to be able to observe the full value of connectivity. According to the mayor, increased digital connectivity can mean the difference between isolation and success.

“It means access to healthcare, it means access to education, it means access to information,” Henderson said.

Business opportunities provided by the new cables will also help make Columbus, the second largest city in Georgia, competitive with other communities of its size.

Columbus City Councilmember at-large Tyson Begly pointed to more technological support and better availability for supporting remote workers.

“This is so, so big when it comes to development,” said Columbus City Councilmember at-large Tyson Begly, who pointed toward increased support for remote workers who increased in numbers over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Skip Henderson, AT&T representative Colin Martin and other local officials cut a blue ribbon to celebrate the installation of thousands of new fibers. (Olivia Yepez)

An AT&T employee servicing the local area since 1998, Caleb East, told WRBL the technology upgrade will help the community continue to have better service availability and higher quality service in general.  

East said the company is “looking forward to the development and more deployment” of improved fiber optic cables within the community.

According to Georgia Representative Teddy Reese, technology is a key component of in the future development of American society and it is important Columbus keeps up.

“AT&T providing this new cable is going to provide boundless opportunities for the people here locally,” he said, noting the improvement will prove especially helpful for local children.

Fiber optic cables are used to transmit data and communicate across long distances and are used globally.