Tuscaloosa County neighborhood still fighting for internet access

Published: Mar. 16, 2019 at 6:01 AM CDT
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TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, AL (WBRC) - A community in Moundville is still fighting to get internet access.

"There is no hard-wire internet, that’s something that most people take for granted and you think that its everywhere,” said Kirsten Henry-Paxton, who lives in the subdivision.

The only way Kirsten Paxton and her family can surf the web is through an AT&T hotspot in her home, but she says it’s not reliable plus she doesn’t have unlimited service so streaming is virtually impossible.

Back in January, Governor Kay Ivey announced Glen Ridge will get a nearly $30,000 grant to bring high speed internet to families there.

The money is coming from the Alabama Broadband Accessibility grant fund. Charter Communications is supposed to install the internet for the neighborhood.

Two months later, families are still waiting.

Several people in the subdivision were unaware that cable companies or internet providers didn’t service the area until after they moved in. Some homeowners are apparently fed up with no connection and are putting their homes up for sale.

Kirsten isn’t at that point just yet. She just wants what they’ve been promised.

"It’s a wonderful place to live. I’ve definitely enjoyed it but we do have a daughter, so we want for her to be able to have internet so that when she’s doing her school work and things of the like, she’ll be able to have that access,” Paxton said.

“As the grants were recently awarded, it is premature to speculate on a construction time frame,” said Patti Michel, a Charter Communications spokesperson

We also reached out to Senator Richard Shelby and Senator Doug Jones’ offices to see if they can expedite the process.

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