Spalding County Connectivity Solutions

Spalding County sought to improve community connectivity through its participation in the 2021 Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.

During 2020, when students were unable to attend school in person, Spalding County responded to connectivity challenges by deploying school buses equipped with mobile hotspots to provide internet access to households lacking adequate broadband service. This initiative enabled students in rural areas of the county to continue their education during a period of remote learning and highlighted the broader need for reliable community connectivity infrastructure.

These challenges motivated county administrators to evaluate long-term strategies for expanding broadband access across the community. Recognizing internet connectivity as a critical driver of economic development, county officials sought solutions that were cost-efficient, reliable, and accessible for residents. Many internet service providers remained unable or unwilling to serve households and businesses located in sparsely populated or geographically isolated areas, creating significant service gaps throughout the county.

To address these issues, Georgia Tech researchers Ada Gavrilovska and Ellen Zegura partnered with Spalding County to evaluate connectivity technologies, broadband delivery models, and infrastructure strategies capable of improving internet access throughout the region. The research team also assessed the county’s existing connectivity landscape and identified opportunities for network improvement through both hardware and software solutions.

In Summer 2022, Spalding County also hosted Smart Community Corps interns as part of its Rural/Remote Wireless Broadband Initiative. Through this initiative, County Manager Steve Ledbetter and Communications Systems Manager Mike Windham worked to expand low-cost wireless broadband access by leveraging existing county-owned assets and infrastructure locations. Smart Community Corps interns supported the initiative by developing dashboards and analytical tools to evaluate delivery speed, implementation cost, throughput, consumer affordability, uptime, maintenance requirements, and customer feedback. The project’s broader analysis focused on understanding scalable broadband deployment strategies for rural communities across Georgia. Georgia Tech researchers A Ada Gavrilovska and Ellen Zegura continued to support the initiative through the 2021 Georgia Smart Communities cohort.