Project Partnerships

Founding Member – Parker FiberNet

Parker FiberNet, LLC is a founding partner of AVFN.  Parker and government leaders and agencies in Northwest Georgia and Eastern Alabama determined there was a tremendous need for the expansion of high capacity broadband in the region.  Parker FiberNet is a home grown, local company with roots in the community and a deep belief that this area and its people have remarkable assets that distinguish it from the country and the world.

As a young entrepreneur, David Parker recognized the expanding need for local and wide area data networks, particularly in small- to medium-sized cities which larger companies tended to overlook for economic reasons.  Parker FiberNet received Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) status and OCC status in 1999.  The business model of bringing service to smaller rural communities enabled Parker to build a core network in Northwest Georgia which served as an attractive vehicle to magnify the impact of government broadband stimulus funds. The opportunity presented by this public/private collaboration with an existing regional broadband infrastructure provider will translate into global access to broadband resources and an economic development engine for the region.

Public Project Partners

 

The Grant Award would not have been possible without the support of the AVFN public partners. The Northwest Georgia Regional Commission served as the original forum for discussion of the NTIA Grant and provided volumes of information in the development of the grant application. The Alabama Broadband Initiative was instrumental in providing crucial recommendations to the NTIA as well as background information for the project. The East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission and The Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority also contributed to the success of the application.

Polk, Haralson, Floyd and Chattooga Counties in Northwest Georgia commissioned the the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute TechSmart Study which documented the importance of broadband expansion in the area. While the TechSmart Study focused on the four county area, the findings of the study are applicable to the entire region. The AVFN Grant was truly a collaborative effort with every county in the region contributing time, effort and support. Paulding County, Walker County, Bartow County,  Gordon County and  Dade County in Georgia, along with Cleburne and Calhoun Counties in Alabama, have all made important contributions to the success of the project.

County Government Partners:

 

Private Project Partners

 

AVFN’s private partners will become the first Service Suppliers in the Region. Cal-Net in Calhoun, GA, Fibercom in Cartersville, GA, Trenton Telephone in Trenton, GA and PARKER FIBERNET were original private partners and supporters of the network.  Since that time, Chickamauga Telephone has joined the group of Private Partners.