As part of AT&T’s continuing efforts to drive economic development and investment in South Carolina, AT&T and the Oconee Economic Alliance announced that the Seneca Rail Park has been certified as AT&T Fiber Ready.
 
“This announcement highlights one of many excellent reasons to invest and locate in Oconee County – the availability of high-speed communication capabilities over fiber optic infrastructure at the Seneca Rail Park.,” said  state Sen. Thomas Alexander. “It tells entrepreneurs and potential investors from around the world that not only does Oconee County offer an outstanding quality of life, but that we are also ready to meet their technology needs.”

“Economic growth today depends on the availability of advanced technology and fiber-optic-based communications,” said state Rep. Bill Sandifer. “Announcements like this are why my colleages and I work hard to be sure South Carolina is a place that welcomes the investment of private capital to upgrade infrastructure and help grow the economy. “

In an interconnected, global economy, advanced connectivity is important to new employers and businesses of every type. The AT&T Fiber Ready designation helps economic development leaders more effectively position their communities for site selection by emphasizing the availability of high-speed, fiber-based services.

“Oconee County competes head-to-head with large cities and metro regions across the country for the technology-driven jobs of the future,” said Scott Moulder, Oconee County Administrator. “The ready availability of a fiber-optic network  is a competitive advantage in attracting clean, high-paying jobs and sustainable economic growth.”

“For most econmic development prospects today, the availability of a fiber network is as important as a highway or rail network used to be in terms of connecting to the marketplace,” said Richard Blackwell, OEA Executive Director. “The AT&T Fiber Ready designation is a great economic development tool for us to have.”

The AT&T fiber network provides the bandwidth needed to support data intensive services such as video, collaboration, cloud services and more through products such as Ethernet, Virtual Private Networking, Managed Internet Service and AT&T Business Fiber. Customers can complement their high-speed Internet with network security options and online backup to help protect and virtualize their business-critical information.

“AT&T continues to invest in high-speed internet in urban and rural areas across South Carolina using the latest wired and wireless technologies,” said Terrance Ford, regional director of external affairs for AT&T South Carolina. “As economic developers and community leaders work to bring new jobs to our state and help business already located here continue to grow, the AT&T Fiber Ready certification is designed to send the message that South Carolina is connected.”

Each and every day, our more than 2,300 employees are turning AT&T’s billions of dollars in financial investment into high-speed internet for consumers and businesses across South Carolina. Those investments are possible in large part because of the positive, pro-business policies championed by our officials at the local and state levels.