BROADBAND EXPANSION HAS COMPANIES LOOKING TO RECRUIT

Bridging the digital divide has become a priority for Louisiana since the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the crucial role high-speed internet plays in the state's education and economic systems.

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Using federal funds, the state launched a $180 million program last year to provide underserved areas with high-speed internet. In March the Acadiana area welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris to Ville Platte to announce another $30 million federal grant to build fiber internet across 11 rural towns in the area.

Although major federal investments are aiming to bridge that gap, the funds can only go so far without an increase in the number of workers capable of building and installing high-speed internet infrastructure, The Advertiser reported.

We have so much work today that we can't keep up. We'd almost have to double our workforce without taking on any new clients, said Nathan Carbo, who runs internet infrastructure company System Services alongside his wife Kristin Carbo.

I need 30 people yesterday, he added.

It's a similar story for LUS Fiber, particularly after the city-owned telecom was awarded $21 million of that $30 million federal grant earlier this year and is asking for a $19 million piece of the state's $180 million GUMBO program to expand in other rural Acadiana communities.