The Fiber Broadband Association Recognizes Tombigbee Communications on Gimme Fiber Day

Annual award celebrates accomplishments in fiber optics

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today announced that it awarded its Dr. Charles Kao Award to Tombigbee Communications, during Gimme Fiber Day festivities on November 4^th. This annual award recognizes individuals, organizations and companies that leverage innovation to connect communities with fiber optic technology. The FBA selected Tombigbee as this year’s award winner for its accomplishments in bringing fiber broadband to unserved regions in Northwest Alabama.

Each year, the FBA presents the Dr. Charles Kao Award in conjunction with Gimme Fiber Day—an international day on November 4^th to celebrate the inventor of fiber optics. The Gimme Fiber Day concept was initiated in 2013 by the FTTH Council Global Alliance (FCGA) to bring recognition to the social and economic benefits of FTTH. Tombigbee Communications was announced as FBA’s 2021 Dr. Charles Kao Award winner during a twitter chat FBA hosted to honor Gimme Fiber Day.

Steve Foshee, CEO at Tombigbee Communications, leads a powerful initiative to deliver broadband to rural Alabama, enabling communities there to grow and prosper. As the state’s first broadband partnership between an investor-owned utility and an electric cooperative, Tombigbee Communications teamed up with Alabama Power to use existing infrastructure to offer high-speed broadband services. Tombigbee Communications will lease available capacity on fiber infrastructure, used by Alabama Power on its electric grid for reliable and resilient service, as additional support for its backbone network to reach and connect its customers.

“Steve Foshee is a pioneer in rural electric coop broadband. Under his leadership, Tombigbee is building a fiber broadband network to every home and business that desires to have it in the six counties they serve,” said Gary Bolton, President and CEO at the Fiber Broadband Association. “Congratulations to Steve and Tombigbee Communications on the positive impact that they are making in rural America. It is commitment like theirs that enable the delivery of unlimited capacity that will unleash limitless possibilities for communities everywhere.”

The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in the Americas, LATAM, Europe, MENA, and APAC.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities and policy makers make informed decisions about how, where and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.