The more than 100 new jobs at Georgia-based OFS Fitel made possible in part thanks to Senator Reverend Warnock’s leadership

Georgia is set to receive more than $1 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, legislation championed by Senator Reverend Warnock for its investments in Georgia

The billion-dollar investment in Georgia is part of a larger, nationwide $42 billion investment in broadband expansion to close the digital divide in communities across America

ICYMI from WABE: Warnock, Raimondo: Norcross fiber optics firm job expansion will boost Georgia broadband

Senator Reverend Warnock to the AJC: “Last year I announced a historic $1.3 billion federal investment to expand broadband across Georgia through investments from the bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and I was proud to push the Administration for this new waiver that will enable Georgia-based companies like OFS Fitel to help power the broadband revolution coming to our state and country”

Above: Senator Reverend Warnock and Secretary Raimondo at OFS Fitel

Norcross, GA – Last Friday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo celebrated more than 100 new jobs coming to Georgia-based optical fiber manufacturer OFS Fitel. The new jobs will allow the company to expand capacity as it takes part in rolling out the nationwide $42 billion investment in broadband expansion, helping close the digital divide in rural areas and connect communities across the country. The nationwide investment includes over $1 billion to expand broadband in Georgia and was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, championed by Senator Warnock for its investments in Georgia.

During a tour of the Norcross manufacturing facility, the Senator and the Secretary got a first-hand look at OFS Fitel’s manufacturing capabilities and how their work in Georgia is creating new jobs and expanding access to high-speed internet in communities across the country—particularly in rural and underserved communities.

“I’m so proud to be here today to celebrate our efforts to bridge the digital divide in Georgia by investing more than $1 billion in expanding broadband and strengthening access to affordable high-speed internet across the country,” said Senator Reverend Warnock during the event.

In addition to hearing from company leaders and workers on what this federal investment means for Georgia and new jobs being created, the Senator also spoke with local labor leaders and workers with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). 

Senator Warnock is a champion for strengthening broadband access for Georgians across the state. Most recently, Senator Warnock led an effort urging the FCC to expand the E-Rate program, which would allow schools and libraries to provide Wi-Fi hotspots to students and educators. Additionally, in 2022 Senator Reverend Warnock hosted FCC Chair Rosenworcel in Jackson County. Senator Warnock has also worked with Senator Luján to urge the FCC to prevent digital discrimination by facilitating equal access to broadband internet through its rulemaking process.

Read key excerpts from media coverage of Senator Reverend Warnock’s broadband expansion event with Secretary Raimondo below:

WABE: Norcross fiber optics firm job expansion will boost Georgia broadband

May 13, 2024

• U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock were on hand Friday at a local fiber optics facility to announce a job expansion to increase broadband internet access in Georgia. 

• The Norcross-based firm OFS will add 100 jobs as part of the expansion, which was made possible by $1.3 billion in federal funding allocated to Georgia as part of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

• “I’m so proud to be here today to celebrate our efforts to bridge the digital divide in Georgia by investing more than $1 billion in expanding broadband and strengthening access to affordable high-speed internet across the country,” Warnock said.

• Warnock said he was determined to make high-speed internet access across Georgia a reality after hearing stories of residents forced to go without it, particularly those in underserved and rural communities. “Georgia is leading the country with respect to broadband internet access, which in a word is our lives,” he told WABE. “Broadband is to the 21st century as electricity was to the 20th.”

• One attendee who agreed with Warnock’s sentiments was Ernestine Roger-Lightford, an Ellenwood resident who recently acquired high-speed internet after her husband’s cancer diagnosis. She credits the access with changing the life of her and her family. “Having high-speed internet, we can do telehealth at home instead of going to the doctor’s office … instead of [being] in the 285 traffic trying to get there,” Lightford said.

AJC: To tackle Georgia’s digital divide, fiber optics firm to add 100 jobs

May 10, 2024

• U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Sen. Raphael Warnock stood in front of stools of red, white and blue fiber optic cables Friday afternoon to announce a Norcross job expansion aimed at widening broadband internet access across Georgia.

• Gwinnett County-based OFS said it will add 100 workers in the next few years to expand capacity at its manufacturing facility along I-85. The company’s executives credited the additional jobs to demand spurred by federal programs targeting the digital divide, where rural Americans lack broadband internet infrastructure.

• OFS CEO and President Holly Hulse said the expansion would not be possible without $1.3 billion that Georgia received from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

• Raimondo said 300,000 Georgians currently lack internet access, which she called “outrageous in this day and age.” Warnock, D-Georgia, said he’s traveled to rural corners of the state and found that nearly every career, including the state’s vital agriculture industry, relies on having a stable internet.

• “I spend a lot of time with farmers in Georgia, and they’ll tell you that you can’t even farm without a good broadband connection,” [Senator Warnock] said. “… Broadband is to the 21st century what electricity was to the 20th century.”

Inside Towers: OFS Fitel to Expand Fiber Production and Add Jobs for BEAD

May 14, 2024

• Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson traveled to OFS Fitel’s headquarters in Norcross, GA, with U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) on Friday for an announcement of new jobs and increased domestic production of optical fiber and fiber optic cable. 

• The bipartisan Infrastructure Law requires the use of Made in America construction materials and products for federally funded infrastructure projects, including high-speed internet service equipment, under the Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative.  

• As a result of the Build America, Buy America Act and the Internet for All programs, OFS says it will create 100 jobs, including union positions, and expand its U.S. fiber production for use in connecting locations to reliable high-speed internet service.  

• “Last year I announced a historic $1.3 billion federal investment to expand broadband across Georgia through investments from the bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and I was proud to push the Administration for this new waiver that will enable Georgia-based companies like OFS Fitel to help power the broadband revolution coming to our state and country,” said Warnock. “This latest announcement, which will help create over 100 new Georgia jobs, will allow OFS Fitel to help lead the nation in manufacturing the necessary broadband fiber that will connect communities to high-speed Internet, increase competition and lower prices, and protect and create good-paying jobs in Georgia.”

WSBTV: US Sec. of Commerce, Sen. Warnock to announce fiber optic manufacturing expansion in Norcross

May 10, 2024

• U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will be visiting the metro Atlanta area to announce a local company will be expanding their fiber optic manufacturing operation in Norcross.

• The Commerce Secretary and U.S. Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock will be meeting at OFS Optics’ facility in Norcross to discuss broadband needs and fiber optic cable manufacturing as part of a White House internet initiative.

• The release said OFS CEO Holly Hulse will meet with Raimondo, Warnock and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Alan Davidson, plus a variety of other state and local leaders, for a manufacturing announcement at the facility.

Georgia Public Broadcasting: LISTEN – GPB morning headlines for May 13, 2024

May 13, 2024

• U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited a fiber optic manufacturing factory in Norcross Friday that [will] help expand broadband access in Georgia.

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