JACKSON, Tenn. – Today, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information April McClain-Delaney traveled to Jackson, Tenn. with Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu to celebrate new fiber optic cable production in the U.S. made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative, a key component of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law requires the use of Made-in-America materials and products for federally funded infrastructure projects, including high-speed Internet deployment. As a result, Prysmian Group has invested $30 million to convert its Jackson, Tenn. copper cable facility into a state-of-the-art fiber optic cable manufacturing plant, creating new jobs in America that will help close the digital divide. This investment builds on President Biden’s State of the Union pledge to build and buy American-made fiber optic cable.
“We believe if the infrastructure can be made in America, it should be made in America, and thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, construction of manufacturing facilities in the U.S. has doubled over the past 2 years,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “We need to keep spurring these investments in American-made fiber, which are critical in closing the digital divide and creating good paying jobs in Tennessee and across America.”
Prysmian announced this investment in May 2022. Since then, Prysmian has implemented a retraining program that allowed them to retain nearly their entire workforce, over half of which is women and people of color. Prysmian’s commitment to the production of domestic optical fiber and fiber optic cable will be foundational in connecting rural households across America to high-speed Internet service.
“Internet for All is not just a connectivity program – it's a jobs and manufacturing program. Together, we’ll create thousands of jobs nationwide,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary McClain-Delaney. “Prysmian has not only answered that call, but trained a workforce to do it. This company is an example of what we’d like to see other manufacturers do across the country. I am particularly thrilled by Prysmian’s trailblazing work to bridge the gender gap in the telecom workforce.”
The Biden-Harris Administration’s $65 billion Internet for All initiative through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help close America’s digital divide. Roughly 8.5 million U.S. homes and small businesses lack Internet access. NTIA is working to address this through $48 billion in grant programs to expand high-speed Internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs across the country.
“Access to high-speed internet is no longer a luxury – it’s necessary to fully participate in today’s society,” said Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will help us connect every community across the country to high-speed internet by 2030, and we’re going to do it with American-made fiber. Working alongside Prysmian and other manufacturers, we can grow our economy from the bottom up and middle out, create good-paying jobs, and close the digital divide once and for all.”
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, private companies have announced over $490 Billion to date in commitments to invest in 21st century industries.
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About the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the Executive Branch agency that advises the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America, expanding the use of spectrum by all users, advancing public safety communications, and ensuring that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.