High-Speed Internet Still Out of Reach for Millry and Chatom Residents
Millry and Chatom, two small towns in Washington County, Alabama, are grappling with a critical, ongoing problem: reliable high-speed internet remains elusive for many.
After years of slow progress, the lack of fast broadband is frustrating residents, stalling local businesses, and even cutting off basic phone calls in 2026 — a problem residents say must be solved now.
Fiber Optic Progress Brings Hope But Leaves Many Behind
Lonnie Guy, a lifelong Millry native and co-owner of Nana and Papa’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop, described his recent experience getting fiber optic internet at his home.
“Just a few months ago, fiber optic cable was finally laid to my place, and the difference was immediate — faster load times, better speeds, reliable service,” Guy said.
Guy’s home lies some 11 miles west of Millry, a community of around 500 people that once thrived as a vital logging route along the now-defunct Frisco and Burlington Northern railroads. Despite improvements near his home and business, many residents still remain without fiber service.
Chester Caulder, general manager of Millry Communications—a local internet service provider responsible for much of the new infrastructure—warns that rural fiber expansion is slower and more costly. His company averages only about 4.7 homes per mile of fiber cable laid, reflecting the region’s sparse population.
“Because we are such a rural community, being spread out means building fiber is expensive and slow,” Caulder explained. “But if I can get fiber to you, I can deliver the full speeds you pay for.”
Chatom Residents Still Waiting for Reliable Connections
A few miles south in Chatom, residents like Landis Waite say broadband access remains “pretty much bad” and often unusable.
Despite crews beginning fiber optic installation several years ago, Waite expressed frustration over the effort’s slow pace.
“They say fiber should fix it, but it’s taking forever to get to us,” Waite said. “Sometimes it takes hours just to load a webpage.”
For many in Chatom, which is larger and has more businesses than Millry, slow internet cripples essential daily functions:
“When my internet’s down, no notifications, no texts, no calls—I have to go outside just to get a signal,” Waite said.
Connectivity gaps also impact family communication. Waite shared that poor service forces him to walk to his grandmother’s house just to make phone calls.
Why This Matters Today
In 2026, reliable broadband internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity for remote work, telehealth, education, emergency contacts, and local economies. Yet for these Washington County towns, high-speed internet remains patchy at best.
Local providers and residents recognize the urgency: business owners need dependable service to compete, families need steady connections to stay in touch, and communities need infrastructure to thrive.
As fiber optic expansion continues at a slow pace, the path forward involves balancing cost and accessibility in these low-density, rural areas.
Looking Ahead
Millry Communications and other stakeholders are focused on gradually extending fiber networks throughout the county, pushing to improve service where possible. Meanwhile, residents of Millry, Chatom, and surrounding communities say they are holding on to hope that full, reliable broadband internet will arrive soon to meet their daily needs.
For Alabama and other rural areas nationwide, the struggle in Washington County reflects a broader challenge: connecting millions who live outside urban centers.
The demand for high-speed internet in 2026 is clear—and for towns like Millry and Chatom, the wait to get connected can’t come soon enough.
